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Description

A land conservation project in partnership with the traditional land owners, the Ngarrindjeri people.

Community & Location

The Coorong National Park is home to Mount Sandy, a unique region with breathtaking landscapes, and where some of Australia's largest rivers meet the ocean making it the perfect breeding ground for unique wildlife. The region is the traditional land of the Ngarrindjeri people, who have looked after the region since ancient times and is now overseeing the revegetation of the native vegetation after much of it being cleared for farmlands.

Project snapshot

Project Mount Sandy was established in order to protect the land of the traditional Ngarrindjeri people who have seen much of the intact native vegetation being taken over by agriculture.

The 200-hectare project site is a unique mix of coastal shrublands and saline swamplands, and because of its diverse and iconic landscape, it is home to rare wildlife such as the Purple- gaped Honeyeater and Elegant Parrots. The land has belonged to the Ngarrindjeri people for thousands of years. As a result, the community has nurtured the land and built a solid intimate connection with it and continues to do so. Two of the Ngarrindjeri Elders, Clyde and Rose Rigney, oversee the entire ongoing management and conservation of the vegetation on their ancient soil.

Why we fund this project

Saving Australia's traditional lands, and the rightful natives who have strived for thousands of years to maintain the balance between nature and humans, is our duty. Preserving the unique flora and fauna of the diverse landscape is imperative. The land, spanning over 200 hectares, is slowly slipping into agriculture and farmlands which directly impacts the natural wildlife found in this region and result in the extinction of the sacred native plantations. To prevent this, we wish to help building a strong community that recognises the relationship between the Ngarrindjeri people and Mount Sandy.

How does this project help?

The Mount Sandy project ensures permanent protection of the regionally and culturally important pocket of biodiversity-rich land by partnering with its traditional owners. Part of the project is the local nursery located in the Raukkan Aboriginal Community, a self-governed Indigenous community 30 kilometres northwest of the project site, which supplies native plants for revegetation. Raukkan community members are also employed for onsite works, including vegetation monitoring, mapping, fencing, and pest and weed control. Activities which assist the local birds, animals, and plants to flourish undisturbed. The project also helps to reconcile the relationship between non-Indigenous Australians and the Ngarrindjeri Community, who represent the land.

This project is also verified by...

Australian Biodiversity Units from the Mount Sandy conservation project are one half of South Pole's EcoAustralia™ climate protection solution; the other half is made up of carbon credits from the Changbin and Taichung Wind project, which are Gold Standard verified - you can learn more about Changbin and Taichung Wind here.

How does EcoAustralia™ work?

EcoAustralia™ is a stapled carbon credit solution that blends carbon credits with biodiversity protection. Each EcoAustralia™credit consists of 1 tCO2e of avoided emissions from a Gold Standard certified project, and one Australian Biodiversity Unit, equal to 1.5 m2 of government-accredited, permanently protected Australian vegetation.

  Photos courtesy of South Pole.

Description

Improving the sustainability of cement manufacturing through the use of biomass instead of fossil fuels, benefiting the environment and local communities

Community & Location

This project involves five cement manufacturing plants across three provinces in Thailand; Saraburi, Lampang and Nakon Si Thammarat. As of 2021, Thailand had 15 cement plants across the country, with the country's largest manufacturer Siam Cement Group owning six of these.

Project snapshot

Thailand relies heavily on the burning of fossil fuels to supply electricity to its population and industries. In addition, cement production is a highly emissions-intensive activity, estimated to account for 5% of total man-made CO2 emissions globally.

This project involves the modification of five cement manufacturing plants, which previously burned a mix of fossil fuels to operate, to largely replace this with renewable biomass, such as rice husks, wood processing residues and other agricultural waste.

Why we fund this project

Cement production is a foundational component of the construction industry worldwide, but unfortunately, it does not perform well on the sustainability front, so significant R&D and investment is required to shift this industry to more sustainable practices to help in the reduction of global emissions.

This project provides a genuine financial alternative to fossil fuels, enabling a shift to more sustainable production methods, all while benefitting the local community.

Siam Cement Group was the first company in Thailand to adopt a new approach to become more sustainable, with the additional revenue from the sale of carbon credits funding the substantial costs associated with modifying existing plants, establishing new supply chains and overcoming various technology risks and barriers.

How does this project help?

• Over 600,000t C02 emissions avoided per year
• Enables a circular 'waste' economy - reusing rice husks for fuel rather than leaving them to decay which produces methane emissions and the fine particles can also lead to respiratory problems.
• Creates supply chains and manufacturing processes for renewable biomass fuels, increasing their availability for local use.
• Local job creation & additional income for farmers

The project has also funded and implemented a range of social and environmental programs to the benefit of communities in the areas around the cement factories, including:

• Building over 6,500 check dams for upstream forest conservation
• Providing school scholarships
• Operating a mobile health clinic, providing valuable access to healthcare for local residents
• Planting over 9,000 hectares of eucalyptus, improving soil quality and biodiversity in nearby forests

This project is also verified by...

This project is verified by Verra VCS - an external audit body that certifies climate projects at scale. Verra develops and manages standards that are globally applicable and advance action across a wide range of sectors and activities.

Description

Protecting and restoring peat swamp ecosystem.

Community & Location

This project covers an area of approximately 150,000 hectares of peat swamp and lies east of the Sebangu National Park in the Katingan and Kotawaringin Timur districts of Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The area is home to the critically endangered Sunda Pangolin and White-Shouldered Ibis as well as many other endangered species including up to 10% of the world's Bornean Orangutan population.

Project snapshot

Protecting this area of forest is critical to avoiding the release of the largest forest-based store of carbon in the world into the atmosphere.

The Katingan Project is the world's largest emission reduction forest project, preventing the release of 7.5 million tonnes of CO2 on average annually - the equivalent of removing 2 million cars off the road each year!

Why we fund this project

Prior to this project being developed, the peat soils within the project area were under threat of conversion to a commercial Acacia plantation which would have led to the clearing, draining and burning of the land. This would have released the carbon stored deep underground (up to 13 metres) in the peat soils, which has built up over 26,000 years!

The project provides a commercially viable alternative to the clearing of the land through carbon financing (i.e. the sale of verified carbon credits), whilst protecting this precious ecosystem.

How does this project help?

This project has positive impacts on the climate, local community and biodiversity of the protected area. Its many benefits include:

• Reduces 7.5 million tonnes CO2e emissions each year.
• Serves as a model of sustainable land use and management in the region, leading to potential wider adoption of its practices.
• Employs 500 individuals including 400 local community members to protect the forest from fire and to plant trees.
• Protects the habitat of 67 mammals; 167 birds; 49 reptiles; and 111 species of fish, including many endangered and critically endangered species.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Provides micro-finance loans (984 and counting!) and vocational training to local entrepreneurs working on sustainable businesses, further helping local communities to transition away from traditional unsustainable practices and products.

This project is also verified by...

This project is verified by Verra VCS - an external audit body that certifies climate projects at scale. Verra develops and manages standards that are globally applicable and advance action across a wide range of sectors and activities.

Description

Providing clean and efficient cooking stoves to marginalised communities.

Community & Location

This project is based in the Central Development Region of Nepal, including Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitput districts, collectively referred to as the Kathmandu Valley. The total population is just under 2.5 million, and there are seven UNESCO world heritage sites within the Valley.

Project snapshot

This project is distributing improved cooking stoves (see image below, right) with modern design features, such as a built-in metal or ceramic combustion chamber to families throughout Nepal. This ensures the stove is safer, more efficient, has a longer lifespan (around 7 years), and emits less harmful smoke.

Why we fund this project

In Nepal's disadvantaged communities, many families are still using traditional cookstoves (see image below, left). These cookstoves produce high levels of harmful smoke - leading to respiratory problems, especially for women, and damaging the environment with greenhouse gases. Their inefficient energy consumption means a higher demand for firewood, putting excess pressure on nearby forests. Women are also spending unnecessary time collecting wood for cooking and money is wasted on excess fuel and healthcare needed for stove related injuries.

How does this project help?

**IMAGE â€" KATINGAN PEATLANDS - 4**

This project has positive impacts on the climate, local community and biodiversity of the protected area. Its many benefits include:

• 56,800t CO2 emissions are prevented from entering the atmosphere on average per year
• 194,000+ people have access to clean, reliable and sustainable cookstoves
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 70% reduction of indoor smoke pollution
• Empowers women and children to pursue activities other than collecting wood for cooking
• Financial savings for families due to reduced fuel consumption & fewer smoke-related health issues
• Reduced firewood consumption conserves forests and biodiversity
• Local business and employment opportunities are created due to the need for personnel to distribute and maintain the new stoves

This project is also verified by...

This project is verified by Verra VCS - an external audit body that certifies climate projects at scale. Verra develops and manages standards that are globally applicable and advance action across a wide range of sectors and activities.

Description

Tapping into the earth's natural resources to supply clean & renewable energy

Community & Location

The geothermal plant funded by this project is located in Darajat, West Java, Indonesia. The population in West Java is approximately 50 million (around twice the population of Australia), spanning across 35,000 km2 - that's more than three times the population density of Sydney, Australia!

Project snapshot

Continued investment in renewable energy is required to keep up with Indonesia's growing national and regional energy demand, whilst also meeting the Indonesian Government's energy diversification and sustainable development goals.

Luckily, Indonesia is geographically well placed to take advantage of the natural resource of geothermal energy to generate clean, renewable energy.

The project supports one of the most efficient geothermal plants in the world - Darajat Unit III. The power generated by the plant avoids greenhouse gas emissions usually associated with electricity generation by utilising Indonesia's geothermal resources. The electricity generated feeds into Indonesia's largest electricity system that spans across three islands; Java, Madura and Bali (named the JAMALI system).

This is how geothermal energy works...

You can see natural occurrences of geothermal energy when heat from the earth's crust naturally warms water that seeps into underground reservoirs. In some places, when the water becomes hot enough, it can break through the earth's surface as steam or hot water. (Check out the image of Mount Papandayan below, which is around 10km from the project site, for what this looks like in action).

This natural occurrence can be replicated with human intervention via geothermal power plants. This particular project utilises the most common type of geothermal power plant called a "Dry Steam" plant. It works by capturing underground steam (via pipes drilled underground) that flows directly to a turbine to drive a generator that produces electricity.

The outcome is renewable energy supplied to the grid that is consistently reliable because it is not dependant on weather conditions, with minimal environmental impact and low emissions!

How does this project help?

Key benefits of this project include:

• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions (an average of 705,394t CO2e each year) and avoids air pollutants produced by fossil fuel plants.
• Contributes to the supply of electricity to meet the critical shortage of energy in the region.
• Supports Indonesia's renewable energy transition by displacing coal and oil.
• Contributes to sustainable development in the West Java region of Indonesia, supporting local communities through improving infrastructure, providing job opportunities and investing in schools to improve education.

This project is also verified by...

This project has been vetted by the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) as part of the long-established and well-regarded Clean Development Mechanism process.

Description

Supporting a living example of an economically viable alternative to deforestation.

Community & Location

Rimba Raya Biodiversity Reserve is located in Central Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo. An area nearly the size of Singapore, it protects one of the most highly endangered ecosystems in the world by forming a vital patrolled buffer zone between the ever-encroaching bulldozers of the palm oil industry and the Tanjung Puting National Park, home to one of the last remaining wild populations of orangutans on earth.

Project snapshot

This project aims to preserve 64,000 hectares of tropical peat swamp forest. National forest coverage has drastically decreased over the years, brought about by the clearing of forest for agricultural use. In the project's absence, the peatland area would be converted to palm oil plantations by logging and systematic draining of the peatland. The ultimate goal of this project is to reduce Indonesia's emissions and protect the integrity of the Tanjung Puting National Park.

Why we fund this project

Indonesian wetlands are globally significant as their carbon density and rates of land-cover change are among the highest of any forest type in the world. Indonesian tropical peat swap accounts for half of tropical peat swamp forest in the world, at around 21 million hectares. Today Indonesia loses over 2.5 million acres of forest cover annually. The draining of peatlands and post-fire clearing has propelled Indonesia to be one of the world's largest greenhouse gas emitters, ranking third despite being a non-industrialised nation.

How does this project help?

This project is one of the most highly regarded and ranked in the world, by various expert bodies, including the UN. In September 2020, Rimba Raya was audited and achieved the highest possible rating of contributing to all 17 UN SDGs.

Key benefits:

• Preserves the livelihoods of 14 communities living along the eastern edge of the reserve whose land might otherwise be appropriated by imposing palm oil companies.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Education and capacity building provided to the local community on reducing hunting activity and forest fires and increasing knowledge sharing around sustainable practices to reduce deforestation.
• Funds the education of 3,750 students in the community over 10 years.
• Helps protect the 105,000 endangered Bornean orangutans whose populations have declined by 95% in the last 100 years.
• An estimated 104,886,254t of CO2 emission reductions expected over 30 years.

This project is also verified by...

This project is verified by Verra VCS - an external audit body that certifies climate projects at scale. Verra develops and manages standards that are globally applicable and advance action across a wide range of sectors and activities.