More than 750 hectares of ecologically sensitive land on Denman Island will be set aside for future inclusion in the British Columbia park system, according to the carbon offset firm ERA Ecosystem Restoration Associates.

According to a release:

The public-private partnership involving the British Columbia Government, North Denman Island Lands Inc, ERA Ecosystem Restoration Associates Inc (ERA), and the Forest Carbon Group AG (FCG) uses an innovative agreement involving land donations, the transfer of local development rights, and carbon sequestration rights. This multifaceted agreement enabled the British Columbia Government to purchase the land for future inclusion in the BC parks and protected areas system. Without this partnership the future park area, approximately 15 per cent of Denman Island, would have been slated for subdivision into residential properties and agricultural properties including vineyards and hayfields.

ERA Ecosystem Restoration Associates is a subsidiary of ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd., which claims to have delivered more than a million tonnes of carbon offsets to the voluntary market, and is engaged in the development of forest carbon projects in Canada, Africa and the Hawaiian Islands.

Monte Paulsen reports on carbon shift for The Tyee.