The standards bodyfor the ocean.
The Marine Conservation Credits programme develops methodologies, registers projects and issues serialised conservation credits for marine ecosystems. Every future issuance requires independent third-party validation and verification; no credit has been issued yet. Monitored monthly from orbit, and contribution-first by design.
Operational — accepting applications; no credits have been issued yet. The register carries real projects only, listed from submission onward.
| No. | Property | Value | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Methodology families | 5 | F01–F05 · blue carbon, ecosystem restoration, marine conservation, pollution prevention, MPA management |
| 02 | Standards documents | 7 | In force: MCC-001, MCC-100, MCC-200, MCC-400, MCC-700, MCC-800, MCC-850. MCC-600 is not yet made; MCC-810 and MCC-820 are drafts, not adopted |
| 03 | Credit categories | 2 | MCC-CC carbon · MCC-MCU conservation units, plus a co-benefit label carried on a unit |
| 04 | Projects in the register | 0 | Listed from submission onward; registration and issuance follow independent verification and governance approval |
| 05 | Offsetting claims permitted | 0 | Contribution-first, enforced at retirement per the Claims Policy |
Figures reflect the methodology library and the registry at the current programme stage. The project count is read live from the register.
Blue carbon
Mangrove, seagrass and salt-marsh projects quantified for carbon sequestered in marine soils and biomass, under IPCC Tier 2/3 approaches and the 2013 Wetlands Supplement.
Verified co-benefits
One credit carrying a separately verified co-benefit label, where a project has both carbon and biodiversity outcomes. A co-benefit attaches to a unit; it is not a unit of its own (the former MCC-HYB is abolished, FD-2026-09-03).
Conservation units
Conservation outcomes quantified independently of carbon: biodiversity and habitat, protected-area management, and pollution prevention such as ghost-gear recovery (F04, MCC-M008).
From project design to public verification
Nine stages across three governance bands. Nothing is self-certified: no credit is issued without a third-party verification opinion, and every serial is publicly checkable.
Project design
Methodology + Project Design Document
Validation
Accredited third-party opinion, ISO 14065
Registration
Registry record
Monitoring
Sentinel-2 monthly + field MRV
Verification
Accredited third-party opinion, ISO 14065
Issuance
Buffer withheld · serial range assigned
Marketplace
Cohort listing
Retirement
Contribution claim, language per the Claims Policy
Public verification
Any serial, checked by anyone — no login
From submission to issuance
The register lists projects from submission onward. Registration and issuance follow independent validation, verification and governance approval, and every entry links to its full public record.
The register is empty. Projects appear here from submission onward.
Monitored from orbit, verified in the field
Project boundaries are observed monthly via Sentinel-2. NDVI, NDWI and habitat-cover indices are written to the registry; anomalies route to expert review under the MCC-700 reversal framework. Satellites do not replace fieldwork — sediment coring, biomass sampling and dive surveys remain mandatory, and every issuance still requires an accredited third-party opinion.
Independent verification
Validation and issuance require an opinion from an accredited VVB under ISO 14065. Self-certification is not permitted under any methodology.
Public by default
Project Design Documents, validation and verification reports and issuance records are public registry documents.
Buffer pool
A project-specific buffer share, set by risk assessment within the band the Buffer Pool Management Policy prescribes, is withheld at issuance to absorb reversal risk and released only against sustained monitoring performance.
Serialisation and lineage
Every credit carries a serial with a Luhn check digit and a permanent issuance and retirement record. Illegal state changes are rejected at the data layer.
FPIC safeguards
Free, prior and informed consent, indigenous rights and equitable benefit-sharing are mandatory requirements, screened during validation.
Contribution-first claims
No offsetting, neutrality or net-zero claims against MCC retirements. Permitted language is published in the Claims Policy and enforced at retirement.
These are design benchmarks the standards were drafted with reference to. They imply no endorsement, accreditation, eligibility or alignment determination by the issuing bodies, and no assessment against them has taken place.
Have a marine conservation project?
Mangroves, seagrass meadows, saltmarsh, reef systems, pollution prevention, protected areas. Register it on the MCC platform — or follow standards releases and consultation windows by mail.