The story has been updated with comments from Adryada and Fronterra.
French and Peru-based developers of nature-based solution projects have partnered to scale up reforestation, afforestation, and agroforestry initiatives in Latin America, aiming to generate both carbon and biodiversity credits.
Adryada and Fronterra on Monday launched a partnership seeking to establish a robust nature-based solutions upstream market, they said in a press release.
Adryada has specialised in developing large-scale nature-based projects, most recently in the Philippines, and is currently working with Fronterra on developing several carbon and biodiversity initiatives across Peru, Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil.
The initial project, to be developed in Peru, aims to remove at least 20 million tonnes of CO2e from the atmosphere over the next 30 years, along with delivering measurable biodiversity co-benefits.
“A more structured market is coming to achieve global targets for CO2 sequestration, between [5-10 billion] tCO2 per year by 2050,” said Fabio Ferrari, founder and CEO of Adryada.
“The Symbiosis announcement in May is a very big step on the demand side,” he added, referencing to the launch of the Symbiosis Coalition, an initiative established by tech giants Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce in May to contract up to 20 million nature-based voluntary carbon credits.
BIODIVERSITY CREDITS
The long-term project involves the generation of effective biodiversity credits, as both companies are early movers in the nascent market.
Adryada is co-founder of the Organization for Biodiversity Certificates (OBC), an entity working on a framework for biodiversity certificates, while Fronterra is piloting a biodiversity credit project in its conservation initiative in Sierra del Divisor National Park, Peru.
Within their partnership, the firms are working on shaping the units and outlining a roadmap to pilot the OBC approach in Latin America, including Guatemala, Colombia, and Brazil.
“We need to find a fair balance between scientific rigour and easiness to use for companies,” Juan Carlos Gonzalez Aybar, founder and CEO at Fronterra, told Carbon Pulse.
Both companies are also collaborating with public authorities to define the legal frame for the credits that will be generated by their projects, he added.
“Fronterra is working closely with the Peruvian government, while OBC is part of the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity credits (IAPB), meaning close relations with the French and UK authorities.”
Fronterra and Adryada claimed that they have been deploying biological monitoring and research components in all their projects, including the establishment of corridors between hotspots, buffers, and the use of trap cameras.
“We are aware that these approaches and tools must be optimised to attract private investors if we wish to achieve the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework objectives,” Fabiola Flex, head of public affairs and external relations, told Carbon Pulse.
“We believe biodiversity credits/certificates can be an effective tool.”
Earlier this year, OBC announced a separate partnership with large French asset manager Ardian – which has $164 bln of assets under management across Europe – in a bid to increase investments in nature restoration projects.
By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com
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