A carbon offset is a financial instrument aimed at a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent (CO2e) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases. One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases. There are two markets for carbon offsets. In the larger compliance market, companies, governments, or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit. In the much smaller voluntary market, individuals, companies, or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation, electricity use, and other sources. Wikipedia

All too often, conference participants are asked to provide funds to a carbon offset business enterprise, with little connection to where and how the offset plantings will occur. The SER2011 Conference Organizing Committee is now exploring a number of options in Mexico and Latin America to ensure that conference participants have a choice of ecological restoration projects that provide effective and sustainable carbon offsets.

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Ecosystem Marketplace – Forest Carbon Portal
The Ecosystem Marketplace’s Forest Carbon Portal is a clearinghouse of information, feature stories, event listings, project details, ‘how-to’ guides, news, and market analysis on land-based carbon sequestration projects—from forest to farm.

Belize: Restoration in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve
Conceived as both a restoration and carbon sequestration effort, the project will be funded through the sale of carbon credits to commercial investors. Due to the paucity of available seeds, project activities to this point have centered on rearing and conditioning Caribbean pine seedlings in the project’s nursery, and then planting them at degraded sites via a crew of local villagers. In 2002 alone, 3.5 million seedlings were planted over 10,000 acres with favorable results to date. The ultimate goal is the restoration of at least 90,000 acres of degraded forest.

Brazil: Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS)
Since 1999, SPVS has been involved in three projects that combine two fundamental goals over the course of 40 years: the conservation of one of Brazil’s most important remnants of Atlantic Forest and the implementation of projects for carbon sequestration. In addition, there is an interest in replicating these projects in order to restore other degraded areas, protect the Brazilian biomes, and help to diminish deforestation and forest fire, therefore reducing carbon emissions.

Central America: Carbonica – Guaranteed Carbon Offsetting
The main programmes supported by Carbonica in Central America are tree planting, forest restoration, forest conservation, multi-story crop planting and wood-conserving stoves. We believe that carbon capture through tree planting, reforestation and managed forestry programmes is most efficient at tropical latitudes. For this reason, Central America is an ideal part of the world to carry out these programmes and in addition local communities can draw significant benefits from them.

Mexico: Santa Maria Ecological Restoration Initiative
CEMEX’s Santa Maria Ecological Restoration Initiative aims to establish special relationships with key stakeholders, including government, NGOs, educational and research institutions. These relationships allow CEMEX to show its commitment to and respect for ecosystems, ensuring the sustainability of the natural resources needed by the company, ultimately impacting on its image and credibility in terms of environmental activities.

South Africa: Carbon Sequestration and Restoration
In light of the above and the recent development of carbon sequestration projects worldwide, the Subtropical Thicket Rehabilitation Project was launched in January 2004 with the explicit aim of testing the feasibility of using P. afra and other thicket species to sequester carbon under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. Restoration of degraded subtropical thicket would achieve the combined aims of improving rural livelihoods, restoring biodiversity, and replenishing natural capital/ecosystem services.