Progress report for
Empowering communities to monitor and manage their marine resources, and diversify local livelihoods
Achievement at a glance
We are thrilled to share that during September, in a small village in southwest Madagascar, a celebration was held to mark the formal inauguration of the worlds largest mangrove carbon conservation project. The project, called Tahiry Honko, which means preserving mangroves in the local Vezo dialect is situated in the Bay of Assassins, is protected and managed by communities from surrounding villages within the Velondriake Locally Managed Marine Area (LMMA).By protecting forests within the bay from deforestation, local communities are able to safeguard the vast amount of carbon stored in the mangrove vegetation and sediments - blue carbon - that is released as CO2 when the forests are destroyed. These avoided emissions now have a value that has been realised by formal validation of the communities efforts by the Plan Vivo Standard, enabling the project to sell verified blue carbon credits.
Challenges faced in implementation
Establishing a verified carbon project is still not a replicable process. The costs of certification still outweigh the benefits that can reach communities, and there is a need to develop replicable approaches and methodologies that will create more affordable ways to connect coastal communities with buyers.Beneficiaries
Coastal communities in Madagascar