World's largest blue carbon project obtains CCB Gold status
Quantum Commodity Intelligence - The world's biggest mangrove restoration project in Pakistan has just reached the CCB Gold status, according to the company advising on its development, enabling it to sell its credits at a higher price.
Blue carbon credits are in high demand in the voluntary market, with supply struggling to keep up with high demand from corporates.
DBC-1, located in Pakistan's Sindh province, covers over 350,000 hectares of tidal wetlands, an area bigger than Luxembourg.
The developer has already planted more than 80 million trees in the delta, with plans for one billion eventually.
In March, commodity trading house Trafigura and carbon financier Respira International bought the first tranche of verified carbon credits from DBC-1.
Sources say the project has run out of credits to sell, while expert Steve Crooks from Silvestrum Climate Associates, who works on its development, says the next round of issuance will only occur next year.
The project has just been verified under the Verra Climate Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Gold standards for the period 2015-2021, said Silvestrum.
It meets several sustainable development goals, including the employment of around 10,000 local people to help with planting, support for fishing communities, improved access to education and safe drinking water, and the continuous improvement of nearby biodiversity (dolphins and birds).
DBC-1 had reforested an area equivalent to 73,125 hectares by the end of 2021, or around one third of the end goal, enabling it to store around 3.5 million mt of carbon, according to AENOR, the auditors who looked at the project.
"AENOR's verification team is able to confirm that the project is well managed, and results are well supported. Monitoring plans are effective, and the project proponent has developed enough procedures and tools to manage data," it said in a recent update.
Parts of Pakistan witnessed catastrophic floods in August explained by glacier melt and sustained rainfall, but Crooks says the project was not impacted.
"Floods did not impact negatively. Areas were safe. It was noted that during the last flood 10 years ago that the freshwater and sediment influx was good for mangrove growth," Crooks told Quantum.
Blue carbon credits typically sell for between $20-40, well above other forest projects, with the highest prices typically a result of higher development costs and the difficulty of measuring soil carbon content in multiple locations.
