A: “It is extremely rare that design-stage funding is available. Without it, we would not have the technical expertise and legal advice to design a carbon NBS project capable of attracting investment. It has allowed us to analyse and engage with local governments to identify sites for large-scale mangrove restoration. So far, the municipalities that signified their interest are Municipalities of Ajuy, Dumangas, and Leganes in Iloilo Province. Those 3 municipalities have a combined fishpond area of 5,378 hectares. We are likely to exceed our target of 2,700 ha of mangrove area in central Philippines secured for protection and rehabilitation.”

Partners in project Restoring mangroves for disaster protection in the Philippines (Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Coast4C, Climate Impact Partners)

 

A: Thanks to the support of BCAF, we have successfully completed the monitoring process to assess the carbon sink capacity of the mangrove ecosystem. This information will be incorporated into the baseline study, which is due to be delivered in the upcoming reporting period. Additionally, we have made significant progress in developing the Plan Vivo certification document PIN and have submitted the draft for review. This marks an important milestone in the certification process. Furthermore, we have convened several meetings aimed at enhancing governance within the Consorcio and strengthening collaboration with other stakeholders involved in the creation of an expanded mangrove ecosystem area beyond the Santuario area.

Partners in project Strengthening the resilience of Peru’s largest mangrove forest  (Consorcio Manglares del Noroeste del Perú (CMN),  Chilean Centro de Estudios de Sistemas Sociales (CESSO))

 

A: “The Bouche du Roy mangrove carbon project received financial support from the Australian government through the Blue Carbon Accelerator Fund (BCAF) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The project’s objectives were to finalize the feasibility of the carbon project in terms of the quantity of carbon credits to be generated, to finalize and validate the environmental impact assessment, to carry out various stakeholder consultations, to achieve community adhesion and to train stakeholders in the carbon project process. The non-governmental organization Benin Ecotourism Concern (Eco-Benin) is the project leader.

Among the results and impacts obtained since the project’s start in July 2022, there are:

1.  A better understanding of the development process of a mangrove carbon project by the various stakeholders:
   – A first consultation of the project’s stakeholders, which brought together 40 participants, help to present the project with the details of the inclusive approach requiring the involvement of all stakeholders
   – 03 thematic committees were set up and brought together some thirty institutions, local authorities, development agencies, community associations and universities involved in the process. This is done in a self-training and learning process. These are: Land tenure security and economic alternatives committee; Regulation, legislation and conflict prevention committee; Scientific and research committee (Environmental compliance, Prevention and Management of natural and provoked disasters).
2.  The development of a sustainable crab management strategy in which 340 actors participated with the creation of an association of land crab collectors.
3.  The organization of drain operators in mangrove areas into an association of 250 members with the development of an action plan for their involvement in mangrove restoration actions.
4.  The planters’ committees, numbering 8, already master and practice the techniques of mangrove ecosystem restoration and sensitization after 2 training sessions that were given to them
5.  The adhesion of the populations of the project area is total to the project: the holding of 13 community meetings carried out in thirteen (13) villages representing the eligible zones of mangrove to the project with a community mobilization (an average of 60 people per village for the sensitizations on the project).
6.  The feasibility study already available shows an opportunity of 402,841 tons of certifiable CO2 equivalent for a period of 30 years, in a scenario excluding REDD+ activities
7.  The analysis also shows that the project will strongly contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 1, 4, 5, 6, 8, 13, 14, 15 and is based on three main pillars: mangrove conservation, mangrove restoration/reforestation, local education and sustainable socio-economic development.
8.  Interest in the project by the Beninese government who wishes to be a partner in the project. Within the framework of the reforms underway by the Beninese government, ECO-BENIN has been contacted to integrate the mangrove carbon project into the government’s project pipeline.
9. ECO-BENIN is in the process of finalizing a small grant with UNEP to complete the research aspects for the development of the project document (PDD).” 

Partners in project Mangrove project in Benin to improve local living standards (Benin Ecotourism Concern *ECO-BENIN*)

 

A:  ALA HONKO is a mangrove forestation project led by partners UNIMA in the western coast of Madagascar. The project is expected to sequester up to 500 000 tonnes of CO2 over 30 years and to deliver co-benefits to communities and the exceptional biodiversity of the area. Thanks to the BCAF, we have the opportunity to develop many partnerships and to conduct in-depth feasibility studies to leverage our project to the next level, i.e. investment-ready.

• BCAF has been decisive in providing the necessary financial resources to collaborate with iTeraka, a project developer of Nature-based Solutions specialized in Carbon, and co-benefits on biodiversity and livelihoods of communities living around natural wonders. iTeraka guides us in project design, conducting the relevant feasibility studies, applying for VERRA certification, and approaching potential investors.
• BCAF has also been instrumental in securing the technical services of WWF Madagascar that has an extensive experience of mangrove reforestation with communities in Madagascar. WWF is supporting us in the development of our planting technical itineraries to guarantee the success of our plantations and to maximize biodiversity.
• The project has been able to engage with local experts to perform a thorough regulatory analysis of the carbon rights and land tenure in the country and to initiate an environmental social impact assessment (ESIA) of our project. Those studies aim at ensuring that our project is complying with all legal requirements and adopting the necessary measures to reduce or to avoid any negative impact. It helped us to increase our project’s credibility and legitimacy in institutional relations, as we were able to obtain a letter of non-objection from the Malagasy government, which was a critical step in validating the project at the national level.
• Along with the ESIA, the BCAF supports us to formalize our engagement with local communities and stakeholders in regular consultations’ seminars in the villages around the project areas. This consultation process ensures that our project is well designed, understood and socially and economically beneficial.

Partners in project Safeguarding biodiversity and livelihoods in Madagascar  (UNIMA, iTeraka, World Wildlife Fund (WWF))

A: “The intertidal area has complex tenurial and legal arrangements. There has been a lot of interest in blue carbon in the country, the Philippines does not have an example of a validated blue carbon project, and this project will provide a pathway for other projects to enter the market. As a result, there has been high level interest in the project, with findings presented at national level. ZSL is taking a leading role in advising the government on reforms to tenure arrangements to make blue carbon projects of this nature feasible.”

Partners in project Restoring mangroves for disaster protection in the Philippines (Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Coast4C, Climate Impact Partners)

 

A: This funding has allowed us to have a clear vision and to finalize the useful documents to be validated in order to obtain the environmental compliance certificate of the project. This funding also allowed to train and strengthen different actors in the process of developing and implementing a carbon project.

Partners in project Mangrove project in Benin to improve local living standards  (Benin Ecotourism Concern *ECO-BENIN*)

 

A: The BCAF project is aiding in spreading awareness about the significance of sustainable management of the mangrove ecosystem to all relevant public and private stakeholders, including the fisher’s associations and local institutions. This facilitates the promotion of knowledge regarding nature-based solutions, specifically highlighting the value of carbon sequestration as a means of enhancing the livelihoods of the local communities.

Partners in project Strengthening the resilience of Peru’s largest mangrove forest  (Consorcio Manglares del Noroeste del Perú (CMN),  Chilean Centro de Estudios de Sistemas Sociales (CESSO))

 

A: 

• BCAF support has been crucial in providing the necessary financial resources to conduct feasibility studies, which are a critical component of ensuring that our project will be viable and will deliver positive impacts.
• Being involved with the BCAF helps us to be focus on our funded activities and to move forward effectively according the planning of the project
  

Partners in project Safeguarding biodiversity and livelihoods in Madagascar  (UNIMA, iTeraka, World Wildlife Fund (WWF))

A: “In the Philippine context, it is important to examine tenurial instruments granted by the national government, as well as existing legal framework on how the project activities will be implemented. Socio-economic condition and political landscape of the project sites that could have an effect on the motivating factor in their interest in participation in the project should also be taken into account.”

Partners in project Restoring mangroves for disaster protection in the Philippines (ZSL, Coast4C, Climate Impact Partners)

 

A: Applicants to BCAF calls should create technical partnerships with organizations that have experience in conducting carbon projects or have been awarded the grant in the past in order to be well oriented in the project design. We also recommend that they have solid primary data on carbon or nature-based solutions to identify priority needs that would allow them to gradually move forward in obtaining all project documents to be submitted for validation and certification. We will also advise to organize consultations with beneficiaries and stakeholders at the grassroots level during the development and submission of the project to BCAF.

Partners in project Mangrove project in Benin to improve local living standards (Benin Ecotourism Concern *ECO-BENIN*)

 

A: The BCAF project is an excellent funding facility that contributes to achieving short and medium terms goals for those organizations that are building a nature-based solution development model, highlighting its easy management with not much-extensive reporting but with clear results.

Partners in project Strengthening the resilience of Peru’s largest mangrove forest (Consorcio Manglares del Noroeste del Perú (CMN), Chilean Centro de Estudios de Sistemas Sociales (CESSO))

 

A: 

• It is important to have a clear and well-defined project proposal that aligns with BCAF’s goals and objectives.
• BCAF places a strong emphasis on community engagement and involvement, it is therefore important to look at how your project will benefit local communities and stakeholders.
• It is also important to have a plan for long-term sustainability and monitoring of the project’s impact on carbon sequestration, community development and biodiversity.

Partners in project Safeguarding biodiversity and livelihoods in Madagascar (UNIMA, iTeraka, World Wildlife Fund (WWF))

A: “We are grateful for the BCAF funding, which has allowed us to conduct the necessary spatial data analysis to identify possible project sites is completed and will proceed to the carbon modelling. Based on the results of that analysis, targeted municipalities were already shortlisted and engagement with them have started. Our engagement has already generated substantial Local Government Units’ (LGUs) interest to take part in the blue carbon project – this will be the key in obtaining a more detailed tenure data of the prospective projects sites within their respective municipalities.”

Partners in project Restoring mangroves for disaster protection in the Philippines (Zoological Society of London (ZSL), Coast4C, Climate Impact Partners)

 

A: The process for obtaining the environmental certificate of compliance is underway and in the future, additional funds are being mobilized for the elaboration of the project description document (PDD), the validation and certification of the PDD. In this process, several nature-based solution actions are identified and put into a project document. The challenge now lies in obtaining the necessary investments to implement the actions.

Partners in project Mangrove project in Benin to improve local living standards  (Benin Ecotourism Concern *ECO-BENIN*)

 

A: In the upcoming months, and by the conclusion of the project, we anticipate the completion of a draft of a structured business model. This model will provide us with a clear understanding of the revenue stream required for the self-sustainability of the mangrove ecosystem management in order to improve the livelihood of local communities.

Partners in project Strengthening the resilience of Peru’s largest mangrove forest  (Consorcio Manglares del Noroeste del Perú (CMN),  Chilean Centro de Estudios de Sistemas Sociales (CESSO))

 

A: 

• As the feasibility study is moving forward, more and more investors are showing interest in investing in our project through the acquisition of forward or spot credits.
• We are working closely with local partners and communities to ensure that the project credits will reach the highest standards.
• We are excited about the potential impact of this project on both carbon sequestration and community development, and are grateful for the support of BCAF in making this project a reality.
• Working with BCAF gives us an overall feeling of being part of an ecosystem of actors who are all oriented toward regeneration and making a positive impact on the environment. This is incredibly motivating for our team and it is helping us to stay focused and committed to the project’s success.

Partners in project Safeguarding biodiversity and livelihoods in Madagascar (UNIMA, iTeraka, World Wildlife Fund (WWF))