Mekong Delta Mangrove Restoration
DemonstrationMCC-2024-0008 • Vietnam • Cà Mau Province
ACTIVE
Methodology
MCC-001
Country
Vietnam
Cà Mau Province
Estimated Area
5,200 ha
Est. Credits/Year
42,000
Start Date
1/20/2024
Crediting Period
30 years
Project Description
Community-led mangrove restoration across 5,200 hectares of degraded coastal zones in Vietnam's Mekong Delta. Combines Rhizophora and Avicennia species planting with aquaculture-mangrove integrated management. Supporting 12 communes with 45,000+ beneficiaries through sustainable shrimp-mangrove systems.
Project lifecycle
Project workflowACTIVE
Milestones (4/5 completed)
- Baseline ecological surveyCOMPLETED
Establish pre-project ecological baseline using transect surveys, water quality sampling, and remote-sensing imagery analysis.
Due: 19 Feb 2024Completed: 21 Feb 2024 - Stakeholder consultation completedCOMPLETED
Open consultation with coastal communities, fisher cooperatives, and local authorities — minutes archived in project record.
Due: 19 Apr 2024Completed: 25 Apr 2024 - Field implementation kickoffCOMPLETED
On-site teams mobilised; planting, deployment, or protection-measures begin per methodology specification.
Due: 18 Jun 2024Completed: 3 Jul 2024 - First annual monitoring reportCOMPLETED
Year-one monitoring report compiled and submitted; covers biomass, GPS tracks, photo points, and community indicators.
Due: 14 Jan 2025Completed: 26 Jan 2025 - Independent validation site visitPENDING
VVB lead auditor visits project site, samples evidence, reviews documentation, drafts validation opinion.
Due: 14 Apr 2025
Validation & verification
Validation
ISO 14064-2:2019COMPLETED
Site visit: 18 Jun 2024 · Opinion issued: 18 Jul 2024
Positive validation opinion issued. The project as described in the PDD meets the eligibility, additionality, and methodology-application requirements of MCC.
Verification
42,120 net creditsCOMPLETED
Quantified
52,000
Buffer
19%
Period: 1 Jan 2025 – 31 Dec 2025
Positive — increased sequestration from maturing root systems. Buffer pool contribution of 9,880 units.
AI assessment
PDD_COMPLETENESS_REVIEW · 19 Feb 2024Completeness
90%
Confidence
HIGH
91%
Recommendation
PROCEED_TO_ISSUANCE
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: 19 Apr 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: 19 Apr 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: 19 Apr 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: 20 Mar 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. | 19 May 2024 | — | ✓ 7 Aug 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Megafauna sightings log: turtles, sharks, cetaceans recorded with timestamp, GPS, and observer. | 4 May 2024 | — | — |
| LAB_ANALYSIS | Sediment carbon density samples analysed via LECO CN628; bulk density and organic carbon fractions. | 19 Apr 2024 | — | ✓ 18 Jun 2024 |
| COMMUNITY_TESTIMONY | Signed minutes from FPIC consultation with neighbouring fisher cooperative; questions and concessions recorded. | 4 Apr 2024 | — | — |
| SATELLITE_IMAGERY | Sentinel-2 L2A imagery, 10 m resolution, NDVI and water-index composites for monitoring period. | 20 Mar 2024 | — | ✓ 29 Apr 2024 |
| GPS_TRACK | Surveyor GPS track of restored / protected polygon perimeter; CSV exported from Garmin GPSMAP. | 5 Mar 2024 | — | — |
| PHOTOGRAPHIC | Geo-tagged photo points at 12 fixed monitoring stations; canopy cover and seedling survival visible. | 19 Feb 2024 | — | ✓ 10 Mar 2024 |
| FIELD_OBSERVATION | Quadrat sampling along three 100 m transects; species count and percent-cover recorded by trained ecologists. | 4 Feb 2024 | — | — |
Stakeholder consultation
CLOSEDOpened
20 Mar 2024
Closes
19 Apr 2024
Total comments
6
Reversal events (1 detected)
PARTIAL
31 Jan 2026 · CONTINUOUS_MONITORINGAffected area
180.5 ha
Reversed (tCO₂e)
1,240
Sentinel-2 NDVI dropped 18% over 12-hectare area. Field investigation confirmed selective canal clearing for shrimp pond expansion adjacent to project boundary. Buffer pool drawdown initiated; project developer engaged for remediation plan.
Live biodiversity (GBIF)
cached 24h · live polygon queryTotal records
3
Species observed
3
Sample size
3
Top 3 species in polygon
| Species | Vernacular | Records | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhabdophis Fitzinger, 1843 | — | 1 | sample |
| Ulva limnetica | — | 1 | — |
| Aedes aegypti | — | 1 | — |
Source: Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) occurrence search — live polygon query, max 300 records sampled.
Issued credits
Total issued: 1,350Buffer: 150Retired: 100
| Vintage | Status | Issued | Buffer | Serial range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ISSUED | 900 | 100 | MCC-DEMO-CC-2025-MEKONG-0000001 → MCC-DEMO-CC-2025-MEKONG-0001000 |
| 2024 | ISSUED | 450 | 50 | MCC-DEMO-CC-2024-MEKONG-0000001 → MCC-DEMO-CC-2024-MEKONG-0000500 |
Retirements (1)
- 100 credits · Equinor ASAView certificate →Corporate sustainability contribution to marine ecosystem restoration30 April 2026
Continuous habitat monitoring
Sentinel-2 · CDSE · 12 snapshotsLatest period
1 Apr – 1 May 2026
NDVI mean
0.208
Habitat coverage
19.5%
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
3
Species
3
Last 5y
1
Top species in sample
- Rhabdophis Fitzinger, 18431
- Ulva limnetica K.Ichihara & S.Shimada, 20091
- Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus, 1762)1
OBIS (marine-only)
Records
0
Species
0
Last 5y
0
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.
Mangrove habitat baseline
Global Mangrove Watch · GMW v3.14Mangrove extent 2010
52,300 ha
Mangrove extent 2024
49,800 ha
Net change
-2,500 ha
(-4.8%)
Trend
decreasing
Baseline computed from the GMW v3 polygon release cross-referenced against the project boundary at upload time. Roadmap: monthly PostGIS-driven re-intersection against the live GMW STAC catalog.
Ocean color (chlorophyll, turbidity)
Sentinel-3 OLCI · CDSE · 2026-04Chlorophyll-a
3.66 mg/m³
NDCI
0.027
TSM proxy
0.210
Water quality
poor · 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)
58
Boundary intrusions (7d)
3
Flag diversity
5
Top vessel types
- Fishing22
- Pleasure craft17
- Research11
Sample MMSI traffic
555216938 · Research · ES
620243254 · Patrol · LR
626782123 · Patrol · CN
613180677 · Passenger · TN
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
2026-05-15
Resolution
3 m
Cloud cover
9.3%
Area covered
103 km²
Scene ID
20260515_3580_44_3472
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-004-9456Collection date
2026-04-26
Species detected
61
IUCN red list (CR/EN/VU)
5
Top detections by read count
- Acropora palmata · Elkhorn coralCR984 reads
- Avicennia marina · Grey mangrove1,214 reads
- Posidonia oceanica · Mediterranean seagrass1,435 reads
- Macrocystis pyrifera · Giant kelp2,057 reads
- Pomatomus saltatrix · BluefishVU2,025 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: 1/20/2024
Last Updated: 3/26/2026