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Derided by critics as modern-day "papal indulgences" and touted by techno-dreamers as a panacea to global warming, the rationale behind carbon offsets can be confusing. The basic idea is straightforward: reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by increasing activities that capture it and store it (e.g., planting trees), or by increasing activities that prevent more emissions from being released (e.g., wind power, conservation of existing forests).

Reforested hillside generating carbon credits in San Marcos, Honduras/G. Artavia

Countries that have signed the Kyoto Protocol have set limits, or caps, on the total amount of greenhouse emissions permitted. While reducing total emissions remains the primary goal, polluting countries and businesses can also purchase carbon credits (commonly referred to as "offsets") as an alternate way to meet their emissions-reduction targets. These carbon credits are traded in the regulated market through structures like the Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism and the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme. In countries that have not ratified the Protocol (such as the United States) or that lack national regulation, a voluntary carbon-credit market has emerged to satisfy the demand of organizations proactively trying to manage their impact on climate change. Organizations and individuals who take this issue seriously first work to reduce their emissions as much as possible and, as a last resort, purchase carbon offsets to meet their reduction goals.

Some question whether purchasing carbon offsets lessens an organization's motivation to make the behavioral changes necessary to reduce their carbon footprint by allowing them to feel they are "off the hook." Another broad concern has been the lack of verification rigor that would make it easy to understand whether claimed offset activities are effectively capturing and storing carbon.

EcoLogic's experience generating carbon credits for the regulated markets under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism has allowed us to develop leading practices that create robust carbon credits that also offer social and economic benefits to poor rural communities. EcoLogic has launched its Carbon Plus program in response to the rapid growth in the voluntary market in the United States and Europe. Our guidelines seek to ensure that our carbon offsets: (a) do not replace efforts to reduce emissions (b) effectively capture and store carbon emissions, (c) are credible, and (d) promote conservation-led development and well-being in the communities EcoLogic serves.

What excites Barbara Vallarino, EcoLogic's program officer, about our emerging Carbon Plus program is the array of connections the program makes. "We are linking organizations' behavior to their impact on global warming. We are connecting them to rural communities who can offer an effective and efficient way to reduce their carbon footprint. We are aligning the developed world's demand for ways to decrease its harmful impact on the environment with the abundant supply of conservation opportunities in developing countries."

Because forest loss accounts for 18% of the planet's greenhouse gas emissions, EcoLogic views Carbon Plus as a way to transform the challenge of climate change into an opportunity for forests and forest peoples. Done right, forestry-based carbon offsets can also be a powerful way to engage traditionally marginalized populations in this work of global importance. Implemented with rigor and respect, offsets can transform rural communities into critical lines of defense in our shared struggle against global warming.

Read more on Carbon Plus.

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Join us on May 2 for Chocolate:An Evening of Indulgence and Insight. Activities will include blind tasting, lively discussion, and fabulous raffle items. Find out how to join the fun while supporting EcoLogic's work.

The restoration of the Papagayo River and its watershed in the Sierra de Guerrero has been a strategic goal for EcoLogic and the Regional Council of Guerrero since our partnership formed in late 2005. This river provides 98% of the water used by the city of Acapulco and 15% of that used by Mexico City. We have recently formed an alliance that enhances our efforts toward meeting this goal: in December of 2007, EcoLogic and Reforestamos Mexico ("Reforesting Mexico") finalized an agreement to work together in areas where our complementary strengths will advance sustainable management of forest and water resources in Mexico.

Started in response to the massive destruction of Mexican forests caused by the fires of May 1998, Reforestamos focuses on conservation, reforestation, and environmental education. It is one of the philanthropic branches of the Bimbo Group, the largest baked-goods producer in Latin America. The mission and goals of EcoLogic and Reforestamos have much in common: Reforestamos conserves forested areas of Mexico by promoting forestry-related activities and participation from all sectors of society. It also works to strengthen rural and ethnic communities' participation in the design and management of its projects.

Our alliance will provide the technical resources to upstream communities in the Guerrero Mountain range as they undertake the reforestation and micro-watershed management activities necessary to restore the deteriorated Papagayo River. In so doing, we will be strengthening local capacity to carry out Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) in the region, through which downstream water consumers will compensate upstream communities for the watershed management services they are providing. Areas of future collaboration include similar work in the degraded Papaloapan River that empties into the Alvarado Wetlands of Veracruz, and the production of forestry-based credits for the voluntary carbon offset market. Reforestamos' strengths in reforestation operations and community education are well complemented by EcoLogic's own in the design and implementation of community-led resource management.

This alliance is also part of a social entrepreneurship approach that brings together the private, public, and nonprofit sectors to tackle the challenge of dwindling forests and water resources in the poorest regions of Mexico. Other participants include Walmart Mexico, Ashoka, and Amanco, as well as local, regional, and national government agencies. This consortium recognizes and supports the fundamental role that local communities play in the stewardship of critical resources. Strengthening the economic link between conservation-led entrepreneurship in rural communities and the regional and global markets that benefit from the environmental services these communities provide is an effective way to ensure the long-term sustainability of critical natural resources for all.

In fall of 2007 the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its most dire diagnosis of where human-produced greenhouse gas emissions are leading our planet: increased intensity and frequency of extreme weather (heat waves, cyclones, rainfall), severe droughts and flooding, decreased food production, and decreased water supplies throughout the western United States, the Mediterranean, northern Brazil and southern Africa. The report's significance earned IPCC the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (shared with Al Gore). Its conclusive scientific information became the basis and motivation for strengthened global cooperation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2007. There, over 180 nations met to agree on a road map to drastically reduce greenhouse gases in order to avoid catastrophic climate conditions.

A major breakthrough of the conference was its recognition of the important role that protecting standing forests plays in curbing carbon emissions. Because current rates of deforestation contribute 20% of all green-house emissions, decreasing deforestation rates is a powerful and cost-effective mechanism to reducing carbon emissions. Up until now, the short-term gains of logging or converting forests into agricultural land have typically outweighed any conservation considerations. Any attempt to curb this trend was perceived as a threat to a developing country's sovereignty and economic development.

By encouraging developing countries to reduce emissions from deforestation using financial incentives, the Bali agreement aims to modify this dynamic. All parties recognized what is needed to move beyond the traditional impasse and have put in place economic incentives that align needed conservation measures with the needs of the developing country. Specifically, the agreement will provide financial incentives to protect standing forests. Participating countries will be encouraged to calculate their current emission rates that result from deforestation. Once a baseline has been established, countries will be compensated for not exceeding their deforestation targets. The agreement also notes the special needs of the local and indigenous populations who depend on forest resources for their livelihoods and calls for measures to ensure that their needs and participation are integrated into these new conservation-led development efforts.

The Bali agreement's recognition of the value of reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) holds promise and opportunity for the communities and goals EcoLogic serves. We are encouraged to see that our long-standing approach to conservation-led development in rural communities is validated by the decisions taken. We are also confident that our partners are ready to assume the responsibilities of stewardship that these new efforts require.

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