Mexico
Scolel’Te is a forest carbon offsetting program that operates in Chiapas, Mexico. It has been a pioneer forest mitigation project and the first one in the world to generate ethical carbon credits with a vast range of ecosystem and social benefits. It has served as an international benchmark for other projects and inspired the principles of the Plan Vivo Standard.
Scolel’Te – the tree that grows in Mayan language – is the longest-standing project in the Plan Vivo network, dating back to 1997 and it is still operational.
The leadership of the Mexican no-profit cooperative AMBIO, working with small farmers and communities, has secured financial sustainability to the project.
Scolel’te is a carbon sequestration and emissions reduction programme that implements the following activities: afforestation, reforestation, agroforestry systems, conservation, as well as the protection and restoration of pastures and rainforests.
So far carbon sequestration practices have been carried out over an area of some 9000 hectares in the Chiapas Region. The program works in ten Natural Protected Areas where traditional land practices such as “Taungya” of indigenous communities have been reintroduced, based on reforestation with native valuable tree species. From a social perspective, Scolel’te is a program that strengthens rural communities in their actions towards the sustainable use ofnatural resources, based on the needs of each community. Similarly, Scolel’te has a global objective: the long-term protection of ecosystems and their resources.
So far 1459 small farmers and 90 communities have been involved in the programme and 1,220,811 CO2eq credits sold in the market.
The underlying principle is based on sustainable forest management, implemented by the communities, enhancing carbon sequestration and allowing the sale of credits. So far over 8,000 trees have been planted.
The project carries out research into agroforestry systems and tree species best suited to climate change adaptation. Among them, a shade coffee agroforestry system to buffer coffee price fluctuations for small-scale farmers through diversifying production. In addition, Community Land Plans are used to guide a strategy for low-emissions rural development.
The Programme has been awarded the Mexican National Merit Award. It contributed not only to meet climate targets but also to reduce poverty and improve education in Chiapas communities.