Costa Rican coral reef restoration project brings to market $160k of marine biodiversity credits « Carbon Pulse https://carbon-pulse.com/524014/?site=nbp
Seatrees, a US-based non-profit, has issued $160,000 worth of marine biodiversity credits, generated through a coral reef recovery project in Costa Rica.
Using Seatrees' biodiversity stewardship methodology, the project made available for sale 4,000 Coral Biodiversity Blocks, each representing one coral outplanted, plus a set of stewardship activities that make restoration effective – at $40 per credit.
Implemented by Costa Rican non-profit Raising Coral, the project uses outplants – nursery-grown organisms farmed in nature – to scale up coral restoration across two of the Osa peninsula’s most important reef systems: Golfo Dulce and Cano Island Biological Reserve.
“Coral reef restoration and protection can enter a golden era through new science, technology, and empowered communities, but only if the financial world can exponentially increase its support,” said Kevin Whilden, co-founder of Seatrees.
“Biodiversity blocks provide a scalable financial model that measures positive impact for reefs and communities, while simultaneously improving project quality and reducing project costs.”
Credits are retired on the blockchain-based Regen Network registry, with the aim of ensuring transparency, traceability, and accountability.
THERMALLY TOLERANT CORALS
Between 2026-29, Raising Coral and Seatrees aim to rear and outplant 4,000 corals across the project sites, home to over 200 reef fish species as well as critically threatened coral species.
The project, which has established a 34% average biodiversity uplift target, prioritised thermally tolerant corals that survived past bleaching events.
“Resilience is not just something you hope for; it’s something you build,” said Marylaura Sandoval, manager of Raising Coral’s South Pacific programme.
“With thermally tolerant coral, advanced monitoring, and an engaged community, our coral reefs are ready to take on the challenge of climate change.”
Under Seatrees’ peer-reviewed Biodiversity Blocks methodology, for which guidance was published last November, units are tied to different restoration activities, depending on the ecosystem and project design.
Prices may vary based on the operational costs related to partners and project developers.
Last year, for instance, a project in Kenya saw Biodiversity Blocks sold at around $3 each, representing one mangrove tree planted and protected for over 10 years.
Under the methodology, credits cannot be used for offsetting purposes, as they aim to represent nature-positive contributions that are not associated with biodiversity loss elsewhere.
Companies can instead claim to have improved biodiversity, to have supported community-led marine ecosystem recovery, and to have enabled progress toward global or national goals relevant to the project, including under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Efforts to enable the use of credits for sea and coastal biodiversity conservation have increase over the past couple of years, with the UN-backed Biodiversity Credit Alliance set to release high-level principles tailored to marine habitats.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com
Using Seatrees' biodiversity stewardship methodology, the project made available for sale 4,000 Coral Biodiversity Blocks, each representing one coral outplanted, plus a set of stewardship activities that make restoration effective – at $40 per credit.
Implemented by Costa Rican non-profit Raising Coral, the project uses outplants – nursery-grown organisms farmed in nature – to scale up coral restoration across two of the Osa peninsula’s most important reef systems: Golfo Dulce and Cano Island Biological Reserve.
“Coral reef restoration and protection can enter a golden era through new science, technology, and empowered communities, but only if the financial world can exponentially increase its support,” said Kevin Whilden, co-founder of Seatrees.
“Biodiversity blocks provide a scalable financial model that measures positive impact for reefs and communities, while simultaneously improving project quality and reducing project costs.”
Credits are retired on the blockchain-based Regen Network registry, with the aim of ensuring transparency, traceability, and accountability.
THERMALLY TOLERANT CORALS
Between 2026-29, Raising Coral and Seatrees aim to rear and outplant 4,000 corals across the project sites, home to over 200 reef fish species as well as critically threatened coral species.
The project, which has established a 34% average biodiversity uplift target, prioritised thermally tolerant corals that survived past bleaching events.
“Resilience is not just something you hope for; it’s something you build,” said Marylaura Sandoval, manager of Raising Coral’s South Pacific programme.
“With thermally tolerant coral, advanced monitoring, and an engaged community, our coral reefs are ready to take on the challenge of climate change.”
Under Seatrees’ peer-reviewed Biodiversity Blocks methodology, for which guidance was published last November, units are tied to different restoration activities, depending on the ecosystem and project design.
Prices may vary based on the operational costs related to partners and project developers.
Last year, for instance, a project in Kenya saw Biodiversity Blocks sold at around $3 each, representing one mangrove tree planted and protected for over 10 years.
Under the methodology, credits cannot be used for offsetting purposes, as they aim to represent nature-positive contributions that are not associated with biodiversity loss elsewhere.
Companies can instead claim to have improved biodiversity, to have supported community-led marine ecosystem recovery, and to have enabled progress toward global or national goals relevant to the project, including under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Efforts to enable the use of credits for sea and coastal biodiversity conservation have increase over the past couple of years, with the UN-backed Biodiversity Credit Alliance set to release high-level principles tailored to marine habitats.
By Sergio Colombo – sergio@carbon-pulse.com