January 15, 2026

Case Study: Building a transparent digital carbon registry with OpenForests

OpenForests and Grupo Ecológico Sierra Gorda (GESG) worked together to develop a digital carbon registry and interactive map for the Carbono Biodiverso programme in Mexico. The platform makes carbon credits, conservation project areas and payments to participating landowners easier to trace and verify.

For decades, GESG has protected the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve while supporting sustainable livelihoods in local communities. Through Carbono Biodiverso, GESG operates a government-backed local carbon protocol that connects carbon finance with forest conservation and natural regeneration, directing at least 80% of programme revenue to participating landowners.

However, demonstrating the credibility and impact of a forest carbon programme requires more than conservation work on the ground. With information spread across spreadsheets, documents and internal records, GESG needed a more transparent way to show where carbon credits originated, which forest areas they supported and how financial benefits reached local families.

Working with OpenForests, GESG developed a digital carbon registry with an interactive geospatial map, connecting carbon credits, conservation project areas, transactions and landowner payments. The platform makes project locations easier to explore and provides digital records that help stakeholders trace and verify carbon data and financial flows.

The result is a stronger foundation for transparency and accountability in carbon finance. Buyers, partners and other stakeholders can better understand the relationship between carbon credits, forest conservation and the communities benefiting from the programme. For GESG, the registry also supports reporting, auditing and the potential expansion of its community-centred approach to forest conservation.

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Read the full case study at Open Forests  →

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