Submit proof of Project ownership

To ensure the Project's legitimacy and compliance, Developers must demonstrate that they possess the legal right to operate on the designated land and benefit from the resulting Restoration Units.

What are the requested documents?

Proof of land tenure or access rights

A Project needs to demonstrate the necessary rights to operate the proposed activities and receive the carbon benefits (carbon credits).

• If land tenure is held directly by the Developer, a valid property title must be submitted to fulfill this task.
• When land tenure, including customary land tenure, is held by a third party, the Developer must demonstrate exclusive and indisputable right for the entirety of the crediting period via a binding and enforceable agreement signed with the rights holders.
  • If the rights holders are IPLCs, the agreement must be done following the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent.
  • If the carbon rights are coupled with land tenure, the rights to the carbon benefits need to be included in this agreement.
• All documentation submitted must demonstrate the absence of conflicts or disputes over land tenure.

Proof of carbon rights

In cases where carbon rights are not intrinsically attached to the land tenure, a second binding and enforceable agreements must be signed with the rightful rights holders for the carbon benefits.

What should it contain?

If an agreement is necessary, it is recommended to contain the following information to be deemed accepted:

• All of the parties’ identities;
• The land’s location and registration number if applicable;
• Contract’s validity period covering all the Project’s duration (at least 40 years);
• All the activities the Developer is allowed to perform and any applicable restriction;
• An explicit authorisation from the carbon rights holder to the Developer to exploit the Project’s resulting credits in the Voluntary Carbon Markets;
• All parties’ obligations, rights and guarantees, including:
  • who will cover the costs of the activities.
  • applicable security measures and who is responsible for their costs and implementation.
  • who is responsible for obtaining the necessary licenses to implement, operate and benefit from the Project.
  • who is legally responsible for the Project in case of litigation
• The type and amount of compensation for the land usage and/or how benefits deriving from the carbon credits sale will be distributed and to whom;
• Conditions and procedures to terminate the contract;
• Which conditions are acceptable as “force majeur”;
• Exclusivity clause, if applicable, and if not, specifying which other concomitant activities can take place.

The agreement must be in English, Spanish, Portuguese or French. If it is not the case, an English translation must accompany the original document.