Good practice

Proyecto de Carbono Comunitario Scolel'te (Chiapas, México)

Mexico · San Cristóbal de las Casas · See the Mexico profile

El proyecto de mercado voluntario de carbono más antiguo del mundo (1994), liderado por comunidades agrícolas indígenas y mestizas en Chiapas bajo el estándar Plan Vivo. Cubre 9.150 ha de agrosilvicultura comunitaria; más de 860.000 USD en pagos directos a ~500 familias desde 2002.

9,150 ha

Superficie bajo agroforestería / reforestación

US$860,000+

Pagos directos a familias (since 2002)

~500

Familias beneficiadas

Proyecto de Carbono Comunitario Scolel'te (Chiapas, México)

Details

Maturity: Established
Promoter: AMBIO S.C. (Cooperativa Ambiental de Chiapas) / ECOSUR
Period: 1994-present
Keywords: Agroforestry, community, indigenous, carbon, reforestation

Context

Scolel'te, en Chiapas, México, lanzado en 1994, es el proyecto de mercado de carbono operativo más antiguo del mundo, liderado por comunidades agrícolas indígenas y mestizas bajo Plan Vivo.

Results

Abarca 9.150 ha de agroforestería y reforestación comunitaria, pagando más de 860.000 USD directamente a unas 500 familias desde 2002.

Implementation

Implementation detail (cost, timeline, staffing, conditions for success) is not yet available for this practice.

Data sources

Where this practice's information was retrieved from, and when.

C-NAPSE web research — accessed 2026-06-21
AMBIO S.C. (Cooperativa Ambiental de Chiapas) / ECOSUR — accessed 2026-06-21
Plan Vivo Foundation – Scolel'te Project — accessed 2026-06-21
AMBIO S.C. – Programa Scolel'te — accessed 2026-06-21
Yale ELTI Tropical Restoration Library – Scolel'te Plan Vivo Project — accessed 2026-06-21

Attachments

Source image

Quality score: 67/100

How is this calculated?

Evidence: Observational / pre–post

Top 8% in this catalogue (335 scored practices)

Scores cluster high, so position within the catalogue is often more telling than the number alone.

Evaluation

Evaluated by C-NAPSE

Score profile — the dimensions behind the score — how it's computed

Carbon — sequestration / storage, evidenced2/3

Plan Vivo certified continuously since 1994 across 9,150 ha of community agroforestry; >USD 860,000 in direct farmer payments confirm sustained credit issuance over 30 years, though a cumulative tCO2e total is not publicly disaggregated.

Biodiversity — conservation / improvement, evidenced2/3

Community-managed plots in the Chiapas biodiversity hotspot support native tree species and wildlife corridors under traditional Tzeltal, Tzotzil and Chol Maya land management; outcomes are not formally quantified.

Water & soil — retention, infiltration, erosion control2/3

Agroforestry and forest restoration on highland slopes in Chiapas reduce soil erosion and improve water infiltration in river headwaters, inferred from 9,150 ha of land-use change but not independently measured.

Fire resilience — risk reduction, evidenced1/3

Managed community forest plots in fire-prone Chiapas highlands incidentally reduce fuel loads, but fire management is not a stated objective or monitored metric.

Governance, certification & transferability3/3

Plan Vivo certified since 1994; AMBIO S.C. commercially self-sufficient since 2002; 30+ years of continuous third-party verification; credits registered in the Plan Vivo Foundation registry; indigenous cooperative governance.

Cite this

Evidoria. Proyecto de Carbono Comunitario Scolel'te (Chiapas, México). Persistent ID: 83fc463e-6f5a-42e1-9f8e-62c3e7d0ffbf.

Export as decision brief (PDF)

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