Forest Carbon Monitoring System

Forest Degradation Around Mined Areas: Methods and Data Analyses for Estimating Emission Factors
Version: 2

Introduction
International emission reduction programs (especially REDD+) have focused mostly on deforestation because robust and well-tested methods and data are available for monitoring such changes across forested landscapes and there is a general consensus on its definition. In contrast, although degradation of forests in developing countries is perceived to be important for global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), consideration rarely goes beyond this perception mostly due to the lack of data and methods for monitoring this activity. Moreover, there is no clear consensus on the definition of forest degradation and it contains phrases such as long-term loss persisting for X years or Y% of forest carbon stocks with no specification as to the value of these thresholds (GOFC-GOLD 2011). The World Bank (2013) under its Carbon Fund requires emissions from forest degradation to be accounted where ‘significant’ – defined as more than 10% of ‘forest-related emissions’. Yet it is unclear what activities cause significant forest degradation, how to show significance meaningfully, or how to account for emissions cost-effectively when significant…Click here for more information


Guyana Emission Factors Report

-June 2014

Background
The Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification System (MRVS) being developed by Guyana will allow it to determine greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from deforestation and forest degradation measured against business-as-usual (BAU) emissions. The Forest Carbon Monitoring System (FCMS) is a critical element of the MRVS as it provides details of the methods required to provide statistically robust estimates of the Emission Factors (EFs) –the EFs are used with activity data (AD) to estimate carbon emissions from changes in forest cover in Guyana.

This report explains the development of emission factors for Guyana: the emissions and removals of greenhouse gases per unit of activity data, based on the methods described in the sampling design and implementation plan—version 2 (Brown et al. 2014), the Conversion Factor Handbook: Version 2 (Goslee et al 2013), and the Excel Workbook for Estimating Historic Emissions (Brown et al. 2014). Emission factors for areas of High Potential for Change (HPfC) and Medium Potential for Change (MPfC), Phases 1 and 2, have been finalized…Click here for more information


Guyana Long Term Monitoring Plan for FCMS

-June 2014

Background
The Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification System (MRVS) being developed by Guyana will allow the country to determine greenhouse gas emissions and removals resulting from deforestation and forest degradation, and to identify any changes in business as usual (BAU) emissions as a result of implementation of REDD+ activities. The Forest Carbon Monitoring System (FCMS) is a critical element of the MRVS as it details the methods required to quantify the forest carbon stocks in Guyana, develop driver-specific emission factors by forest strata, and monitor emissions from land cover / land use change over time based on a variety of management activities.

This Version 2 report details the long-term measurement and monitoring plan to be implemented under the FCMS. The plan is closely aligned with the Sampling Design (Brown et al. 2014), and allows for validation of existing data, reduction in uncertainty, and revision of the emissions factors as needed.

Ongoing monitoring of activity data is being conducted by GFC with the assistance of Indufor. These monitoring activities are described in further detail in GFC and Indufor (2013)…Click here for more information


Guyana Sampling Design and Implementation Plan for FCMS

-June 2014

Background
Winrock International is assisting the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) in the development of REDD+ capacity within Guyana, both for governmental decision-makers and technical implementers. In order to assist Guyana in improving its estimates of historic carbon emissions and monitor how changes in the use and management of forest lands impact carbon stocks, Winrock and GFC are undertaking three key areas of work, shown in the box to the right. A country-specific database of carbon emission and removal factors will be developed, which can be used to convert field measurements into robust estimates of carbon emissions and removals from Guyana’s forest land use sector.

The philosophy and approach to capacity building is to apply the concept of “learn by doing”, thus all activities include Winrock staff and personnel of relevant Guyanese stakeholders. These activities will be critical for Guyana as it builds the needed capacity in its relevant stakeholder institutions and organizations and works to maintain its position as a world leader in the REDD+ arena…Click here for more information


Guyana Spatial Analysis for Stratification and Sample Plan for FCMS

June 2013

INTRODUCTION
1.1 PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) has been tasked with a lead role in developing a road map for the development of a MRV System for REDD+ participation. Winrock International’s Ecosystem Services Unit was contracted to assist in the design of a practical and cost-effective Forest Carbon Monitoring System (FCMS) for REDD+ activities. The Winrock approach focuses on three major areas: (1) stratification of key activities related to the potential for land cover change; (2) capacity building for spatial analysis in a GIS and carbon stock measurements and monitoring through trainings and workshops, and (3) design and implementation of FCMS. Winrock’s philosophy and approach to capacity building is to apply the concept of “learn by doing”, therefore multiple trainings on carbon measuring and monitoring, and spatial analysis were conducted with GFC personal.

1.2 PURPOSE OF THE REPORT
The purpose of this report is to 1) outline the spatial techniques used to develop an updated Forest Carbon Stratification (FCS) map,2) provide the updates to the sampling plan for the High Potential for Change area as a result of the revised FCS map, and 3) provide the sampling plan that will be applied to the Medium Potential for Change areas as part of the Forest Carbon Monitoring System (FCMS). This report describes some changes to the initial version of the Sample Design and Implementation Plan, but the overall background and context of the Sample Design as presented in the Sample Design Plan 2014 1 applies unless otherwise noted in this document…Click here for more information

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