Research: High-quality rated blue carbon projects are low in the VCM

Wovoka developed a free public tool to comprehensively explore the voluntary carbon market (VCM).?

One of our findings is that wetland restoration and grassland conversion have among the highest quality scores, but these categories have among the lowest number of projects. Renewable energy projects rate among the lowest quality but have high, mostly historic volume.

Many of the historic renewable energy-focused carbon projects stand out with lower average ratings. This is likely driven by concerns about additionality, i.e. concerns that the carbon revenues weren't meaningfully determinative of whether the project was going to proceed or not.

The number of projects of this type has also decreased since 2020, following the decision of Gold Standard and Verra to exclude middle-income countries' grid-connected renewable energy projects from crediting.?

Meanwhile, Wetland Restoration stands out with potential. This category includes carbon projects related to mangroves, seagrass, and peatlands. It is clear to see why there is burgeoning interest in these types of projects.

Blue carbon ecosystems such as mangroves hold four times (4x) the carbon sequestration potential as any terrestrial ecosystem. In addition, mangroves and seagrass serve important ecosystem functions for marine animals and the livelihood of coastal communities.

Several notable and potential projects in this space include the following:

• The Blue Carbon Project Gulf of Morrosquillo in Cordoba, Colombia – This project was Verra's first blue carbon conservation project protecting and strengthening a 7,500-hectare site that Apple proudly sponsored.
• The Indus Delta Blue Carbon Project – This project just recently started receiving credits in partnership with the Government of Sindh to reforest 350,000 hectares of coastal lands in Pakistan
• The Negros Occidental Reforestation Project – The recently signed, non-binding MOU between Japanese firm Marubeni and the Philippines Department of Environment & Natural Resources can benefit 40,000 hectares of land in the province for reforestation.

About Wovoka

We are currently building an early-stage pipeline of high-quality, nature-based blue carbon & forest carbon projects in Southeast Asia for which we are seeking international science & development partners.

Since May 2022, our team has visited nine potential sites for restoration in Camarines Norte and Siargao in the Philippines. We have done the groundwork and community background research and started preliminary carbon modeling for our sites.

If you are a corporate buyer, get in touch with Lee Pearson ([email protected]) or our Senior Carbon Associate Tin Dalida to know how to be involved!