Executive Summary

Guinea-Bissau has limited experience with nature-based carbon credit projects on the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM). The only registered project is the Community-Based Avoided Deforestation Project under the Verra Standard as a REDD initiative. The country lacks a regulatory framework for these projects and does not require authorization, national registry registration, benefit-sharing agreements, or Measuring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) processes. While Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is not legally required, the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (IBAP) engages communities through participatory management. Since the state owns all land and resources, project developers must obtain land use authorizations or permits. The absence of clear regulations creates uncertainty for investors and project developers, underscoring the need for a structured policy framework to support carbon market participation. Project developers should engage with government agencies and stakeholders to ensure projects align with national requirements.
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Guinea-Bissau permits nature-based carbon credit projects through leaseholds, concessions, and management agreements. Private land ownership is not allowed, but the Land Law recognizes communities' customary rights to land use and resource access. The country has two types of concessions: rural and surface. Rural concessions apply to agricultural, livestock, agro-industrial, forestry, and tourism projects outside urban zones, available to nationals and foreigners for up to 90 years, with automatic renewal unless terminated with three years' notice. The Directorate of the National Service of Geography and Cadastre grants these concessions. Surface concessions allow entities to build or maintain residential, commercial, industrial, or cultural projects within cities, towns, or designated expansion zones. These contracts can be perpetual or temporary, and municipal authorities issue them. Both private and collective legal entities, including communities, can obtain concessions under the same terms. However, it is unclear whether mangrove forests in urban areas or expansion zones require rural and surface concessions or just one, creating uncertainty for project developers.
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The Constitution grants the State ownership over land, natural resources, minerals, energy sources, forests, and infrastructure, suggesting carbon rights are tied to state ownership and management. However, there is no specific legal definition of carbon rights in mangrove forests and no mechanisms to secure, transfer, or revoke them. Defining a legal framework for carbon rights would clarify who can claim, transfer, or benefit from carbon sequestration in mangrove forests.

Overall, Guinea-Bissau has unfavorable enabling conditions for blue carbon projects. The country's limited experience, absence of specific VCM regulations, complexities in land tenure, and lack of explicit processes to secure carbon rights create legal and operational uncertainty.
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