RESTORING Mangroves in THE Yucatán
A High-Impact REDD+ Project Partnering with Landowners to Revive and Conserve One of Nature’s Superheroes.
RENEWWEST PARTNERS WITH LANDOWNERS TO BRING CARBON FINANCE TO ONE OF NATURE’S SUPERHEROES.
The Yucatan Peninsula contains 60% of the mangroves in all of Mexico, the country with the 4th largest amount of mangroves in the world.
As a source of freshwater, stormwater manager, and climate change mitigation agent, the Yucatan mangrove ecosystem has been highly damaged.
RenewWest is working closely with several partners in the Yucatan Peninsula to pioneer the conservation and restoration of a mangrove parcel, with the goals of setting a precedent for private funding into conservation and subsequently expanding this work to cover a large, critical area in the region.
fast facts
Mangrove forest + coastal wetland (Cienega)
658 hectares (Phase 1)
Manages 100,000 tonnes of CO2
Protects threatened biodiversity
Home to ocelot (see left), anteater, endangered spicy iguana, crocodile and many other species
Reduces methane release, a potent greenhouse gas
Home to 22 bird families with 4 protected or endangered species
Project Summary
The Cisne Azul project is in Sisal in the municipality of Hunucmá in Yucatán, Mexico, at the geographic coordinates 21.1657 and 21.1379 north latitude and -90.0008 and 89.9527 east longitude.
The conservation of this land is designed to maintain the hydrological and ecological connectivity of the mangrove swamp. The project goal is to conserve the natural tropical wetlands conditions, including long-term carbon sequestration from the mangrove forests in the Sisal transition zone. The Sisal region has a high conservation value but has been degraded by the construction of a coastal highway disturbing hydrological fluxes and connectivity (POETCY, 2007; Herrera-Silveira et al., 2020) and threatened by the development of housing settlements.
According to Appendini and collaborators (2019), the Yucatan Peninsula will be more susceptible to more frequent intense hurricanes and more regular events that will experience rapid intensification due to climate change. This means it is even more critical to restore ecosystems like this that handle stormwater flows and provide coastal protection.
Likewise, the effects of hurricanes increase in localities where the change in land use advances drastically, and recovery is naturally affected in sites with high anthropic pressure, particularly in the environmental scenario of mangrove swamps such as Sisal (Herrera et al., 2013).
Project type
AFOLU PROJECT CATEGORY: Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD)+ Wetlands Restoration and Conservation (WRC)
ACTIVITY TYPE: Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation and Degradation (AUDD) and Restoring Wetland Ecosystems (RWE)ARR under Compliance ARB Forest Protocol
Restoration Strategy
The restoration strategy is three-fold:
Improve hydrology to help repair degraded mangroves.
Plant additional mangroves in areas that have died.
Work closely with local communities to employ people both as rangers and ecotourism guides.
The third part of the strategy above has been implemented in the Yucatan Peninsula region, restoring about 2,000 ha of mangroves, and is based on the strategy published in Teutli-Hernández et al, 2020; 2021. It is based on the standards and principles for ecological restoration of the document of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER, 2004). Its pillar is the institutional arrangements and agreements that strengthen the governance of the working group and give certainty of the actions and responsibilities of each participant during the restoration trajectory, ensuring its economic sustainability and permanence of the restored ecosystem in the long term. It considers a multidisciplinary approach that integrates social, ecological and economic components; so that each project is based on ecological foundations but is economically viable and socially acceptable.
Theory of Change
The Sisal area has a high conservation value but is degraded by the construction of a coastal highway disturbing hydrological fluxes and connectivity (POETCY, 2007; Herrera-Silveira et al., 2020) and threatened by the development of housing settlements.
The project addresses this by strengthening conservation strategy and deploying restoration activities to improve the hydrology throughout the project area along with spot planting of mangroves to accelerate the reforestation of previously degraded areas. Management of the area will include adding rangers and staff along with frequency of patrolling, having clear boundary demarcation, upgraded infrastructure and improved communications with local communities.
The project works with the local Sisal community to encourage sustainable development and conservation by providing jobs through conservation and ecotourism through the conserved mangroves, enabling them to become environmental stewards of the natural resources that underpin their livelihoods.
ecosystem value creation
Over the project’s life, the project ensures around 100,000 tonnes of carbon remain locked within Cisne Azul’s mangrove forests and sedimentation.
In addition to these emissions reductions the project contributes to climate change adaptation with:
A robust and effective monitoring plan which enables measures of climate change indicators like forest cover, biodiversity and community development;
Educating local communities about local and global impacts of climate change and the importance of protecting the forest through community engagement and employment; and
Creating a healthier ecosystem which is more resilient to climate change.
Climate Change Mitigation
The primary objective of Cisne Azul is protecting the high volume of carbon stocks.
It will enable additional carbon removal as well through improved health of mangrove forests using restoration and improved hydrology of previously degraded areas.
project impact areas
One of the few privately funded mangrove conservation and restoration projects in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.
Pioneers the first phase of implementation of conservation & restoration that will scale to tens of thousands of hectares in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Staff training by the National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR), a Decentralized Public Organization whose objective is to develop, promote and encourage productive, conservation and restoration activities in forestry matters, as well as to participate in the formulation of plans, programs and the application of sustainable forestry development policy and will be consulted for creating capacities to fire control.
Ecotourism promoting sustainable economic growth.
The coastal zone of Sisal is a nesting site for hawksbill turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) and white turtles (Dermatemys mawii), feeding and breeding habitat for the pink flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber) and many resident and migratory birds of hunting interest: swallow-tailed duck (Anas acuta), poolmuxi duck (Anas americana) and coot (Fullica americana).
There are 22 registered bird families, four of which are under the category of protection NOM 059- SEMARNAT- 2002; Cardinalidae (cardinal) and Trochilidae (cinnamon hummingbird) (protected species); Phoenicopterida (flamingo) (endangered species); and Troglodytidae “matraca yucateca” (endangered species)
There are also three families of amphibians and reptiles, and five families of mammals, of which only some species are under a category of NOM-059; endangered species, anteater (Tamandua mexicana) and ocelot (Leopardus wiedii); threatened, spiny iguana (Ctenosaura similis) and swamp crocodile (Crocodylus moreletii)
There are 60 families, 167 genders and a total of 199 species, 9 of these families represent more than 50% of the species. These families include Fabaceae with 19 species; Cyperaceae and Euphorbiaceae with 13 species; Asteraceae, Malvaceae and Poaceae with 12; and Amaranthaceae, Apocynaceae with 9 species; and Convolvulacea with 8
sustainable development goals alignment
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequalities
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
Freshwater being pumped up from a cenote in Sisal. Cenotes were used for water supply by ancient Maya. Today, they deliver freshwater for flora and fauna and balance salinity for mangrove forests.
assurance + ADDITIONALITY
INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION
Will be independently verified with:
Verra Carbon Standard (VCS)
VM0007, Version 1.6 "REDD+ Methodology Framework (REDD+MF)”
BUFFER POOL
20% of the credits verified will be allocated to the VCS AFOLU buffer pool.
WHAT IS A BUFFER POOL?
Buffer pools are designed to safeguard previously issued carbon credits. They act as an insurance pool of unused credits, such that in the case of a reversal or other error, there are still climate mitigation credits to compensate for the loss. For example, if a carbon offset project claims to remove 50,000 tons of carbon per year, the project might donate 10,000 of those tons to the pool, making them unavailable for trading on voluntary carbon markets. This insurance payment creates a large shared pool of ‘spare’ carbon credits across the world, which protect participating projects against future worst-case scenarios. If a forestry project in Tanzania burns down, credits can be drawn from the pool — which might consist of credits from all over the world — to make up for the loss. Learn more about Buffer Pools from Sylvera.
MONITORING & VERIFICATION
All partners have committed to ongoing audits and reviews to ensure the project continues to meet the highest contemporary independent standards available, with ongoing data gathering, monitoring and analysis across the project to meet both the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) standards.
ADDITIONALITY TEST
The project is utilizing module VMD052 - Demonstration of additionality of tidal wetland restoration and conservation project activities (ADD-AM). It was used to gather evidence of the additionality from the project activities. This module provides an activity method to determine the additionality of intact conservation activities in wetlands (CIW, Conservation of Intact Wetlands) that comply with applicability conditions. As demonstrated in this tool, the project activities that conserve and restore mangroves which are eligible and additional activities.
Following the requirements of VM0007 methodology, its associated modules and tools, and the project location in Mexico, this project uses the applicable portions of the "CDM Combined tool to identify the baseline scenario and demonstrate additionality for A/R CDM project activities (T-ADD)” to demonstrate the additionality of the Restoration of Wetland Ecosystems (RWE) activities.
Without this project, restoration and conservation work would not be implemented due to lack of willingness or funding from stakeholders outside of the private participants.
No environmental and community livelihood benefits would be generated.
WHAT IS ADDITIONALITY?
A key principle of carbon finance. Did the project improve something, or would the land have looked the same without it? Checking for additionality demonstrates whether the project is justified, if it avoided deforestation or somehow preserved carbon storage. Additionality is usually measured through scientifically-designed modules as a part of the independent verification process by organizations like Verra, Climate Action Reserve, and Gold Standard.
baseline comparison
The Baseline survey, realized by Programa Mexicano del Carbono (PMC), provided punctual baseline data in 2005 and 2018 and was permitted to obtain data on the conditions prior to the project initiation and identify the baseline scenario.
With an area of 658.09ha in 2022, the baseline carbon stocks calculated during the feasibility was estimated to 451,114 tCO2e.
These data, along with the degradation rate (2.97%) reported by Programa Mexicano del Carbono established that the most plausible baseline scenario for the project areas in the absence of the proposed Cisne Azul Project is therefore to remain degraded tidal wetlands, mudflats, or shallow open water.
WHAT IS A BASELINE?
Baseline is the “business as usual” case for reforestation projects. As only newly established trees are being assessed as the primary effect of a project, with future sequestration being impacted by the presence of older, pre-existing trees or naturally regenerating trees that would have been present regardless of whether the project activity was undertaken, such trees competing for resources and canopy area with those trees established by the project are included in the baseline. Baseline carbon stocks are evaluated based on an estimate of canopy cover of preexisting trees and/or an estimate of natural regeneration occurring irrespective of the project activity.
durability
30 years (and renewable for an additional 30)
The project has developed a series of legal agreements to ensure the permanence of the project. These are in place to ensure the project proponents have the correct legal framework to back up the project activities and ensure the long-term viability of the project.
The approach incorporates community involvement, which is based on the standards and principles for ecological restoration of the document of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER, 2004). Its pillar is the institutional arrangements and agreements that strengthen the governance of the working group and give certainty of the actions and responsibilities of each participant during the restoration trajectory, ensuring its economic sustainability and permanence of the restored ecosystem in the long term.
It considers a multidisciplinary approach that integrates social, ecological and economic components; so that each project is based on ecological foundations but is economically viable and socially acceptable.
WHAT IS DURABILITY?
Durability is another key issue in carbon finance. It describes the planned duration of storage and the degree of confidence that a particular project will actually keep carbon out of the atmosphere for a given period of time. In addition to strategic approaches to project design and implementation, there is a mechanism at work behind the scenes of carbon programs, and it’s designed to ensure permanence. It works by ‘allocating’ a certain number of credits to a central ‘buffer pool’ of carbon credits. See ‘Buffer Pool’ above to learn more.
LEAKAGE
The project design is using VMD0044 - Estimation of emissions from ecological leakage and finds that leakage caused by hydrological connectivity is avoided by project design and site selection.
While considered, leakage is less applicable in an underutilized mangrove ecosystem.
WHAT IS LEAKAGE?
How has this project impacted deforestation elsewhere? Big projects could affect the surrounding areas increasing their deforestation rate and, potentially, affect the timber market by cutting down supply and increasing price. Geographically, leakage is very hard to conceptualize, especially for smaller projects. Most importantly, when surrounding areas are destroyed, leakage can turn the strategic protection of a land that would have likely been deforested into the cause of said deforestation, and is at odds with the principle of additionality.