Beed

  • Verra is a carbon credit registry that verifies carbon credit projects, issues credits, and aggregates project data. Verra also publishes methodologies for a variety of project types. Verra hosts important documents containing information about project design and location. Verra hosts projects that are mostly part of the voluntary carbon market, and do not participate in regulatory markets.

  • ALM, a holistic land management approach focusing on improving soil health, water management, and biodiversity, has gained traction as a carbon sequestration method. Practices such as cover cropping, reduced tillage, and crop rotation can increase soil organic carbon while potentially benefiting biodiversity through improved habitat quality and reduced chemical inputs.

  • Monoculture (-) vs. Polyculture(+): Carbon removal through nature-based strategies involves using plants to sequester carbon. The range of plant diversity varies from project to project and has biodiversity implications for the area. Projects that utilize diverse plant species in operations instead of singular species may potentially uplift biodiversity.


    Presence (-) vs. absence (+) of Invasive Species: Specific species selection for nature-based carbon credit projects also has biodiversity implications. While there has not been a clear divide between native and non-native species' effects on biodiversity, presence of invasive species are shown to impact biodiversity negatively.


    Extractive (-) vs. Non-extractive(+): Extractive activities in addition to generation of carbon credits, such as the timber, agricultural, or mining operations pose a threat to biodiversity due to its disruptive nature.

  • Agriculture is the backbone of Beed District, with 80% of the population relying on farming. The Beed Watershed Management program and Sustainable Agriculture Land Management (SALM) initiative aim to restore degraded lands, improve water conservation, and enhance carbon sequestration while boosting smallholder farmers' livelihoods in drought-prone villages like Bavi, Jamb, and Zapewadi. By generating carbon credits, the project provides farmers with additional income and promotes sustainability through the ‘Good & Green by 2020’ initiative. Aligning with India's sustainable development priorities, the project enhances market access, overcomes investment barriers, and integrates environmentally sustainable practices. Expected outcomes include improved soil and water conditions, biodiversity restoration, food security, economic resilience, climate adaptation, gender mainstreaming, and community capacity building, with farmers actively involved in self-assessment and progress tracking.

  • The implementation of sustainable agricultural land management (SALM) practices, including agroforestry and soil restoration, supports biodiversity by reversing land degradation and improving habitat quality. Without the project, conventional agricultural practices would have likely continued, leading to further soil depletion and reduced biodiversity.

The Beed Project in the Beed District of India spans a total area of 3,274.65 hectares within a semi-arid biome. Established in 2017, this ALM project represents a comprehensive approach to sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, and community empowerment, offering significant ecological and socio-economic benefits. Implemented by Godrej Properties Ltd. in collaboration with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), the project focuses on holistic watershed development aimed at integrating carbon sequestration practices while enhancing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the drought-prone villages of Bavi, Jamb, and Zapewadi. Over its three-year implementation phase, the project will utilize Sustainable Agricultural Land Management (SALM) practices, which include residue and nutrient management, agronomic practices, and agroforestry. These initiatives are designed to enhance soil and tree carbon stocks, mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, and improve food security while providing farmers access to carbon markets for revenue generation. The project aims to achieve estimated annual greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions of 33,764 tCO2e, totaling 675,272 tCO2e over its 20 year lifetime.

Beed Scores:

  • Ecosystem Intactness: Measured using the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) BII can be used to quantify changes in ecosystem composition, providing a measure of Species Richness and abundance relative to undisturbed ecosystems.

  • Species Threat Level: Measured using the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STARt). The STARt value indicates how local threat abatement could contribute to avoiding species extinction, and every species in a given region is assigned its own score.

  • Presence of Rare Species: Measured using Rarity-weighted Richness (RWR). RWR differs from traditional Species Richness by highlighting areas that support rare species. Rare species are defined here as those that have small geographic ranges. This makes RWR useful for identifying areas critical for conserving endemic, or geographically restricted, species.

  • Restoration Potential: Measured using the Species Threat Abatement and Restoration (STARr) metric. The STAR metric incorporates present species threat levels, threats, and restoration opportunities on a regional level. The metric also outputs a STARr value, which quantifies the impact of restoration based on how much habitat is restorable and what proportion of that specific habitat exists worldwide.

  • Human-caused Degradation: Measured using the global Human Modification Index (HMI). The global HMI is a commonly used metric helpful when quantifying the structural integrity of ecosystems and measuring how humans have altered the terrestrial landscape around the world, degrading ecosystems and impacting biodiversity in the process given location.