Introduction

Quadra Island, nestled off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island within the Strathcona Regional District, is home to a remarkable stretch of Coastal Western Hemlock second-growth forests that was long earmarked for vacation home development and continued logging. The Quadra Island Forestland Conservation Project permanently protects approximately 417 hectares of this land, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and conserving site-specific features.

Beyond carbon, the site holds deep ecological and cultural significance. It contains important archaeological sites, a historic Aboriginal portage route, and provides critical connectivity between existing provincial parks, allowing wildlife to move safely across the landscape. The project was developed under the BC Forest Carbon Offset Protocol (FCOP) v1.0 as a combined Improved Forest Management and Conservation/Avoided Deforestation project.

Our Role

Ostrom Climate secured the carbon financing that made protection of this land possible, a barrier that had blocked conservation efforts for nearly two decades. That financing, combined with donor contributions and a land trade, enabled the site's designation as a BC Park.

We led the development of the full project design, including inventory design and implementation, carbon scenario quantification, risk and leakage evaluation, and preparation of all protocol-required documentation. Ostrom Climate also organized the initial third-party audits that achieved successful validation, verification, and offset unit issuance, and continues to manage subsequent verifications today.