This article is adapted from a forthcoming discussion paper, “Habitat Banks: Expanding a Proven Tool to Protect Threatened Ecosystems.” Global-record levels of investment in infrastructure are, ironically, posing a massive threat to our planet’s infrastructure. By that we mean natural infrastructure: the natural areas and processes that filter our water, minimize flooding, absorb air pollution, […]
Integrity Council approves three REDD+ methodologies
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market announced today that it has approved three methodologies for issuing high integrity carbon credits for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+): (ART) The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES) v2.0, TREES Crediting Level (VCS) VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation […]
Analysis published by Ecosystem Marketplace and the Katoomba Group finds there is vast potential for investment in coastal and marine habitats to stem degradation and maximize the potential of these ecosystems to mitigate climate change. These Blue Carbon (BC) habitats sequester carbon at high rates—even higher than terrestrial forests, by some estimates. However, these critical […]
Offsets and Investments: Thoughts on De-linking Economic Development and Biodiversity Loss
This article originally appeared on the Katoomba Group blog. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the first Katoomba Group meeting – a community that first came together in 1999 with a shared quest to convert the theoretical value that comes from restoring nature into a practical way for people to make a living. It’s […]
2024 October 31 | Ecosystem Marketplace (EM) published voluntary carbon market (VCM) prices for the United Kingdom’s (UK) domestic carbon units from Woodland Carbon Code and Peatland Code projects today, covering transactions in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. This is year two of EM’s collaboration with Scottish Forestry and IUCN to examine Woodland Code and […]
How to Make Trees Worth More Standing Than Cut Down
This article originally appeared on the Katoomba Group blog. West of Sydney, Australia, lies the Blue Mountains, a range of plateaus and panoramic canyons forested with eucalyptus trees. Oil in the leaves produces a bluish haze, hence the name of the area. Twenty-five years ago, in 1999, a new NGO called Forest Trends brought together […]
Human wellbeing depends on a stable climate and healthy natural environment. And yet nature is in decline everywhere due to destructive economic activity. The consequences are increasingly clear, with more frequent wildfires, intense storms and floods, crop failure, fisheries collapse, pandemics and spreading tropical diseases, ubiquitous ‘forever chemicals’ and microplastics, mass migration and ensuing social […]