Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands

Methodologies: 

Which project types are eligible under the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements? 

Eligible Activities include:

• Removal of CO2 from the atmosphere, OR,
• Reduction or avoidance of CH4 emissions. 

Activities that result in reduction or avoidance of CO2 emissions are not eligible. 

A detailed overview of eligible project types and activities can be found in section 3.1 of the Activity Requirements.

Which methodologies are available to be implemented under the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements? 

The Methodology for Sustainable Management of Mangroves is applicable under the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements, with several more Blue Carbon methodologies currently in development.

How are Freshwater Wetlands defined by Gold Standard? 

A freshwater wetland is defined as a wetland inundated or saturated by freshwater for all or part of the year; Water that contains < 0.5 parts per thousand (ppt) of various dissolved salts. 

This is in line with IPCC 2014, 2013 Supplement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.

What is the process for existing Mangrove projects applying the Land Use & Forests Activity Requirements?

Design Certified Projects

Projects registered under Gold Standard for the Global Goals (Design Certified) prior to the release date of the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetland Activity Requirements can continue to apply the LUF Activity Requirements until Design Certification Renewal. During renewal, project developers shall apply the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetland Activity Requirements.

Listed Projects

Listed projects are not required to apply the new activity requirements before Design Review; however, project developers may choose to apply them voluntarily.

Are Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements applied in conjunction with the LUF Activity Requirements, or separately? 

The Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements are designed as standalone Activity Requirements. 

The Blue Carbon & Freshwater Activity Requirements, or an applied methodology, may refer to specific sections of the LUF Activity Requirements such as ‘Annex A - Uncertainty of LUF Parameters’. Any such references are clearly indicated and linked within the relevant requirements. 

What is the length of crediting period for Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetland projects? 

Mangrove reforestation: The crediting period shall be a minimum of 30 years and a maximum of 50 years unless otherwise stated in applicable impact quantification methodology. The project developer shall select the crediting period based on the characteristics of the project. 

For all other Blue Carbon and Freshwater Wetland project activities, the crediting period shall be defined at the impact quantification methodology level. 

The crediting period starts either with the project start date or three years prior to the date of Project Design Certification, whichever occurs later.

Are projects applying Gold Standard’s Rice Methodology considered Freshwater Wetland projects? 

Wetlands used for agriculture e.g. rice paddies are not considered under the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements. 

For rice projects, please refer to the Land Use & Forests Activity Requirements and visit the Gold Standard Rice Sustainability Hub for further information. 

What risks and safeguards are specific for blue carbon projects, and how can I demonstrate these are mitigated? 

The Project Developer shall conduct a safeguarding assessment following the Safeguarding Principles & Requirements and Risks & Capacities Guidelines for the Project Area, considering likely issues in the context of the Project Region. In addition, projects should consider the specific risks highlighted in Principle 2 of the Activity Requirements. 

If the activity in consideration is not in the eligible list of the Activity Requirements, what should I do?

How are Land Rights established in a project which will be in the ocean? 

Secured titles should be demonstrated in line with section 3.2.6 of the Activity Requirements.  

Project developers shall hold an uncontested legal land title for the project area, including any case where CO2 is sequestered outside of the host country’s EEZ*.

If we have a new monitoring model / technique not provided in the methodology, are we allowed to apply them?

Unfortunately not. Project Developers should follow the quantification model or technique defined in the impact quantification methodology being applied. 

When developing new methodologies, project developers are encouraged to explore innovative monitoring approached to reduce uncertainties in measurement. Please refer to section 6.1.4 of the Activity Requirements.

Blue carbon projects have co-benefits and adaptation potential, can these also be certified? 

Contribution to both climate security & sustainable development is a fundamental part of Gold Standard for the Global Goals (GS4GG).  

Co-benefits can be assessed using our Digital SDG Impact Tool. All projects should demonstrate contribution to at least 3 SDGs, including SDG13 Climate Action. 

Principle 1 of the activity requirements includes guidance on increasing the adaptive capacity of the project area. 

What are suitable technologies/procedures to determine soil-organic-content in blue carbon methodologies? 

As per section 6.1.1 of the activity requirements: 

Blue carbon and freshwater wetlands methodologies that include a soil organic carbon (SOC) pool within the project boundary may apply any of the following approaches to quantify SOC: 

• Take on-site measurements to directly document baseline and project SOC stock levels. 
• Use peer-reviewed publications to quantify baseline and project SOC stock levels. 
• Apply default factors to quantify SOC changes relating to the general methodology described in the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (IPCC 2019) using Tier 2 approach whenever possible. 

The project developer may refer to the examples in the Soil Organic Carbon Framework Methodology.  

Further detail is provided in section 6.1.2 and 6.1.3 of the Activity Requirements.