The Forest
Protecting 293 ha of tropical rainforest on eastern Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. Habitat for the threatened Vanuatu Megapode bird (Megapodu freycinet layardi), and unique and increasingly rare Coconut Crab (Birgus latro). It is also home to several endemic birds including the Vanuatu Kingfisher (Halycon farquhari), the Vanuatu Flycatcher (Neolalage banksiana), the Vanuatu Fruit Dove (Ptilinopus tannensis), the Vanuatu White-eye (Sosterops flavifrons), the Vanuatu Imperial Pigeon (Ducula bakeri), and the Golden Whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis). This rainforest also provides valuable protection from cyclones, floods and droughts for the Loru local people.

The Loru Forest Project combines protection of coastal rainforest and agroforestry - particularly nut production from the Melanesian Chestnut (Canarium indium). This project generates 2,442 carbon credits annually, the first credits were issued in 2016, most of which were purchased by Opus through a partnership with ZeroMission in Sweden. More credits will be issued soon for anyone who wants to offset and support this project!
The People
The project is owned by the Serkar Clan of indigenous ni-Vanuatu landowners of Loru, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. The clan consists of five extended families of some 50 individuals  descended from Chief Serkar (1913-1997).

The landowners have given up rights to clear land for coconut plantations in exchange for the opportunity to sell rainforest carbon offsets as a way of generating revenue for local economic development. This project also provides governance and management support and capacity building for community enterprise at Loru. This is to help the Loru landowners manage the rainforest conservation project and develop spin-off community businesses - the first of which is a community business producing and selling agroforestry produce (e.g. Canarium nuts) from adjacent lands that they own and manage. Sales income has being flowing to the landowner business and generating employment since August 2016.
The Location
Technical Stuff
The Loru coastal rainforest is protected as a Community Conservation Area under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act (2010). This project generates 2,442 carbon offsets annually, with the first 2 years of credits issued in July 2016 for forest protection that has been in place since January 2013.

This project underwent project development between 2012 and 2015 with funding from the European Union. This involved a lengthy process of landowner consultation and participation, methodology design and validation, and project design, development, implementation and monitoring. International validation and first verification was completed in Q1 2016.  The project and its carbon offsets are certified to the Plan Vivo Standard - the world's leading community-based, fair-trade styled rainforest carbon standard. Scroll down to access technical documents.

Audited by CPMA International (Sweden) using auditors experienced in the CDM and VCS Standards. Its carbon offsets were issued by Markit Environmental Registry in London (the world's leading environmental registry).
Download Technical Reports
The Nakau Methodology Framework is a general methodology required for any project operating in the Nakau Programme - a Pacific Island rainforest conservation financing programme. The Nakau Programme (and its methodologies and protocols) was developed jointly by Ekos and Live & Learn International.

The Nakau Methodology Framework covers project governance, Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), financial discipline, benefit sharing, biodiversity and social impacts. The Nakau Methodology Framework was validated to the Plan Vivo Standard in 2015.
All projects in the Nakau Programme are required to apply a Technical Specifications Module covering  measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of carbon benefit impacts delivered by a project.

The TS Module applied in the Loru Project is a carbon accounting methodology applicable to projects that avoid deforestation: Avoided Deforestation - Deforestation to Protected Forest (AD-DtPF). This Technical Specifications Module was validated to the Plan Vivo Standard in 2016.
Project development involves applying the methodology elements (on left) to the project site in the generation of a Project Description (PD). A PD is a detailed proposal quantifying the benefits to be produced by the project once implemented. The PD is split into two parts. Part A General Description involves the application of the Nakau Methodology Framework to the project site. This document (above) is the PD (Part A) for the Loru Project. Part B of the PD involves the application of the Technical Specifications Module to the project site (see below). The Loru PD Part A was validated to the Plan Vivo Standard in 2016.
This document is the Project Description (Part B) for the Loru Project.

This involves the application of the Technical Specifications Module to the project site - quantifying the climate benefits to be delivered by the project once implemented. The Loru PD (Part B) was validated to the Plan Vivo Standard in 2016.
All Nakau projects are required to monitor (quantify) project benefits during project implementation according to a Project Monitoring Plan contained in the PD. Project Monitoring Reports contain assertions of the quantified ecosystem services benefits delivered by the project during the relevant (usually 3-yearly) monitoring period. This quantitative assertion is the basis for issuing PES units (e.g. carbon offsets) to the project. The 1st Drawa Project Monitoring Report (2012-2014 monitoring period) was verified to the Plan Vivo Standard in 2016.
Before a project can be implemented, it first needs to be validated in an audit to ensure that it complies with the international standard applied (Plan Vivo in this case). The auditor produces a validation report asserting compliance to the standard including a paper trail for how corrective actions were addressed during the audit process. The Loru PD (Parts A and B) were validated in 2016.
Carbon offsets are issued to a project based on the periodic (e.g. 3-yearly) verification audit of Project Monitoring Reports by an accredited auditor. This is the first Verification Report for the first Project Monitoring Report for the project implementation period: 16 January 2013 to 15 January 2015. This verifies the carbon offsets produced by this project for that period. The actual carbon offsets are issued by Markit Environmental Registry (London). Then the carbon offsets can be sold. Carbon offsets are retired in the Registry after they have been sold so that they cannot be used or sold again.
Project Area
The Loru Project Area contains a mixture of tall coastal rainforest (Zone A in the image below), degraded but regenerating native forest (Zone B), and non-forest (Zone C). The landowners are developing Zone C areas for agroforestry and will gradually return many parts of Zone C to forest land use. They are also controlling invasive weeds (Meremia) in the degraded forest to assist regeneration, as well as protecting the tall forest.
The Money
We believe that trust is built on transparency. This is why we open our books to wholesale buyers and sellers alike. We need to cover our costs, and rainforest conservation costs money. The main costs are:
  1. Timber opportunity costs and conservation management costs for rainforest owners
  2. Measurement, reporting and verification costs of an internationally certified project
  3. Wholesale sales & marketing costs needed to monetize carbon offset units.

Buyers/resellers can contact us to inquire about pricing.
Project Partners
This project was developed by Live & Learn Vanuatu and the Nakau Programme Pty Ltd. Technical support was provided by Carbon Partnership and Ekos, with funding from the European Union. The project is certified to the Plan Vivo Standard and was audited by CPMA (Sweden).