This project ensures the protection of over 52,000 hectares of pristine mangrove forest in Cambodia. Locally hired rangers are in charge of overseeing 2,000+ hectares of forest within the project boundary and 50,000+ hectares of forest just outside of the project boundary.

The Southern Cardamom project REDD+ is part of the Indo-Burma Biodiversity Hotspot, Providing habitat for a myriad of IUCN Threatened birds, mammals, and reptiles. From forested ridges to the melaleuca wetlands, this region is a critical watershed for the Gulf of Thailand.

This project protects 497,000 hectares of coastal watershed. The protection of the mangrove forests and the coastal watershed ecosystems is critical for maximizing the effectiveness of this blue-carbon project. In fact, studies have shown that Mangroves sequester 160% more carbon when they are connected with a healthy watershed.

Coastal ecosystems are an essential piece of the solution to global climate change. Mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrasses come together to form blue-carbon ecosystems. When protected, these ecosystems sequester and store large amounts of “blue” carbon from the atmosphere and oceans. When left unprotected, these ecosystems can actually become sources of greenhouse gases and release all the carbon they have stored for centuries back into our atmosphere and oceans. This project aims to protect and ensure the ongoing storage and sequestration of blue carbon ultimately making it a certified Blue Carbon Project. This project generates 3.5 million carbon credits each year for the duration of its 30 year lifespan.