On August 24, 2024, a carbon credit trading contract of soil and water conservation was signed in the Ziyang watershed, Shangyou County, Jiangxi Province. The transaction involves a carbon sequestration volume of 70,000 tons, with an amount of 2.1 million yuan. The revenue from the transaction will be exclusively used for soil erosion control in the Ziyang watershed, so as to further enhance conservation outcomes and improve regional ecological environment.

The Ziyang watershed is located in Ziyang Township, Shangyou County, covering an area of 22.43 km2. In recent years, Shangyou County has been continuously rolling out comprehensive management of soil erosion in the Ziyang watershed. Through planting soil and water conservation forests, banning deforestation and other integrated measures, vegetation in the watershed has been rapidly recovered, soil erosion has been effectively curbed, and ecological function and carbon sequestration capacity have been significantly improved. As another successful practice,  the trading sets an good example to the development of soil and water conservation carbon credit trading in the whole country.

Ziyangl watershed, Shangyou County, Jiangxi province

Ministry of Water Resources attaches great importance to carbon sink of soil and water conservation, requiring the improvement of the technical standard system of soil and water conservation carbon sink, and the promotion of soil and water conservation carbon sink into the trading system of greenhouse gas emission reduction. Various regions, including Jinzhai County in Anhui Province, Lingchuan County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Zhijin County in Guizhou Province and Pengyang County in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, are currently carrying out orderly monitoring and accounting of soil and water conservation carbon sinks. After all, the carbon sink of soil and water conservation will further expand investment channels for soil erosion control, broaden the path of transforming lucid waters and lush mountains into valuable assets, and render supports for comprehensively improving soil and water conservation functions and ecological product supply capacity.

(Source: INTCE)