A new methodology for quantifying emission reductions from projects that reduce unplanned deforestation could help unlock carbon market revenues for countries and poor communities across Africa, Asia and Latin America, boosting the conservation of forests and creating new livelihoods.
The new REDD methodology – officially approved on July 14 by the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Association – allows projects in the voluntary market to calculate avoided emissions by reducing deforestation either on the edge (“frontier”) of large cleared areas, like agricultural zones, or in a patchwork pattern(“mosaic”) within standing forests.
A key to finalizing the “Unplanned Deforestation” Methodology was the decision to merge two methodologies that were being separately developed by the World Bank and the Brazilian NGO Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (FAS), together with Carbon Decisions International (CDI) and the Institute for Conservation and the Sustainable Development of Amazonas (Idesam), with the financial support from Marriott International. By addressing a whole range of unplanned deforestation scenarios common across developing countries, this new methodology fills an important niche compared with other methodologies for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD).
For further details, please see http://www.v-c-s.org/news-events/news/vcs-approves-new-redd-methodology-avoid-unplanned-deforestation.
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