Inpang Carbon Bank in Northeast Thailand: A Community Effort in Carbon Trading from Agroforestry Projects

Abstract

Carbon (C) is a new commodity that is now traded in financial marketsand there is potential for farmers adopting agroforestry to sell C inaddition to traditional timber and non-timber agroforestry commodities.Implementing agroforestry C offset projects is a challenging task,however, and it requires new, market-approved, C accounting methods thatreduce transaction costs. This paper describes the Inpang Carbon Bankproject in Northeast Thailand developed through collaboration betweenthe Inpang Community Network, scientists at the Department of Forestry,Michigan State University (USA), Mahasarakham University (Thailand), andcolleagues at the National Research Council of Thailand. Under thisproject a new protocol has been developed, which is in review by theChicago Climate Exchange, besides an on-line C offset monitoring,verification, and reporting management system, called Carbon2Markets. Acost recovery analysis for the Inpang Carbon Bank smallholder teak(Tectona grandis L.f.) offset project shows that C would have to be soldat a value not less than US$1.66 per Mg CO2.