Trinidad and Tobago: Nariva ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration

closed

The objective of the Nariva Wetland Restoration and Carbon Sequestration Project for Trinidad and Tobago is to contribute to efforts to restore and conserve the Nariva wetlands, through the recognition of the services it provides as a carbon sink and a biodiverse ecosystem. There are two components to the project, the first component is the carbon sequestration through afforestation and reforestation of selected areas of the Nariva wetland ecosystem. The afforestation and reforestation component of the project aims at promoting carbon sequestration by increasing the carbon stocks of the entire wetland. This will be monitored and certified applying a simplified baseline and monitoring methodology for small scale afforestation and reforestation activities implemented on wetlands. Finally, the second component is the methane mitigation through restoration of surface hydrology at Nariva. This component will be achieved through the restoration of the natural drainage regime. A new water resources management plan has been drafted, including a detailed field monitoring proposal, to bring back water to marsh areas seeking to restore the hydrologic movement of water through the different interconnected basins that jointly give form to Nariva wetland. Emphasis on restoration of the ecosystem, as well as in the reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions guides the development of the water plan. As a result of these actions emission reductions will be caused. The emission reductions will be documented through the use of Infrared spectroscopy, using an already accepted Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) protocol, for the measurement of methane emissions from surface waters. A new methodology will be proposed as the basis for certified emission reductions.