A women-led mangrove restoration and blue-carbon project on Cu Lao Dung Island, Soc Trang province, scaling from a 5-hectare pilot to 1,000 hectares under the Verra VCS framework and conservatively sized at approximately 413,000 tonnes of CO₂e over 30 years.
One of the Mekong delta’s most important remaining mangrove belts is eroding by default carbon finance is the missing incentive to restore it.
Cu Lao Dung is a large Alluvial island between the Hau river and the sea, home to around 40,000 people whose livelihoods depend on shrimp aquaculture and small-scale fishing. Its mangrove fringe of native Sonneratia, Avicennia and Rhizophora is the island’s first line of defence against storm surge and saline intrusion yet the delta front is eroding and subsiding at one of the highest rates in Southeast Asia, and mangrove has been cleared for ponds, with roughly 1,633 hectares of aquaculture mapped in the candidate restoration pool.
Households hold protection contracts rather than land titles, and no finance rewards restoration, so degradation continues. Voluntary carbon markets change that calculus. By converting restored biomass and soil carbon into verified credits under VM0033, the project funds hydrological reconnection, native replanting from the women-run nursery and Community patrols and commits 15% of gross carbon revenue to local households. Supply of high-integrity blue carbon remains scarce, and Vietnam’s decree 112/2026 now provides a clear pathway for the international transfer of VCS credits, positioning early partners ahead of a market that is only beginning to scale.
Baseline and leakage set to zero, a 10% uncertainty deduction, a 20% permanence buffer and an 85% haircut on soil carbon a pre-feasibility floor, not a best case, to be firmed by field data across a ~3,444 ha GIS candidate pool.
Credits are quantified from above- and below-ground mangrove biomass (~96%) and soil carbon accretion (~4%) on restored tidal wetland, with additionality demonstrated under VMD0052 and permanence steered to stable, accreting zones outside any protected area. A field campaign soil cores, biomass plots, hydrology will replace literature defaults with site-specific, audit-ready data. Figures are pre-feasibility estimates for a 1,000 ha reference case, not a confirmed eligible area.
The project is seeking forward offtake interest against its first crediting period, alongside catalytic grant funding for the development phase. Early commitments underwrite restoration, MRV set-up and validation, and secure volume from a scarce, women-led supply of Mekong Delta blue carbon ahead of the market.
Women design, govern and run the project Women4Mangrove leads with the Cu Lao Dung Association of Women Entrepreneurs, and a women-run herbal tea, NTFP and ecotourism value chain adds household income now.
Approximately 413,000 tonnes of CO₂e removed over 30 years, while the restored belt buffers 40,000 residents against storm surge, erosion and saline intrusion.
Restored Sonneratia, Avicennia and Rhizophora stands rebuild nursery habitat for fish, crab and shrimp underpinning the small-scale fisheries that island households depend on.
The Women4Mangrove Restoration Project is seeking forward offtake against its first crediting period. Talk to our VCM team about offtake, pricing, vintages and blended-finance structures tailored to your portfolio.