There are moments in this work when everything clicks.
When the numbers, the standards, the policy debates all fade into the background, and what’s left is the simple, powerful truth of impact.
Standing in Senegal’s Saloum Delta last week, surrounded by newly planted mangroves and the people restoring them, was one of those moments.
This initiative isn’t just a climate solution: it’s a story of renewal, of local leadership, and of what becomes possible when finance flows to the frontlines.
This is why we do what we do.
The site I visited was the ALLCOT Blue Carbon (ABC) Mangrove Project, one of the many high-integrity initiatives Verra is proud to consider certifying.
On paper, the numbers are impressive: 7,000 hectares of mangroves restored, over 2.2 million tonnes of CO2 expected to be removed, more than 2,000 people benefitting from improved livelihoods; half of them women.
But in person, it’s not the statistics that move you. It’s the people.
It’s the community leaders guiding restoration work.
It’s the women launching beekeeping and eco-tourism ventures.
It’s the young people learning about carbon monitoring and coastal resilience.
These aren’t distant beneficiaries: they’re the heart of the work.
They are shaping the project’s direction, driving its success, and sharing its rewards.
And the rewards are many.
Mangroves, often called “blue carbon” ecosystems, are among the most effective natural carbon sinks on the planet.
But they also offer critical co-benefits: they stabilize coastlines, support fisheries, filter water, and protect coral reefs from ocean acidification.
The project spans three key regions in Senegal: Fatick, Thiès, and Ziguinchor, and it’s delivering more than carbon credits.
It’s restoring degraded lands, creating jobs, and strengthening food security. It’s equipping communities to respond to climate change not just with resilience, but with agency and pride.
Too often, the carbon markets are reduced to headlines that miss nuance. Critics fixate on what has gone wrong, while stories like this, stories of real, transformative impact, go untold.
But this project shows what’s possible when the market works as it should.
Carbon markets, like all markets, aren’t perfect. But in a perfect world, we also wouldn’t need them.
Because in a perfect world, we’d have fully funded climate programs, strong regulatory frameworks, and equitable global finance systems.
But we don’t, so we need every other effective tool available.
And carbon markets, when rooted in integrity, transparency, and community leadership, are one of the most powerful tools we have.
At Verra, we are committed to continuous improvement of this tool.
At the project site in Senegal, I was delighted to announce our collaboration with Hedera, which will help us digitalize several of our methodologies to make the process of certifying projects quicker, easier, and ultimately more beneficial for the planet and the communities they benefit.
But visiting the Saloum Delta reminded me that climate finance isn’t just about emissions reductions.
It’s about forests still standing, coastlines still protected, and communities still thriving.
It’s about seeing climate action not as a burden, but as an opportunity to restore, to empower, and to build something better.
It’s about futures still possible.
This is the real story of carbon markets, and it’s one we need to tell more often.
If you ever wonder whether carbon credits matter, I invite you to walk through a newly restored mangrove forest with the people who brought it back to life.
Listen to what it means to them. See what it makes possible.
And then ask yourself: what would the world look like without this?
I left Senegal more hopeful than I’ve felt in a long time: not because the work is easy, but because it’s working.
This is why we do what we do.
Mandy Rambharos is the chief executive officer of Verra.