1. Title of project: Project Salicornia, Halophyte Cultivation in Sonora
2. Host country: Mexico
3. Brief project description:
Project Salicornia is Phase I of a two-phase project to cultivate a native halophyte (a salt-tolerant
euphorb plant, Salicornia bigelovii) in a coastal desert region of northwest Mexico. Phase I is designed to
research and demonstrate Salicornia cultivation on 30 hectares of coastal land. The estimated greenhouse
gas (GHG) benefits of the project result from carbon accumulation and storage in the sandy soil. If Phase
II is initiated, the cultivated crop could potentially serve as a valuable source of biomass material, and
food (cooking oil and fresh vegetable products), and could generate income for the local population.
4. Participants:
Name of Organization or Individual
Country
Genesis, S.A. de C.V. (a subsidiary of PDC)
Mexico
Planetary Design Corporation (PDC)
U.S.A.
Halophyte Enterprises, Inc (HEIa subsidiary of PDC)
U.S.A.
Salt River Project (SRP)
U.S.A.
Econergy International Corporation (EIC)
U.S.A.
Item
Organization
Name of organization (original language)
or
Name of individual if unaffiliated with any organization
Genesis, S.A. de C.V.
Name of organization (English)
(Same as above)
Acronym (original language)
None
Acronym (English)
(Same as above)
Department
Function(s) within the AIJ project activities
On-site management of day-to-day operations, personnel management, and procurement
Street
Yañez 116 Norte
City
Hermosillo, Sonora
State
Post code
CP 81390
Country
Mexico
Telephone
Fax
E-mail
World Wide Web-URL address
Administrative Officer Responsible for the Project
Surname
Mota Urbina
First name, middle name
Carlos
Job title
Director General de Genetica y Sistemas de Ingenieria Solar S.A. de C.V.
Direct telephone
Direct fax
Direct e-mail
Contact Person for AIJ Activities (if different from the Administrative Officer)
Surname
Cota Hernández
First name, middle name
C.P.T. Alfonso
Job title
Director Financieró
Direct telephone
52-62-14 5667 or 14 5824
Direct fax
(Same as above)
Direct e-mail
Item
Organization
Name of organization (original language)
or
Name of individual if unaffiliated with any organization
Contact Person for AIJ Activities (if different from the Administrative Officer)
Surname
(Same as above)
First name, middle name
Job title
Direct telephone
Direct fax
Direct e-mail
Item
Organization
Name of organization (original language)
or
Name of individual if unaffiliated with any organization
Econergy International Corporation
Name of organization (English)
(Same as above)
Acronym (original language)
EIC
Acronym (English)
(Same as above)
Department
Function(s) within the AIJ project activities
Technical and financial advisor
Street
1925 K Street, NW Suite 230
City
Washington
State
Distric of Columbia
Post code
20006
Country
U.S.A.
Telephone
Fax
E-mail
World Wide Web-URL address
Administrative Officer Responsible for the Project
Surname
Ashford
First name, middle name
Michael S.
Job title
Vice President
Direct telephone
202-822-4980
Direct fax
202-822-2986
Direct e-mail
Contact Person for AIJ Activities (if different from the Administrative Officer)
Surname
(Same as above)
First name, middle name
Job title
Direct telephone
Direct fax
Direct e-mail
5. Description of AIJ project activities
Item
Type of Project
Sector(s)
Agriculture
Primary activity(ies)
Salicornia cultivation and crop management; technical analysis of soil carbon accumulation and
commercial feasibility of Salicornia cultivation
Project Location
Country
Mexico
Exact location (city, state, region)
About 400 yards from the coast, adjacent to the town of Bahia de Kino (Kino Bay) in Sonora
Key Dates and Current Stage of Project
Project starting date (month/year)
April 1996
Project ending date (month/year)
October 2055
Project lifetime (years)
59 years, 7 months
Current stage of project
In progress
General Project Description and Technical Data
The project is Phase I of a two-phase project to cultivate Salicornia bigelovii in a coastal desert
region of northwest Mexico. Salicornia bigelovii is a native halophyte, which can be irrigated with
sea water and is ideally suited for cultivation in desert or near-desert, coastal regions.
Phase I is designed to research and demonstrate Salicornia cultivation on 30 hectares of coastal
land. The specific measures to reduce GHG emissions associated with Phase I of the project include
development of a cost-effective process to cultivate Salicornia on a commercial basis, and
optimization of agronomic methods for irrigation and harvesting. These measures will increase
carbon storage in the soil at the 30 hectare site. Phase II, which is currently not part of this
USIJI project, will develop a fully commercial 50,000 hectare farm to cultivate Salicornia for use
in the production and commercial sale of biomass products and materials. If Phase II is initiated,
the cultivated crop could potentially serve as a valuable source of cooking oil, fresh vegetable
products, high-fiber biomass for particle board manufacturing, and biomass for power generation,
and could provide income to the local population.
6. Cost
(a) Explanation of methodology for calculating cost data
Methodology for Calculating Cost Data
This information is not yet available.
(b) Cost data-Project development
This information is not yet available.
(c) Cost data-Project implementation
This information is not yet available.
7. Monitoring and verification of AIJ project activities and results
Item
Party(ies) that will be monitoring project activities
Genesis and HEI, with technical support from EIC and in coordination with SRP
Party(ies) that will be externally verifying project results
This information is not yet available.
Date when the monitoring plan became (or will become) operational (month/year)
This information is not yet available.
Types of data that will be collected
Soil carbon content and density of below-ground biomass, annual quantity of biomass harvested,
annual production and carbon content of long-lived products, average decay rate of long-lived
products, fossil fuel consumption
Description of Monitoring and Verification Activities and Schedule for Implementation
Monitoring will be conducted by Genesis and HEI with technical support from EIC and in coordination
with SRP. The soil carbon stocks of below-ground biomass will be monitored every 2-3 years over the
lifetime of the project.
Annual biomass harvests will be monitored based on annual project harvest records. Fuel and
electricity consumption used to operate machinery and irrigation pumping will also be
monitored.
The proposal states that the participants intend to identify, in consultation with Mexican and U.S.
authorities, appropriate independent entities to conduct external verification. Verification will
be conducted on an annual basis using data collected by the project operators.
