Unless local communities have an equitable share of the financial benefits from selling carbon and biodiversity credits, then the sites being restored or protected won’t survive in the long-term.
Unless local communities have an equitable share of the financial benefits from selling carbon and biodiversity credits, then the sites being restored or protected won’t survive in the long-term.
All rePLANET projects have a commitment that at least 60% of the issuance price of both the carbon and biodiversity credits is paid to local stakeholders (owners, users or managers of the site being restored or protected).
Moreover, all contracts have a clause that requires the buyer to return 60% of any profits over the issuance price from carbon credit sales on the secondary markets or increases in world prices (judged against the Forest Trends Land-use change biannual market data) at the point of verification if the credits are being retired. This indexation can double or even quintuple the income received by the local communities over the 25-year period, depending on the speed of carbon price increases. If the carbon prices collapse, then the local stakeholders still get the agreed baseline payments.
These funds are used to compensate opportunity costs for community members and to develop programmes specifically aimed at increasing family incomes from new business opportunities or selling existing produce at higher prices. Investing in these protection or restoration projects is the also a significant investment in the development of incomes for some of the most impoverished communities in the countries in which the projects are based. Using Plan Vivo as the certification body has the advantage that a key part of the verification process before issuance of credits, is ensuring the communities are receiving the funds and that the benefits are being widely spread.