Laced with creeks and tidal river channels, its coastline dense with mangroves, the Indus River Delta fans out into the Arabian Sea. The delta, located primarily in the Sindh province of southeastern Pakistan, is characterized by its astounding biodiversity, including the world’s largest forest of arid-climate mangroves. 

This abundance has led to the site’s designation as a Key Biodiversity Area, which signifies its global importance to conservation. Eleven vulnerable or threatened species live here, including the Egyptian vulture, the Indus River dolphin, the Indian Ocean humpback, and the fishing cat.  

The region is also home to a plethora of other marine and land animals. Dozens of fish and shellfish species flourish in the ecosystem, providing coastal inhabitants with employment in the area’s many fisheries. Above the surface of the water, the mangroves host a wealth of fauna: eight kinds of reptiles, ten species of mammals, 75 types of birds, and various amphibians, gastropods, crustaceans, and insects. 

Surriekha Khan developed a profound appreciation for Pakistan’s environment while growing up in Lahore. “Pakistan’s natural beauty is unmatched anywhere in the world,” she says.

But this natural beauty is at risk.  

In the Indus River Delta, water extraction and dam construction have led to large-scale erosion and degradation, which threaten not only the land but also the lives and livelihoods of its people and the surrounding wildlife. Seawater intrusion into productive agricultural land has diminished the community’s access to resources, and biodiversity is declining due to a loss of habitat. And the mangroves, long recognized for their abundance, have been subject to deforestation, driven primarily by state-authorized commercial harvesting and unregulated, open-range livestock grazing. 

Fortunately, community-led efforts are ramping up to conserve and restore the area’s biodiversity on an unprecedented scale. 

The Largest Blue Carbon Project in the World 

Spread across 350,000 hectares among the swamps and streams of the Indus River Delta, the world’s largest blue carbon project is underway. Delta Blue Carbon 1 (Verra Project 2250) is protecting and restoring mangrove forests, tidal river creeks and channels, low-lying islands, and intertidal areas. The project aims to promote climate change mitigation and adaptation while conserving and maintaining biodiversity. It also thrives on partnerships with the local community; of the 43,000 people living in the project area’s 60 villages, over a quarter are now actively involved in mangrove restoration at all stages. 

Delta Blue Carbon 1 is the brainchild of Surriekha Khan and her husband, Nadeem Raza Khan.  

In addition to cultivating a profound appreciation for Pakistan’s environment, Surriekha Khan says, “I grew up wanting to serve my country and its people in a way that benefits them.”

So the Khans made this vision a reality, founding Indus Delta Capital as a way to support the development of a community-centered project that would protect and restore mangroves.  

Through the Delta Blue Carbon 1 project, local participants are restoring their beloved ecosystem while contributing to the ongoing fight against climate change. Across 226,000 hectares of degraded tidal lands, they implement Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) activities, such as planting and cultivating mangrove forests. Mangroves are known for their ability to store huge amounts of carbon, and each mangrove planted increases the project’s carbon sequestration potential. Over its 60-year lifetime, Delta Blue Carbon 1 is expected to remove 142 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere—the equivalent of taking 33 million gas-powered cars off the road for one year.  

In addition to planting mangroves, community members also measure and monitor the forest, and third-party auditors visit at regular intervals to validate the project and verify its carbon emission reductions and removals. The project, which is jointly registered in Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program and its Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards (CCBS) Program, generates one carbon credit for each tonne of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. These carbon credits can then be sold on the global voluntary carbon market to buyers wishing to offset their own emissions while channeling the finance back to Delta Blue Carbon 1, the government of Sindh, and the coastal communities in the project area. As a performance-based project, the more carbon the mangroves capture, the more carbon credits Delta Blue Carbon 1 earns to support additional project activities. 

A First-of-Its-Kind Public-Private Partnership 

The Khans first conceptualized a mangrove restoration project in the Indus River Delta in 2010. From the start, carbon credits were central to its design.  

At first, however, they were met with resistance. Most ecosystem restoration projects in the region were funded through finance from small grants—not a self-sustaining market mechanism like carbon credits.  

“The most difficult task was educating people on the very concept of carbon credits,” recalls Surriekha Khan. “There wasn’t much awareness on the concept when I started this work.” 

Undeterred, the Khans took action. They developed and led a series of national-level workshops with Pakistan’s Ministry of Environment, now called the Ministry of Climate Change, to build awareness. They also worked separately with provincial governments to promote the ecosystem services approach that they envisioned, underscoring how carbon credits generated through restoration work would drive finance to sustaining and scaling the project. Through popularizing this idea with policymakers, politicians, bureaucracy, and civil society, the Khans brought about a fundamental shift in how project financing could be approached.  

As a result of their outreach efforts, Indus Delta Capital entered into a partnership with the government of Sindh in 2015. Under this collaboration, the ARR activities would take place on mangroves found in Sindh, and Indus Delta Capital would provide the finance to establish the project. “Much of this is the Sindh government’s own vision,” Surriekha Khan says. “It’s a private-public partnership and the first of its kind for an environmental project in Pakistan.” 

Indus Delta Capital has also received considerable technical support from Silvestrum Climate Associates, which developed the initial version of the VCS methodology that the project uses for carbon quantification, VM0033 Methodology for Tidal Wetland and Seagrass Restoration. Silvestrum has also provided support throughout various stages of the project, including through visits to the site itself.  

And Verra, as the operator of the VCS Program, has also served as a valuable partner for Indus Delta Capital. “The alignment between Verra’s framework and Delta Blue Carbon’s execution demonstrates the true promise of the voluntary carbon market: delivering large-scale, measurable impact,” says Nadeem Khan, CEO of Indus Delta Capital. “We especially value Verra’s ongoing efforts to refine methodologies and innovate processes, an essential trait in a rapidly evolving climate and carbon landscape. Verra continues to set the standard for integrity, impact, and innovation.”

These values of integrity, impact, and innovation permeate every level of the project, resulting from the deep partnerships that the Khans and Indus Delta Capital have developed with their many collaborators. At its core, notes Surriekha Khan, “This project is entirely relationship-based. It’s all about building relationships with people, both on the national and provincial level.”

Benefits for Climate, Community, and Biodiversity 

At the heart of this project, of course, are those who call the project area home. Mangrove restoration at this scale is only possible in partnership with the people of Sindh.  

Over 11,000 Sindh villagers are directly involved as stewards of the project. They participate in specialized training that prepares them to contribute to all stages of restoration: identifying sites where the restoration work is to be done, collecting and planting propagules (i.e., seed-like structures that mangrove trees use to reproduce), raising mangroves in nurseries, and monitoring the growth of the forests.  

Many of these stewards are women, who are able to support themselves and their families by earning income from project activities. Some women, for example, learn to identify mangrove seeds that are ripe for picking. For each bag of ripe seeds that they send, they receive payment. 

“Women are part of our agrarian economy,” explains Senator Sherry Rehman, a longtime supporter of Delta Blue Carbon 1 who also chairs the Standing Committee on Climate Change in the Senate of Pakistan. “They are part of the livelihood structures that generate incomes in Pakistan. Our economy goes round because of women.”  

Husan Bano, who is among the thousands of local women working in mangrove restoration, explains that her work provides essential income for her family. “When we are working on mangroves, that becomes easier,” she says. “We have the money for food and basic needs, even if our men can’t earn.” 

This work on the mangroves is also revitalizing the area’s biodiversity, protecting the ecosystem and its vulnerable species. The restored mangrove forest, says Bano, has become “a breeding ground for fish and wildlife, and it protects us from the ocean.” With the proliferation of fish, crabs, and other marine life due to the mangroves, the villagers have more sources of food for themselves, as well as income-generating food to sell. And as the mangroves grow, their strong roots offer the community greater protection against flooding and land erosion.  

Delta Blue Carbon 1 has also led to the establishment of important resources for the community. Now, with finance from carbon credits and Indus Delta Capital, the villagers have access to medical care, drinking water, education, and other civic services.  

“Our lives are better because of this project,” Bano says.  

Indeed, the project has received recognition for the many positive impacts it has had on the Indus Delta community, its biodiversity, and the climate. Delta Blue Carbon 1 has been validated and verified at the triple gold level through the Climate, Community & Biodiversity Standards Program. Additionally, it meets an incredible 13 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. 

For Bano, though, her new livelihood offers one more benefit—harder to quantify, perhaps, but no less important. “Whenever we get this work, it makes us very happy,” she says. “I feel like I can do this my whole life, and the joy won’t go away.” 

Trade, Not Aid

Fundamentally, this restoration work is about accelerating climate action in Pakistan, harnessing the voluntary carbon market as a powerful tool to ensure that the project—and its impact—can continue to scale.  

“I have an unwavering belief that this project can change Pakistan’s situation,” Surriekha Khan says. “Every day, we see financial problems in Pakistan, and every day, we ask other countries for aid. This project, on the other hand, allows us to trade and give something to the world. It’s trade, not aid.”

Delta Blue Carbon 1 has been so successful, in fact, that Indus Delta Capital is developing a second project. Located just to the east of the first project area, Delta Blue Carbon 2 (Verra Project 5063) aims to protect 250,000 hectares. With a combined area of 600,000 hectares, the projects demonstrate not only the transformative potential of collective environmental action but also the paradigm shift that the Khans dreamed of. Through the mangrove restoration activities and the carbon credits that they generate, the people of the Sindh province are leading self-sustaining climate initiatives, creating a more resilient ecosystem that, in turn, strengthens their communities.  

Verra's Perspective

The impact of a successful blue carbon project cannot be overstated. Blue carbon projects address climate change through rich carbon stores, protect biodiversity, support communities, and increase coastal resilience. The Delta Blue Carbon project is more than a climate change solution—it is an investment in the future of the Delta’s local communities, biodiversity, and the planet alike.

Liz Guinessey

Manager, Food and Blue Carbon Innovation, Verra

Client Perspective

Delta Blue Carbon regards Verra as a cornerstone of credible, high-impact climate action. Their platform not only enables projects like ours to scale effectively, but also embeds sustainability into the very core of what we do. Verra has been instrumental in bringing the Sustainable Development Goals to the forefront of environmental finance, offering a structured and transparent path for long-term commitment to sustainable development.

Nadeem Khan

Chief Executive Officer, Indus Delta Capital