Offsetting Carbon and Supporting Livelihoods in Belize
We are strategically planting mangroves to sequester carbon and restore degraded coastal ecosystems.
This flagship project contributes to our vision of supporting locals in addition to offsetting carbon emissions and improving degraded ecosystems.
The Basics
We are restoring mangrove ecosystems in order to develop a blue carbon credit project.
Blue carbon refers to coastal ecosystems (mangroves, sea grass and salt marshes) that capture CO2 five to ten times more than other tropical forests. In addition, mangrove ecosystems store carbon for thousands of years as long as they remain healthy and aren’t deforested nor degraded. Mangrove forests account for 0.7% of the world’s tropical forests yet the deforestation of mangrove forests accounts for 15% of global carbon emissions. Blue carbon ecosystems provide long-term CO2 storage, with carbon removal rates up to nearly fifty times faster than terrestrial forests. Along with their carbon benefits, these coastal areas provide many other environmental and social benefits that are in high demand for corporate offsets. Due to these environmental and social attributes, blue carbon credit prices have held their value and are expected to rise, trading at a premium compared to other credits in the international market.
Our project in Belize will generate credits in two ways:
Restoring degraded mangroves that remove CO2 from the atmosphere as the forest regenerates (known as ‘removals’)
Conserving and protecting intact mangroves from deforestation, preventing CO2 emissions (known as ‘avoidance’)
In addition to carbon credit generation, this will lead to direct community employment within the project area (UN SDGs #1 & #2), including monitoring, conservation, and restoration activities (UN SDG #8, #11, #14, & #15). More than 800 community members have worked on projects of this kind north of the border in Mexico, and the same model that led to these benefits will be deployed in Belize.
Why we chose this project
We personally know and trust the people that run our partner organizations – and love the additional social and environmental aspects in addition to carbon sequestration, as well as the added economic benefits that will go to the people we work with in Belize. This project is multifaceted, and we feel it can serve as a model for creating more projects like this in the future.
We are restoring this land to sequester carbon and bring back the ecosystem services that have been lost.
Our partners: Blue Carbon Projects LLC (BCP) and BlueMX Magrove A.C. (BMX)
BCP is a carbon project developer focusing on the conservation of pristine mangroves and restoration/reforestation of degraded mangrove ecosystems. BCP's dedicated team brings real-world experience in the successful development and ongoing operation of REDD+ and ARR projects which focus on community development and support for local community members.
BMX is a nonprofit civil association responsible for developing the world’s largest conservation mangrove project in Mexico with over
500,000 acres under contract. Established in 2016, with a strong track record of government and community engagement, this project
will generate more than 50 million metric tons of emissions abetment through the restoration and protection of more than 200,000 hectares of mangroves in Mexico.
Cost per metric ton
Each ton of carbon being offset will be sold for between $25 - $100 USD.
Verification
This project will be verified by Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS), along with third-party verifiers and validators to ensure compliance.
Verra is a leading non-profit organization that develops and manages standards for voluntary carbon offset projects.
Project type
MANGROVE RESTORATION
This is the process of reviving or rehabilitating mangrove ecosystems, which are important coastal ecosystems that provide numerous ecological benefits, including carbon sequestration.
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