Verra is pleased to announce that the first methodology under the Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) Program is now open for public comment until 19 February 2021. The new “Methodology for Coastal Resilience Benefits from Restoration and Protection of Tidal Wetlands” will assess how many people benefit from reduced flood risk due to the restoration or protection of coastal ecosystems.

Coastal ecosystems provide communities with protection against the impacts of climate-related hazards and natural disasters by reducing erosion and flooding from storms and stabilizing and raising shorelines in the face of sea-level rise. The restoration and protection of these natural ecosystems, including tidal marshes and mangroves, not only protect coastal communities but can include a host of other benefits such as carbon sequestration, habitat conservation, and water quality regulation.

To achieve these outcomes, The Nature Conservancy, Terra Carbon, University of California Santa Cruz, IH Cantabria, AXA XL, and East Carolina University have teamed up to develop a new methodology to quantify the number of individuals that are experiencing reduced flood risk due to the restoration or protection of coastal ecosystems. Optionally the method can also be used to assess the economic benefits of reduced flood risk. These benefits will be expressed in coastal resiliency assets, the sale of which will drive finance to restoration and protection projects, making them more viable and more likely to be developed.

The full draft of the “Methodology for Coastal Resilience Benefits from Restoration and Protection of Tidal Wetlands” is available here. Please send any comments to secretariat@verra.org by 19 February 2021.