Developing Baselines for Afforestation and Reforestation Projects

Developing Baselines for Afforestation and Reforestation Projects Sudhir Sharma Asian Institute of Technology Bangkok, Thailand 26th March 2004

Presentation Structure • Eligible Afforestation & Reforestation projects • CERs credits for A&R projects IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible Afforestation & Reforestation (A&R) projects IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible A&R Projects • Afforestation - “Afforestation” is the direct human-induced conversion of land that has not been forested for a period of at least 50 years to forested land through planting, seeding and/or the human-induced promotion of natural seed sources” • The lands that in lay man’s terms has been under uses other than forest – e.g., agriculture, barren, pastures, etc. • GHG inventory category of “abandonment of managed land” is sub-component of Afforestation category • A more active role of human being – planting and seeding – is other set of activities covered • Critical part is “at least fifty years” – if project begins in 2005, proponents will have to demonstrate that project site was under non-forest use since 1955 IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible A&R Projects • Reforestation – “direct human-induced conversion of non-forested land to forested land through planting, seeding and/or the human-induced promotion of natural seed sources, on land that was forested but that has been converted to non-forested land. …..those lands that did not contain forest on 31 December 1989” • In lay man’s term primary land use was forest on or before 31st December 1989, but changed into other use since • Either converted to other land uses – agriculture, pastures, etc • Or, not managed properly to allow natural re-growth of forests – degraded due to open access (?) • Key question is how Kyoto Protocol defines forests IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible A&R Projects • Most of the developing country’s define forest based on ownership – land owned by forest department • They further get categorized as dense forest, close forest, open forest, natural forest, plantation forests, etc. – but ownership is with forest department • Tree growth on private lands normally referred to as Plantations • KP Forests is defined based on land cover – biomass on the land – and to qualified as forest three criteria need to be fulfilled • Minimum area of land (0.05-1.0 hectares); • Tree crown cover or equivalent stocking level (10-30 per cent); • (And) Potential tree height at maturity in situ (2 – 5m). IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Tree Crown Cover IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible A&R Projects • Does the definition imply areas that are freshly harvested or lost tree cover to natural or other causes can be counted as forest? – No • “All young natural strand areas and all plantations, that don’t not have a crown density of 10-30 per cent or tree height of 2-5 metres will still be considered as forest” • Example, a harvested plot of forest area, on or before 31st December 1989, and not meeting definition of forest based on its present land cover but most likely to grow back can’t be credited as CDM • Non-forested land • land cover with crown cover less than (10-30%) and/or tree height at maturity (2-5) – with no possibility of meeting this criteria in future • Example, land under forest department but having crown cover of 5% with shrubby growth (height 1 m) since before 31st December 1989 is eligible land for undertaking A&R project IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Re-forestation Afforestation Forest Forest Forest Non-Forest Non-Forest > 50 years Before 31st Dec 1989 IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Land use v/s Land Cover IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Eligible A&R Projects • Are Plantations of fast growing tree species eligible • Nothing in the guidelines prevents Plantation projects as long as the land cover is Kyoto non-forest and project converts it into Kyoto Forest • Use of invasive alien species (IAS) and Genetically modified organisms (GMO) too are not excluded – provided the host government approves it and also the buyer’s government also approves of it • Two aspects of Plantations will be critical • Environment and Socio economic impact – as per the host country government requirements • Leakage • Is harvesting of timber allowed – Yes • If replanted the credits could be earned, if not the credits from A&R projects will have to be replaced by other credits IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Types of A&R projects • Reforestation of forest lands that are in a state of degradation and unlikely to regenerate without human intervention • Afforestation of degraded agriculture lands, pastures, degraded common property lands • Agroforestry on existing agriculture lands – provided the tree density planted meets the crown cover requirement • Silvi-pastures on pastures or common property land – provided the tree density meets the crown cover condition • Permanent crop plantations – fruit orchards, etc. – provided the crop meets the crown cover as well as tree height requirement • Strip plantations (single species or mixed species) in urban or peri-urban areas (say along the roads, railway routes, etc) IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

CERs for A&R Projects IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Non-permanence of Carbon Sequestration • A unit of emission reduced is permanently removed from atmosphere • A unit of carbon sequestered for a period of 100 years (~ life time of CO2) is equivalent of a unit CO2 emission reduction • A unit of carbon sequestered can be re-emitted anytime • Due to natural causes (fires, pests, or any other natural disaster) • Due to human intervention – harvesting of trees after the project credit period is over IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Addressing Non-permanence • Credits issued are of temporary with a defined date of expiry • On expiry credits generated from A&R activities have to be replaced by an equal number of credits generated by either other A&R activities, ERUs or AAUs. • Two types of credits will be issued for A&R activities • temporary CERs (tCERs) and • long CERs (lCERs) • Two main aspects of difference • Amount of credits allocated to project at each verification period (Verification for A&R projects every five years after the first verification, which the project proponents decide • The date of expiry of credits • tCER and lCER both can be used for the commitment period for which issued and need to be replaced by equivalent amount of emission reductions before the date of expiry IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

tCERs • Allotted tCERs is equal to the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks achieved by the project activity since the project start date • tCERs are issued at each verification and certification period. The first verification period is of choice of project proponent, subsequent verification period will be at 5 years interval till end of project. • tCERs expire at certification period subsequent to the one for which they are issued • Example - project initiated in 2005 and the first verification in 2010 (chosen by project proponent) subsequent in 2015, 2020,.. • tCER2010 = S2010 – S2005; tCER2015 = S2015 – S2005; • tCER2020 = S2020 – S2005 • tCER2010 will expire at certification period subsequent to the certification period for which it was issued i.e. 2015. IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

tCERs IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

lCER • lCERs issued for a project activity is the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks achieved by the project activity between two certification periods • lCERs too are issued at each verification and certification period. The first verification period is of choice of project proponent, subsequent verification period will be at 5 years interval till end of project. • lCERs expire at the end of crediting period (30 years for fixed crediting period and 60 years for renewable crediting period of 20 years) • Example - project initiated in 2005 and the first verification in 2010, credit period 30 years • lCER2010 = S2010 – S2005 ;lCER2015 = S2015 – S2010 • lCER2010, lCER2015, etc will expire at the end of crediting period i.e. 2035 IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

lCERs IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

THANKYOU IGES – URC Workshop in Asia on Capacity Development for the CDM March 24 – 26 , 2004, Siem Reap, Kingdom of Cambodia

Developing Baselines for Afforestation and Reforestation Projects