ABSTRACT
During 2004, Dutch donors, by means of the Humanist Institute for Development Cooperation (HIVOS), charged the Educational Corporation for Costa Rican Development (Corporación Educativa para el Desarrollo Costarricense, CEDECO), a non-profit NGO, with developing and implementing a methodology to validate the potential of small-farmer agro-ecological practices in carbon sequestration, GHG emissions reductions and energy efficiency. Based on this, carbon credits for the voluntary carbon market, on principles of direct partnership with private companies, can be generated. This case study describes the methodological approach used and the livelihood effects of this project. The University of Costa Rica, the National University and the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Teaching (CATIE) in Costa Rica and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) from Switzerland participated in the research. The National Institute for Agricultural Sciences (INCA) in Cuba was also invited to carry out similar studies on the island.
