Iceland-based International Carbon Registry (ICR) is about to launch consultations for its biodiversity credit framework, planning to onboard 10 pilot projects within a couple of months, the initiative’s chief scientist told Carbon Pulse.

Consultations will begin in a couple of weeks and remain open to public comments for one month, ICR’s Rannveig Anna Guicharnaud said during Climate Week NYC.

During that period, project developers could also apply to participate in the two-year pilot initiative.

Eligible activities include both restoration and conservation, and can address terrestrial, freshwater, marine, or coastal urban ecosystems.

“We plan to establish 10 pilot projects around the world to test our framework, hopefully within different ecosystems,” Guicharnaud said.

Project developers are required to meet several eligibility criteria, including permanence requirements and additionality. Initiatives must be carried out for a minimum of 10 years and will be allowed to renew twice after that period.

“We will reward projects that can show long-term permanence and that can prove additionality as in carbon projects.”

The role of additionality in the biodiversity credit market is still being debated, with some experts saying it should be “dead and buried” while others see it as a fundamental principle to attract funding.

“We’re aware of the debate, but we decided to stick to additionality anyway,” Guicharnaud said.

“You really need to show that your project is doing something more than if it would not have happened. Otherwise, which criteria can you use to see if a project is working or not?”

The company, which uses blockchain technology to operate an electronic platform for climate projects, said biodiversity credits will be issued publicly through its registry.

Participating projects will be validated and verified by an independent third party, likely selected from ICR partners for carbon projects.

“We will not sell credits unless they have been verified, and we expect the first transaction to happen next year,” Guicharnaud said.

The company announced the upcoming framework in June, mentioning the adoption of the biodiversity unit developed by US-based Savimbo.

Last year, Savimbo developed the Indicator Species Biodiversity Methodology (ISBM), a methodology built around the conservation of so-called indicator species that can only live in an area if the ecosystem is healthy.

While Savimbo’s projects have mostly focused on jaguars, the methodology can apply to other indicator species, regardless of the ecosystem or the geographic area, with documents saying some 20-30 species in each bioregion can be selected.

That means developers could choose what to monitor, and how, within a site, Guicharnaud said.

“They could use geographic information system (GIS) technologies, field surveys, camera traps, bioacoustic, and so on. Everything they reckon to be useful to prove uplifts and additionality.”

VALUE AND PRICING

Under the framework, every unit is area-based and corresponds to one hectare of land conserved for one month, with integrity measured on a scale from zero to one.

Units are not directly linked to a price since their cost will be strongly dependent on project location and the effort of the actions involved, Guicharnaud said.

“To set a price, we’re going to use a value system where each unit is assigned a value based on biodiversity density and threat levels in the ecosystem.”

“The more damaged is the area and the more recovery you’re doing, the higher the price.”

The value of units will be divided into four categories – bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.

“We’re trying to prioritise gold and platinum projects during the pilot projects since they are the ones with the higher biodiversity levels.”

According to Guicharnaud, credits under ICR’s framework cannot be used for offsetting.

“We want them to be seen as a financial tool for mobilising investment into biodiversity, not for compensating corporate impacts.”

Savimbo’s units have also been selected by the Colombia-based environmental standard Cercarbono for its Biodiversity Certification Programme Protocol (CBCP), among the first finalised biodiversity crediting frameworks.

Other major standards, such as Verra and Gold Standard, are also at various stages in the process of defining their own framework.

By Giada Ferraglioni in New York – giada@carbon-pulse.com

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