A nature conservation project in Mexico is set to generate the first batch of biodiversity credits under the BioCarbon standard, the certifier has told Carbon Pulse.
Led by Mexican-based developers Rancho La Onza and CarbonPlus, the project aims to protect and restore a 200-hectare area within the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, in the state of Guanajuato.
The site includes submontane shrubland, tropical deciduous forests, oak forests, and pine-oak forests, and is the only place in Guanajuato where the presence of the endangered wild cat jaguarundi has been confirmed.
The project, which applied for validation under the BioCarbon biodiversity standard, has already been listed on the registry platform Global Carbon Trace.
BioCarbon said it hopes project developers “will consolidate the information [on the project] in the shortest possible time to issue the biodiversity credits”.
“We aim to [issue] the first credits before COP16. Currently, we are finalising the technical aspects of calculating net biodiversity gains,” Clara Morales, biodiversity officer at BioCarbon, told Carbon Pulse.
Under BioCarbon’s methodology, updated in February, biodiversity gains are measured through combining 15 indicators, ranging from landscape composition to species richness.
The overall increase in biodiversity is then multiplied by the hectares of project area, determining the number of credits that can be issued every year.
Project achievements are verified by a third-party certification body chosen by the developer from those accredited by the standard – NaturaCert and Ceres.
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
According to the project document shared on Global Carbon Trace, planned conservation activities at the site include isolating forest fragments, reintroducing native species, and removing invasive or non-native species.
“Numerous conservation actions have been carried out [in recent years], including the implementation of a perimeter fence to protect the area, surveillance patrols to monitor the ecosystem and prevent illegal activities, and the maintenance of trails and paths to facilitate mobility and monitoring,” said the document.
“Additionally, water and food stations have been installed to support local wildlife, and reforestation projects have been executed to restore degraded areas and promote forest regeneration.”
Rancho La Onza also developed programmes to raise community awareness of nature conservation, such as educational activities and research projects to better understand the site’s biodiversity and ecological processes, according to the document.
Over the last few months, several initiatives have emerged to investigate biodiversity credits as a means to scale conservation and restoration efforts in Mexico.
Last December, UNESCO partnered with Nairobi-headquartered CYNK, and US-based ecosystem services firm Regenerative Resources, to explore selling biodiversity credits from the El Vizcaino Biosphere Reserve.
Meanwhile, French-based environmental company Nat5 started piloting its biodiversity credit methodology for nature conservation and restoration projects in May at three sites in the Mexican states of Durango, Oaxaca, and Chihuahua.
The company also launched a separate project in Chihuahua to pilot its water credit methodology.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
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