Lofoten Kelp Forest Carbon Programme
DemonstrationMCC-2024-0012 • Norway • Nordland
REGISTERED
Methodology
MCC-010
Country
Norway
Nordland
Estimated Area
2,400 ha
Est. Credits/Year
18,500
Start Date
3/15/2024
Crediting Period
25 years
Project Description
Large-scale kelp aquaculture and biochar conversion project along the Lofoten archipelago in Northern Norway. The project cultivates sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) across 2,400 hectares of permitted ocean space, harvesting annually and converting biomass to biochar through pyrolysis. Expected to remove 18,500 tCO2e annually with 1000+ year permanence through biochar soil application.
Project lifecycle
Project workflowREGISTERED
Milestones (3/5 completed)
- Baseline ecological surveyCOMPLETED
Establish pre-project ecological baseline using transect surveys, water quality sampling, and remote-sensing imagery analysis.
Due: 14 Apr 2024Completed: 16 Apr 2024 - Stakeholder consultation completedCOMPLETED
Open consultation with coastal communities, fisher cooperatives, and local authorities — minutes archived in project record.
Due: 13 Jun 2024Completed: 19 Jun 2024 - Field implementation kickoffCOMPLETED
On-site teams mobilised; planting, deployment, or protection-measures begin per methodology specification.
Due: 12 Aug 2024Completed: 27 Aug 2024 - First annual monitoring reportPENDING
Year-one monitoring report compiled and submitted; covers biomass, GPS tracks, photo points, and community indicators.
Due: 10 Mar 2025 - Independent validation site visitPENDING
VVB lead auditor visits project site, samples evidence, reviews documentation, drafts validation opinion.
Due: 8 Jun 2025
Validation & verification
Validation
ISO 14064-2:2019COMPLETED
Site visit: 12 Aug 2024 · Opinion issued: 11 Sept 2024
Positive validation opinion issued. The project as described in the PDD meets the eligibility, additionality, and methodology-application requirements of MCC.
Verification
6,396 net creditsCOMPLETED
Quantified
8,200
Buffer
22%
Period: 1 Jan 2024 – 31 Dec 2024
Positive with observations — kelp biomass verified via drone survey and destructive sampling.
AI assessment
PDD_COMPLETENESS_REVIEW · 14 Apr 2024Completeness
79%
Confidence
MEDIUM
89%
Recommendation
PROCEED_TO_VERIFICATION
Section analysis
- Project description92
- Baseline & additionality81
- Quantification86
- Monitoring plan79
- Safeguards & FPIC88
Risk flags
- LOWMETHODOLOGY_DEVIATION_LOW
- LOWEVIDENCE_GAP_MINOR
Technical review
COMPLETEDRECOMMEND APPROVE
Project meets all technical requirements. Methodology applied correctly; observations closed.
Findings (3)
- OBSERVATIONCLOSEDPDD §3.2 / Methodology baseline approachMinor clarification recommended on baseline-period selection rationale.Response: Project developer response submitted; revised section uploaded as v1.1 of PDD. Reviewer accepted.
- NON_CONFORMITY_MINORCLOSEDPDD §5.4 / Monitoring requirementsMonitoring plan should specify QA/QC sampling frequency for sediment carbon density.Response: Project developer response submitted; revised section uploaded as v1.1 of PDD. Reviewer accepted.
- OBSERVATIONCLOSEDPDD §7.1 / SD contributionCo-benefits narrative would benefit from quantified gender-disaggregated employment data.Response: Project developer response submitted; revised section uploaded as v1.1 of PDD. Reviewer accepted.
Sustainable development contributions
7.5
Overall score
Assessed: 13 Jun 2024Climate (SDG 13) contribution from carbon sequestration and avoided emissions in the project boundary.
Indicators (2)
- 9Annual CO2-eq sequestration13.20 tCO2e → 8420 tCO2e
- 7Climate resilience index (community survey)13.12.4 / 5 → 3.6 / 5
8.2
Overall score
SD-Vista EligibleAssessed: 13 Jun 2024Life Below Water (SDG 14) contribution from habitat protection, biodiversity recovery, and sustainable use of marine resources.
Indicators (3)
- 8Coral / seagrass / mangrove cover (%)14.238% → 52%
- 9Area effectively protected (ha)14.50 → 1250
- 8Fish biomass index (kg / 100 m²)14.412.1 → 18.7
6.8
Overall score
Assessed: 13 Jun 2024Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) contribution from local employment, training, and supply-chain participation.
Indicators (3)
- 7Local jobs created (FTE)8.50 → 34
- 8Women in project workforce (%)5.50% → 41%
- 7Households with improved livelihood income1.40 → 210
Safeguards & ESIA
Screened: 14 May 2024Risk category
CATEGORY_BFPIC status
OBTAINEDClearance
CLEAREDESIA required
YESESIA scoping completed; no Category-A risks identified. ESMP includes adaptive management triggers and grievance mechanism. FPIC documented with neighbouring communities.
Evidence library (8)
PHOTOGRAPHIC · 2FIELD_OBSERVATION · 2LAB_ANALYSIS · 1COMMUNITY_TESTIMONY · 1SATELLITE_IMAGERY · 1GPS_TRACK · 1
| Type | Description | Collected | GPS | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHOTOGRAPHIC | Drone orthomosaic of project area at 5 cm GSD; overlap 80%/70%; captured in optimal tide window. | 13 Jul 2024 | — | ✓ 1 Oct 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Megafauna sightings log: turtles, sharks, cetaceans recorded with timestamp, GPS, and observer. | 28 Jun 2024 | — | — |
| LAB_ANALYSIS | Sediment carbon density samples analysed via LECO CN628; bulk density and organic carbon fractions. | 13 Jun 2024 | — | ✓ 12 Aug 2024 |
| COMMUNITY_TESTIMONY | Signed minutes from FPIC consultation with neighbouring fisher cooperative; questions and concessions recorded. | 29 May 2024 | — | — |
| SATELLITE_IMAGERY | Sentinel-2 L2A imagery, 10 m resolution, NDVI and water-index composites for monitoring period. | 14 May 2024 | — | ✓ 23 Jun 2024 |
| GPS_TRACK | Surveyor GPS track of restored / protected polygon perimeter; CSV exported from Garmin GPSMAP. | 29 Apr 2024 | — | — |
| PHOTOGRAPHIC | Geo-tagged photo points at 12 fixed monitoring stations; canopy cover and seedling survival visible. | 14 Apr 2024 | — | ✓ 4 May 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Quadrat sampling along three 100 m transects; species count and percent-cover recorded by trained ecologists. | 30 Mar 2024 | — | — |
Stakeholder consultation
CLOSEDOpened
14 May 2024
Closes
13 Jun 2024
Total comments
6
Reversal events (0 detected)
No reversal events detected. The buffer pool remains intact.
Live biodiversity (GBIF)
cached 24h · live polygon queryTotal records
1,496
Species observed
119
Sample size
300
Top 12 species in polygon
| Species | Vernacular | Records | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picea sitchensis | — | 24 | — |
| Anser anser | Graylag Goose | 19 | sample |
| Campanula rotundifolia | — | 19 | sample |
| Larus canus | Common Gull | 11 | sample |
| Cygnus cygnus | Whooper Swan | 11 | — |
| Haematopus ostralegus | Eurasian Oystercatcher | 10 | sample |
| Mergus serrator | Red-breasted Merganser | 9 | sample |
| Lagopus lagopus | Willow Ptarmigan | 7 | — |
| Haliaeetus albicilla | White-tailed Eagle | 6 | sample |
| Ardea cinerea | Gray Heron | 5 | — |
| Numenius arquata | — | 5 | — |
| Tringa totanus | Common Redshank | 5 | — |
Source: Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) occurrence search — live polygon query, max 300 records sampled.
Issued credits
Total issued: 6,396Buffer: 1,804Retired: 0
| Vintage | Status | Issued | Buffer | Serial range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | PARTIALLY_RETIRED | 6,396 | 1,804 | MCC-DEMO-HYB-2024-0012-000001 → MCC-DEMO-HYB-2024-0012-006396 |
Continuous habitat monitoring
Sentinel-2 · CDSE · 10 snapshotsLatest period
1 Apr – 1 May 2026
NDVI mean
0.301
Habitat coverage
67.6%
Cloud cover
100%
Latest least-cloudy Sentinel-2 mosaic of the project area, retrieved live from the Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem. Continuous monitoring runs monthly.
Biodiversity context
GBIF · OBIS (UNESCO-IOC) · public datasetsGBIF (all biodiversity)
Records
1,496
Species
121
Last 5y
300
Top species in sample
- Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carrière24
- Anser anser (Linnaeus, 1758)19
- Campanula rotundifolia L.19
- Larus canus Linnaeus, 175811
- Cygnus cygnus (Linnaeus, 1758)11
OBIS (marine-only)
Records
6
Species
6
Last 5y
0
Top marine species in sample
- Mergus serrator1
- Larus marinus1
- Somateria mollissima1
- Larus argentatus1
- Larus canus1
Sample of up to 300 occurrences each. GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) covers all taxa; OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System, UNESCO-IOC) is the marine subset indexed against WoRMS. Both refresh daily via 24h cache.
Ocean color (chlorophyll, turbidity)
Sentinel-3 OLCI · CDSE · 2026-04Chlorophyll-a
2.41 mg/m³
NDCI
0.145
TSM proxy
0.062
Water quality
moderate · stable
Sentinel-3 OLCI 300 m daily revisit. Chlorophyll-a via OC4Me proxy; NDCI (Mishra & Mishra red-edge) is robust in turbid coastal water. Roadmap: live cron alongside Sentinel-2/Sentinel-1.
Vessel activity in project area
Spire Maritime · global AISUnique vessels (24h)
27
Boundary intrusions (7d)
3
Flag diversity
7
Top vessel types
- Research11
- Pleasure craft10
- Tanker5
Sample MMSI traffic
347581500 · Pleasure craft · CN
279445044 · Passenger · MH
621469649 · Patrol · MT
737500031 · Pleasure craft · MH
Sample data shown. Live Spire Maritime AIS subscription required for production traffic monitoring; the backend endpoint is integrated and waiting on subscription activation.
High-resolution commercial snapshot
Planet Labs · PSSceneCapture date
2026-05-10
Resolution
3 m
Cloud cover
13.6%
Area covered
383 km²
Scene ID
20260510_1788_72_8412
Planet PlanetScope 3 m daily / SkySat 0.5 m on-demand. Used to validate Sentinel-derived signals at sub-Sentinel resolution. Backend integrated; live activation pending Orders API entitlement.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) sample
NatureMetrics · MCC-EDNA-001-6701Collection date
2026-04-18
Species detected
22
IUCN red list (CR/EN/VU)
4
Top detections by read count
- Laminaria hyperborea · Northern kelp917 reads
- Cymodocea nodosa · Little Neptune grass148 reads
- Tursiops truncatus · Common bottlenose dolphin1,337 reads
- Posidonia oceanica · Mediterranean seagrass210 reads
- Rhincodon typus · Whale sharkEN672 reads
Sample composition shown. Live NatureMetrics workflow ships sampling kits to field teams; lab returns metabarcoded species assignments against WoRMS / GBIF references. Replaces with real lab output on first sampling cohort.
Created: 3/15/2024
Last Updated: 3/26/2026