Opening Remarks
Programme Summary
This document outlines the requirements and procedures for designing, certifying, and monitoring ERS-certified Projects. It covers Certification and MRV procedures, handling of Project deviations, and rules for using Restoration Units. It also includes an overview of ERS governance, procedures for revising the Programme and its Methodologies, and the Grievance Mechanism. These rules and principles apply to ERS-certified Projects, and must be used in conjunction with the Methodologies employed by Developers.
Opening Remarks
It is with a profound sense of responsibility and an acute awareness of the urgency that grips our natural world, that we introduce the Ecosystem Restoration Standard.
Our emergence as a new standard in the carbon markets stems not from a desire to overshadow the work of our predecessors but from a clear and pressing need to address a significant market gap.
Our planet is grappling with over two billion hectares of degraded land, a call to action that cannot go unanswered. Carbon market mechanisms have laid the groundwork for financing crucial environmental efforts, yet the potential to leverage market-based solutions to drive restoration on a global scale remains untapped. To date, reforestation projects represent a mere 3% of issued carbon credits, most of them stemming from commercial plantations of non-native species. Restoration projects are vastly under-certified and underfunded.
In light of this reality, our mission is clear and unwavering: to empower people and organisations to restore the natural world.
Over the last three years, through R&D, pilot projects, and public consultations, we have sought to understand how we might best serve our stakeholders and fulfil this mission. We owe a debt of gratitude to the hundreds who have contributed to the development of the Ecosystem Restoration Standard, as well as to the standards and market pioneers that have paved our way — we truly stand on the shoulders of giants.
Despite all of our progress, we acknowledge that our journey is just beginning. We will continue to listen, learn, and adapt. Your contributions, critiques, and feedback are invaluable to our growth and continuous improvement.
Thank you for joining us in this vital endeavour.
Reading Notes
- The document employs following definitions:
- “must”, represents mandatory requirements.
- “should”, represents recommendations or best practices that Developers should aim to implement on their Projects.
- “may”, represents a course of action permissible by the standard.
- When “strive” is added behind those verbs, Developers have an obligation of means but not of results.