Projects and Initiatives
The Accelerator currently has two projects that are benefitting from private sector investment through carbon offsets: the Darkwoods and Boreal Wildlands Forest Carbon Projects.
NCC’s carbon offset projects are selected based on specific criteria and must add value to our existing conservation work. The Accelerator carbon projects fit well with NCC’s overall strategy, which includes many facets of conservation activities, carbon projects being one of those.
Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project
The Darkwoods Forest Carbon Project is the first in Canada to use the power of the carbon market and conservation finance to advance large-scale conservation. The award-winning project offers carbon offsets that are generated from the Darkwoods Conservation Area — the most highly certified carbon offset project in any Canadian forested landscape. The offsets are sold in the voluntary carbon market to businesses, governments and other agencies that are actively seeking to reduce their carbon footprint.
Boreal Wildlands Carbon Project
The Boreal Wildlands, located south of Hearst, Ontario, is a massive carbon sink, storing 190 million tonnes of carbon, or the equivalent of the lifetime emissions of approximately three million cars. The conservation of Boreal Wildlands — 1,450 square kilometres of rivers and streams, peatlands and forested landscapes — is an example of nature-based solutions at work. The project has been recognized for its excellence as a Clean50 Top Project, which annually recognizes projects for their innovation and their ability to inform and inspire other Canadians.
Other initiatives: Developing mechanisms for investing in nature
Grasslands
NCC is exploring the potential of grassland carbon projects based on a newly developed grassland carbon protocol. Grasslands, which tend to be located mostly on private lands, are an example of how NCC can harness carbon as a tool to encourage landowners to sign on to conservation agreements to protect private lands.
Wetlands
As part of a partnership with Intact Financial Corporation, the Accelerator team is investigating new ways to fund wetland conservation for flood risk mitigation with the development of a made-in-Canada protocol for wetland-based carbon offsets. The protocol will guide the implementation and fast-tracking of wetland carbon projects in Canada and abroad, and increase the opportunity for investments in wetland conservation.
To learn more about the Accelerator and opportunities for investing in nature,
please contact accelerator@natureconservancy.ca.
