Wetlands can provide a natural buffer between nature’s fury and people’s homes. They also provide a significant potential for sequestering carbon. Shockingly, about 80,000 acres of wetlands disappear each year according to a recent US Government study. The newly released VM0024 Methodology for Coastal Wetland Creation can help reverse this trend by promoting wetland restoration projects.
This methodology, developed by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, accounts for the emission reductions which result from protecting wetland ecosystems. It accounts for the carbon benefits of two wetlands restoration activities- substrate establishment and vegetation establishment- while also addressing the potential to account for the establishment of woody vegetation. Eligible wetlands must be located on the coastal United States and have degraded to open water.
The development of this methodology represents the first application of the VCS Wetlands Restoration and Conservation requirements, which were developed by a working group of leading experts to address wetland destruction. Additionally, this is the first approved VCS methodology to use an activity method to demonstrate additionality. Activity methods streamline the process of proving additionality, meaning projects no longer need to perform complex analysis to demonstrate that they go beyond business as usual.
VCS staff will be joined by representatives from CH2M Hill and the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, as well as members from both ESI and SCS, the VVBs who assessed the methodology, for a webinar on 12 March 2014 at 12:00pm eastern standard time to introduce stakeholders to the methodology.
Register for the webinar
Wednesday, 12 March 2014
12 pm (U.S. East Coast time)
As always, please address any comments or questions you might have to secretariat@v-c-s.org