Selva de Mataven REDD+

Inside the project

Selva de Mataven is an avoided-unplanned-deforestation (AUDD) REDD+ project governed by the Resguardo Indigena Unificado Selva de Mataven, a unified indigenous reserve.

It sits in the Orinoco-Amazon transition of Vichada, Colombia, and is registered under Verra's VCS programme with CCB certification.

Verra's registry lists VCS 1566 as registered on 8 December 2016 over 1,150,212 hectares in Cumaribo, Vichada; as viewed in September 2026 it shows 27,094,417 units issued and 20,471,633 retired, with a verification approval requested.

Colombian AUDD REDD+ baselines have drawn broad external scrutiny over how avoided-deforestation is estimated, so the project's crediting figures should be read in that wider context.

Objectives

• Support indigenous governance and land-use decisions across the unified reserve.
• Reduce unplanned deforestation within the project area.
• Direct carbon finance to the indigenous communities of the reserve.

Approach

• The reserve's own governance structures lead land management and project decisions.
• The project uses the AUDD methodology, where crediting depends on a modelled deforestation baseline.
• Given documented scrutiny of Colombian REDD+ baselines, the avoided-deforestation claim is presented neutrally as a methodology-dependent estimate under ongoing debate.