Soil Sampling Project 2015

Hivos supports the development of a Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) carbon accounting methodology for the Gold Standard Foundation in various different projects in Nicaragua, Peru, Kenya and also Indonesia. Internationally, CSA is believed to contribute to the achievement of sustainable development goals. It integrates three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental) by jointly addressing the challenges of food security and climate.

In 2014, Hivos commissioned Soil & More Int. (SMI) to develop a methodology to explain carbon reduction and soil carbon sequestration, which may occur due to increased use of bio-slurry as a natural fertilizer in households that have participated in biogas programs in Indonesia and Kenya and are registered with the Gold Standard. If this methodology is approved, then the reduction of IDBP bio-slurry emissions and soil carbon sequestration can be verified by the Gold Standard. Therefore, Hivos gave a mandate to a local foundation, Yayasan Rumah Energi (Rumah Energi) to conduct soil sampling in 9 provinces.

The purpose of the soil sampling campaign is to assess whether the users of agricultural biogas use bio-slurry and how the applied bio-slurry affects soil carbon sequestration.