Training on carbon projects in Kenya
BlueSeeds’ mission to financially empower conservation project actors has led it to take an interest in the financing potential of Blue Carbon Ecosystems in recent years.
Our team still needs to learn more about the technical deployment of carbon projects, and we have extremely good support in this area, thanks to game-changer who is democratising carbon projects: Fair Carbon.
Developing the WAM carbon project: our need to learn more
Since 2022, our team has been working with the IUCN West and Central Africa on West African Mangrove (WAM), a blue carbon project aimed at providing West African communities (locals, NGOs et marine protected area managers) with the tools they need to independently sell carbon credits to finance the conservation of mangroves in the region.
So far, our team has done a field visit in Guinea Bissau to identify sites to develop the project and engage with our local partner ODZH. Through the fieldwork we understood the political, social and environmental needs of these sites.
During the idea incubation, our team encountered the complexity of developing a blue carbon project, highlighting the lack of clear and comprehensive technical and legal information for project developers and communities, and the funding gap created by prior investments necessary to start credit issuance.
Our collaboration with Fair Carbon guiding carbon project developers
Fair Carbon supports blue carbon projects that champion biodiversity, build resilience and engage communities on the frontlines of climate change.
What are Fair Carbon's activities?
Fair Carbon offers guidance to blue carbon project developers to devise their project, and to governments in creating enabling conditions for blue carbon markets. They also connect carbon buyers and investors to high-quality blue carbon projects and help them understand what it takes to develop them.
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
Timothée Cook / BlueSeeds
Le programme pilote de Fair Carbon nous aide à renforcer nos compétences en matière de développement de projets carbone
BlueSeeds est fière d’être membre du Fair Carbon Pilot Program, qui donne accès à :
- La Blue Carbon Academy, qui permet d’avoir accès à :
- Des modules en ligne pour démystifier le marché du carbone, et renforcer ses connaissances sur le développement de projets carbone, les techniques de restauration, l’écologie des mangroves et la gouvernance des projets
- Des boîtes à outils en finance et en gestion pour le développement de projets carbone
- Un soutien fourni par l’équipe Fair Carbon
- Des ateliers thématiques sur-mesure
- Des sessions d’échanges entre membres de l’Academy
Si vous êtes intéressé(e)s par la Blue Carbon Academy, visitez le site web de Fair Carbon.
Une première réunion annuelle de cohorte avec la Blue Carbon Academy au Kenya
Fair Carbon a décidé de réunir tous les membres de la Blue Carbon Academy près de Mombasa, au Kenya, du 23 au 27 juin 2024, avec 3 objectifs :
- Se rencontrer en personne pour favoriser l’apprentissage entre pairs
- Découvrir sur le terrain ce à quoi ressemble un projet de carbone bleu réussi, et apprendre des acteurs qui le gèrent
- Participer à des ateliers d’apprentissage pratiques dirigés par des experts mondiaux du carbone bleu et des mangroves
Notre directrice des opérations Marie-Aude et notre responsable scientifique Timothée Cook, gestionnaire du projet WAM, ont fait le déplacement.
BlueSeeds et les membres de la cohorte ont eu l’opportunité de partager leurs retours d’expérience sur les modules de la Blue Carbon Academy, et sur la façon dont nous les avons utilisés dans les projets que nous développons.
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
Apprendre grâce à des ateliers sur le développement de projets carbone
Au Kenya, Fair Carbon a proposé aux membres de la Blue Carbon Academy des ateliers pour les aider à renforcer leurs projets carbone respectifs sur :
- Comprendre les écosystèmes de mangrove, leur écologie et leur état de santé
- Concevoir des activités de restauration ou de conservation
- Réaliser une comptabilité carbone pour le projet, et rechercher des données à valeur ajoutée
- Trouver des données mobilisables et procéder à une évaluation du scénario de référence du projet
- Etudier les meilleures options de financement et construire la planification financière du projet
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
Timothée Cook / BlueSeeds
BlueSeeds was able to increase its expertise in:
- Restoration, thanks in particular to the presence of specialist Boone Kauffman from the University of Oregon, who taught us a great deal about mangrove ecology.
- Carbon accounting within the mangrove ecosystem, thanks to the presence of Ryan Moyer from TerraCarbon
- Carbon finance, its ins and outs and possible shifts towards more ‘traditional’ finance in the future, thanks to Diana Denke, co-founder of Fair Carbon
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
Timothée Cook / BlueSeeds
Marie-Aude Sévin / BlueSeeds
Apprendre grâce à des visites terrain : le projet carbone Mikoko Pamoja
In addition to these workshops, Fair Carbon provided with technical learning and showed us how a carbon project is organised in the field. We visited the Mikoko Pamoja project site in Gazi Bay and met the project team, but also the team of the Vanga Blue Forest project.
The Mikoko Pamoja project aims to strengthen mangrove restoration and protection through the involvement and participation of local communities. This is achieved through conservation activities, awareness-raising and the sale of carbon credits.
Marie-Aude Sévin / BlueSeeds
Timothée Cook / BlueSeeds
Timothée Cook / BlueSeeds
The project generates US$ 24,000 per year from the sale of carbon credits is used to support local development projects in water and sanitation, education, health and environment conservation.
We visited restoration sites that had suffered significant erosion in the past.
Our team learnt more on the project’s activities and carbon measurement techniques. We also observed all the benefits created by the implementation of this blue carbon project for the local community.
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
Diana Denke / Fair Carbon
What BlueSeeds learned
BlueSeeds took away crucial information from these workshops and the field visit for the development of its WAM project in collaboration with the IUCN:
Assisted natural regeneration
Site hydrology is a determining factor in a project’s ability to restore mangroves. Assisted natural regeneration is to be preferred, so replanting has an 80% failure rate.
Measure of carbon stored underground
The specialists present at the workshops have convinced us to measure the carbon present in the soil: an ambitious project.
Looking for financing sources
Fair Carbone will support us in the complex area of markets and finance, to find the right investors and establish fair and ethical rules.
Next steps for our WAM carbon project
Through our partnership with Fair Carbon, our team has acquired all the necessary knowledge to finish the idea incubation phase and develop the WAM project feasibility, considering political, social, economic and ecosystemic aspects.
The next steps are towards the implementation phase, where hydrological restoration, carbon baseline procedures and formation of local stakeholders will take place for a subsequent credit issuance.
Afterwards our team will be looking forward scaling up the project, benefiting more communities within Guinea Bissau and the West African region.
