REDD+ Reference Level and MRV in developing countries Basanta Gautam REDD+ and Sustainable Forestry Unit, Arbonaut Ltd., Finland Email: basanta.gautam@arbonaut.com Website: www.arbonaut.com
Introduction Global deforestation and forest degradation account for about 17-20% of annual greenhouse gas emissions; REDD+ could be one of the cheapest options to mitigate global climate change; Accurate and reliable estimation of forest carbon stocks is crutial for REDD+ reference level and MRV; More forest means more carbon, biodiversity, healthy ecosystem. 13.4.2018
Evolution of REDD+ 2005 COP11 Montreal RED discussions started. Papua New Guinea and Costa Rica asked for new agenda item: Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: Approaches to stimulate action. 2007 COP13 Bali Bali Action Plan was provided, in which the RED concept was broadened to REDD+. 2009 COP15 Copenhagen Methodological guidance for REDD+ activities was developed. 2010 COP16 Cancun Cancun Agreements were established, including policy approaches and positive incentives on issues relating to REDD+ and safeguards. 2013 COP19 Warsaw REDD+ package was developed, including modalities and guidance for establishing national forest-monitoring systems; measuring, reporting, and verification (MRV); and forest reference (emission) levels and addressing safeguards and drivers. 2015 COP21 Paris REDD+ is the part of Paris agreement/ndc i.e. <2 degrees
REDD+ Activities Reducing Emissions from Deforestation (RED) ; Reducing Emissions from forest Degradation (REDD); Conservation (REDD+) (continued good stewardship of forests, even without threat of deforestation or forest degradation); Sustainable management of forests (REDD+) (reducing emissions through harvesting activities with lower impact); Enhancement of forest carbon stocks (REDD+) (enhanced sequestration of carbon through afforestation, reforestation and restoration of forest land). 13.4.2018
Carbon Stocks Carbon Stocks Years Degradation vs Deforestation Degradation Years Deforestation
Plus part of REDD+ Forest Conservation (+) Sustainable Forest Management (+) Enhancement of forest carbon stocks (+)
3 Phases of REDD+ Phase I Readiness Phase II Implementation Phase III Result-based payments Full MRV system required
13.4.2018 Carbon Pools to be included
Reporting requirements Transparency Assumptions and methods are clearly and fully described. Completeness Relevant pools and activities are included. Consistency Accepted standards of carbon accounting are followed. Comparability Comparisons among countries should be straight-forward. Accuracy Bias is avoided, and uncertainty is reduced.
Approaches in REDD+ National approach Sub-national approach Nested Approach Angelsen et al., 2008 13.4.2018
Major components of National REDD+ Programme
Reference Levels Concept Busch, J. 2011
National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) Collect and assess, over time, the Activity Data (AD) related to forest Land ( forest area change ) Collect information on forest carbon stocks and changes, relevant for estimating emissions and removals and to provide emissions factors ( EF ) Tool for reporting National GHG emissions Tool for reporting on anthropogenic forest - related Carbon emissions by sources and removals by sinks Information on how REDD + safeguards ( Cancun Safeguards ) are being addressed and respected throughout REDD + Implementation
Key messages The four pillars of the National REDD+ Programme are: National REDD+ Strategy, RL, MRV and SIS; Any emission reduction (MRV) in comparison to baseline (RL) is compensated; Main components of a NFMS for REDD+ include the Satellite Land Monitoring System (SLMS) and the National Forest Inventory (NFI); MRV for REDD+ involves Measurement: AD x EF=Emissions Reporting through NC and BUR on GHG Emissions Verification through 3 rd Party (external) Reviewers
Thank you for your attention! basanta.gautam@arbonaut.com katri.tegel@arbonaut.com