A Brazilian Indigenous association has released a methodology to issue biodiversity units in partnership with a carbon project developer and a US-based non-profit, planning to soon launch the first pilot across almost 190,000 hectares of forest in the Amazon, the parties announced on Wednesday.

The Biodiversity Stewardship Units (BDSUs) methodology was developed by the Associacao Sociocultural Yawanawa (ASCY), which represents 15 native communities in the Acre state, together with REDD developer Wildlife Works and Forest Trends.

BDSUs seek to drive direct funds to Indigenous Peoples and forest communities who maintain preset minimum biodiversity intactness thresholds, though the developers prefer not to use the term “credits”.

The document is currently undergoing peer review before the formal launch of the first pilot project by the Yawanawa people in 188,000 ha of forest in Rio Gregorio, Brazil – an area larger than the city of Rio de Janeiro.

After the pilot launch, it could be applied to different ecosystems and locations of biodiversity importance in the Amazon and beyond, the developers noted.

“We firmly believe that BDSUs offer the most effective financing mechanism to bring the recognition, respect, and sustainable finance Indigenous Peoples need to continue conserving their forests under growing threats,” chief Tashka Yawanawa of ASCY said in a statement.

CONSERVING INTACTNESS

To issue BDSUs, a project must achieve at least 60% intactness at each monitoring period, verified by an independent third party.

The so-called biodiversity intactness is calculated based on a comparative analysis of current species composition against the baseline list of expected species in a target forest.

“The species list will be provided by the accrediting standard and includes species from five taxonomic groups (always including plants) that are forest-dependent, endemic, globally threatened, or optionally of socio-cultural importance, and excludes domesticated or extensively cultivated species,” Wildlife Works said on its website.

The biodiversity intactness and the size of the project area will determine the number of BDSUs a project can issue. Prices are so far undisclosed.

PRINCIPLES

Under the methodology, all projects must follow core principles to uphold ownership and ensure fair access to benefits, including:

• Respecting the eligibility criteria
• Obtaining the full free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) to ensure broad and meaningful engagement, participation, and acceptance by community members
• Equally distributing benefits across all community members and groups, with most of the revenues from the sale of BDSUs going towards the land stewards permanently living within or near the target area
• Ensuring units are not used for offsetting purposes

“Indigenous Peoples and forest communities who continue to maintain intact forests and their ecosystem services deserve a different market mechanism, guided by their values and cultural practices,” Wildlife Works said.

“BDSUs acknowledge the value of intact ecosystems and create a benchmark of ecological integrity needed to guide and inspire restoration efforts.”

Notably, the units are not linked to any additionality principle, as developers say the ultimate goal of the methodology is valuing intact biodiversity and associated ecosystem services that exist within Indigenous and community-owned lands “because they have defended their territorial rights”.

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.

As the voluntary biodiversity market drew attention over the last two years, initiatives to preserve Indigenous rights – who protect more than half of the Earth’s biodiversity – are increasingly emerging.

However, some critics urged Indigenous Peoples not to engage in the market, as it is set to promote offsetting and harm native and local communities.

Efforts to better engage Indigenous Peoples are also being made in the carbon market space, following numerous allegations of human rights violations over the past few years.

This is the case for credits generated within the so-called high forest, low deforestation (HFLD) regions, a market mechanism that aims to support the conservation of the world’s forests beyond and above reducing emissions from deforestation.

By Giada Ferraglioni – giada@carbon-pulse.com

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