Grassland Restoration in Argentina

Ranchers across 30,900 hectares of the Pampas moving to rotational and high-density grazing with better water management, rebuilding the soil and storing carbon underground, with Aves Argentinas and BirdLife International as partners.

Pampas and temperate grasslands, Argentina · Verra VCS 3291

© Boomitra

The project in numbers

The developer’s figures, as stated in its documents.

30,900hectares of Pampas grassland

= 2,000 hectares

100,000tons of CO₂ removed to date

= 5,000 tons

500,000tons of CO₂ a year projected at scale

= 20,000 tons

Key facts

Improved Grassland Management

30,900ha
Area
pathway to 200,000 ha
100,000+ t CO₂
Removed to date
developer’s stated figure
500,000+ t CO₂ a year
Projected
at scale, developer’s figure
75% to ranchers
Revenue
and implementation partners
Methodology
Verra VM0042
Labels
CORSIA eligible · CCB expected · CCP pending
Offtake
Rio Tinto · long-term agreement, May 2025
Developer
Boomitra · with Aves Argentinas, BirdLife International
UN SDGs
  • SDG 2: Zero Hunger
  • SDG 6: Clean Water
  • SDG 8: Decent Work
  • SDG 15: Life on Land

SDG icons © United Nations. The content of this page has not been approved by the United Nations and does not reflect the views of the United Nations or its officials or Member States. un.org/sustainabledevelopment

Integrity

Soil carbon on working ranches, with two of the region's conservation bodies inside the project and most of the money going to the people doing the grazing.

Draft profile, pending review

  1. Additional

    Ranchers change how they graze and manage water; the credit revenue pays for it, and 75% of gross revenue goes to ranchers and implementation partners.

  2. Permanent

    Carbon stored in soil and roots across 30,900 hectares under Verra's VM0042 methodology, with a pathway to 200,000 hectares; Rio Tinto's long-term offtake (May 2025) finances the work for years ahead.

  3. Measured

    Verified under Verra VM0042; CORSIA-eligible; CCB certification expected; CCP tagging expected retroactively on VM0042 v3. Issuance status to confirm on the Verra registry.

  4. People and nature

    Endangered temperate grassland, one of the most biodiverse and threatened biomes; a new biodiversity and soil-carbon research station in the Aguapey river basin; proceeds reinvested in beekeeping, ecotourism and land management.

On the record

Standard
Verra VCS · 3291
Methodology
Verra VM0042
Labels
CORSIA eligible · CCB expected · CCP pending
View on the VCS registry ↗

Certifications

  • Verra VCS (project 3291)
  • Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) certification expected
  • Verra VCS 3291 under methodology VM0042.
  • CORSIA eligible; CCB certification expected; CCP label pending (expected retroactively on the release of VM0042 version 3). Ratings: none named.
  • Long-term offtake agreement with Rio Tinto (May 2025); the Paraguay volumes of VCS 3291 are offtaken by the Singapore Government.

What the project does

Across the Pampas and the temperate grasslands of north-east Argentina, ranchers are changing how they graze: moving herds through smaller paddocks at higher density, resting the grass, and managing water. The grass recovers, roots go deeper, and carbon is stored in the soil, where fire and drought do not release it. The project covers 30,900 hectares today, with a pathway to 200,000, and is the Argentine part of the Argentina–Paraguay project registered with Verra as VCS 3291.

Aves Argentinas and BirdLife International are partners, through the Alianza del Pastizal that unites ranchers, scientists and conservationists across South America’s grasslands, and the project has set up a research station on biodiversity and soil carbon in the Aguapey river basin. Rio Tinto signed a long-term offtake in May 2025 after its own due diligence; 75% of gross revenue goes to the ranchers and the partners doing the work.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these documents and is reproduced as stated; Lignum & Bloom has not independently verified it.