Conhuas

  • The Climate Action Reserve (CAR) is a carbon credit registry that reviews carbon credit project documents, issues credits, and aggregates project data. Unlike Verra, CAR does not act as a verifier of the project itself, limiting oversight to reviewing the document submission. CAR also publishes methodologies for a variety of project types. CAR hosts important documents containing information about project design and location. CAR hosts projects that are both part of voluntary and compliance carbon markets.

  • The CAR forestry project type includes many different types of improved forest management (IFM) programs, as well as avoided conversion. The methodology used by Conhuas is Mexico-specific. These practices may combine timber operations with improved carbon sequestration practices, include restoration activities, or focus on conservation of forests that may have been degraded otherwise. This project type includes elements similar to Verra’s IFM, ARR, and REDD+ project types.

  • 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.

  • The aim of the Conhuas project is to discourage negative land use change by providing communities with income generated from the sale of carbon credits. A key aspect of the project has been the active participation of the ejidos, traditional Mexican communal agricultural districts governed by participating families. This has included engaging the community in methodological training and direct employment to form brigades responsible for establishing baseline data for carbon collections. This participatory approach has not only empowered the ejido communities but also ensured that locals play a vital role in the carbon sequestration process, while benefiting economically from the sale of carbon bonds.

  • The project contributes to biodiversity conservation through reforestation and habitat protection, maintaining ecological connectivity in a region with diverse species. However, as much of the land is already forested, the additionality stems more from preventing further degradation rather than active restoration. Additionally, some land is already currently protected.

The Conhuas project is a 47,000 hectare restoration and conservation project in the Calakmul region of southern Mexico, founded in 2021 with a projected duration of 100 years. The region previously experienced timber harvesting and associated forest degradation, and the majority of the project area is now forested, with varying proportions of native species, natural structure and succession. The project is sited in a region with native tropical rainforests and several species of mammals, reptiles, birds, and amphibians, many of which have a threatened or endangered status. Project activities include restoration, conservation, and sustainable extraction. Restoration includes replanting, thinning, weeding, and seeding, with the goal of attaining natural species composition, function, and structure. Conservation activities include biological monitoring, surveillance and illegal logging enforcement, and fire prevention and suppression. Sustainable use includes the harvesting of dead plant materials and approved cuts from silvicultural management, beekeeping, harvesting of certain animal species as game, and ecotourism. The project area has estimated carbon stores of 17.7 million tons of CO2e, and the agreement stipulates that the carbon will not be released for 100 years.

Conhuas 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.