FREL for REDD+ Nguyen Dinh Hung, FIPI, Viet Nam GFOI Plenary 2017, Ho Chi Minh City, 12 April 2017
FREL overview Final report of TA 2015 - Preparation FREL submitted to UNFCCC Jan. 2016 National FREL submitted to UNFCCC Prepared by FIPI and VAFS with technical support from FAO (UN-REDD Programme) TA review & exchange with national team Modified FREL submitted in Jul. 2016 TA review process Mar. 2016 Consultation meetings for improvement MARD (VNFOREST) validation & endorsement TAR is being edited and will be published soon
FREL parameters Scale: national (all forests are considered as managed forests) Scope: All 5 activities divided into FREL and FRL Reference period: 1995-2010 (15 years) Pools included: AGB and BGB Gases included: only CO2 (non-co2 is insignificant) Data: NFIMAP s plot data and wall-to-wall forest cover maps every 5 years from 1995 to 2010. NFIMAP: National forest inventory, monitoring and assessment program
Methods Forest definition: Following Circular no. 34 (2009) Minimum area: 0.5 ha Minimum height: 5m Minimum canopy cover: 10% Classification: 17 types in total 12 forest types (1 to 12) Types 1 to 3 are based on timber volume Stratification: 8 agro-ecological regions (for more homogenous EF) Type Forest and land use type 1 EGBL rich volume stock 2 EGBL medium volume stock 3 EGBL poor volume stock 4 EGBL - regrowth 5 Deciduous 6 Bamboo 7 Mixed woody - bamboo 8 Coniferous 9 Mixed broadleaf - coniferous 10 Mangroves 11 Limestone forest 12 Plantations 13 Limestone without forest 14 Bared land 15 Water bodies 16 Residence 17 Other land
Methods All 5 REDD+ activities are included, but reported separately into 2 reference levels: 1) Forest reference emission level (FREL): including deforestation & degradation 2) Forest reference level (FRL): including reforestation & restoration (ie conservation and enhancement of C stock)
Methods Approach for calculating emissions/removals Activity Data (ha yr -1 ) x Emission/Removal Factors (CO 2 eq. ha -1 ) = REDD+ GHG Inventory (CO 2 eq. yr -1 ) Land Monitoring National forest inventory Allometric equations GHG Emissions and Removals National Communications 2005 REDD+ Inventory UNFCC C QA/QC Emissions Inventory Database
Methods Activity data generation Forest cover maps (1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010) are used Originally generated by FIPI as results of NFIMAP Based on satellite imagery interpretation in combination with intensive ground surveys Continuously improved by several international and national supports Consistent with IPCC s Approach 3 2005 2000 1995 2010 Forest maps Land use change matrices
Methods Emission/removal factors calculation Calculated as the difference of C densities between 2 classes of change, and converted to tco2e. EF/RF = (C before C after ) X 44/12 If > 0: emission factor (EF) If < 0: removal factor (RF) C densities for forest types are derived from NFI 4 cycles plot data in combination with country-specific allometric equations For mangroves, C densities are taken from literature review For non-forest areas, C densities are assumed as 0 IPCC s default root-to-shoot ratio (0.20 for AGB < 125 tc/ha and 0.24 otherwise), carbon fraction (0.47) Consistent with IPCC s Tier 2
Methods NFIMAP plot system Primary sample plots located systematically throughout country (grid of 8 x 8 km) Each PSP contains 40 secondary sample plots All trees with DBH 6 cm are measured Parameters measured: species, DBH for all trees, H of 3 trees
Methods Species WD NFIMAP plot data DBH H of 3 trees/plot Country-specific allometric equations Biomass/carbon Height curve H of all trees Carbon densities calculation Calculation of missing tree heights AGB: Country-specific data & AEs BGB: Default R/S ratio (0.2 and 0.24) Carbon: Default carbon fraction (0.47)
Adjustment National Circumstances Programme 327 Programme 661 Need to adjust for the major national efforts of reforestation under Prog. 661 Method: Conduct studies to estimate the successful rate of Prog. 661
Results overview No clear trend => using average Possibly results of Prog. 661
Results overview FREL: ~60 M tco2e FRL: ~-40 M tco2e
Challenges & Next Steps Challenges FCMs are developed independently => introduces artifact changes Complicated classification => Accuracy assessment for AD is difficult NFI has no data for calculation of deadwood, little and SOM pools Inconsistency between GHGI (MONRE) and FREL (MARD) Forest cover maps every 5 years but BUR every two years Next steps Make forest cover maps based on previous maps (only update the changes) to reduce artifact changes Revise the classification system to make accuracy assessment easier Include other carbon pools (deadwood, little and SOM) Make GHGI and FREL consistent Generate forest cover maps biennially
Thank you Nguyen Dinh Hung Head of Training and International Cooperation Division, Forest Inventory and Planning Institute dinhhung28@yahoo.com 15