Land-Use & Forests

Modified on Tue, 27 Aug at 2:47 PM

These FAQs are on the Gold Standard Activity Requirements:
LAND-USE & FORESTS ACTIVITY REQUIREMENTS

Sections:

Eligibility & Requirements
Permanence
Land Ownership
Planned Emission Reductions
Carbon Quantification

Eligibility & Requirements

Are forestry projects eligible for Gold Standard Certification?

Afforestation and reforestation (A/R) projects are eligible for Gold Standard certification.  Avoided deforestation or REDD+ projects are not eligible under Gold Standard.   

For A/R, all projects must follow the Gold Standard for the Global Goals  Principles and Requirements, the  Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement Requirements, the  Safeguarding Principles & Requirements  and the  Gender Policy. 

All Land Use and Forests (LUF) projects must follow the  Land-use & Forests Activity Requirements.   

Projects can only be certified if their identified activity is eligible under an approved SDG Impact Quantification methodology, for example,  the Gold Standard A/R GHG Emissions Reduction & Sequestration Methodology .

Eligible LUF projects can generate verified emission reductions (carbon credits). Eligibility criteria are: 

Projects cannot have their planting areas on areas that were forest in the 10 years previous to the project start date. A forest is defined by the Designated National Authority (DNA) of the project’s host-country: http://cdm.unfccc.int/DNA/index.html. In case no forest definition is yet given by the DNA, the project owner can take the forest definition of the FAO: http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x6896e/x6896e0e.htm  or the national forest definition of the project’s host country.  
Project area cannot be on wetlands (but projects in projects on reforestation of mangroves are eligible and shall apply an applicable methodology under the Blue Carbon & Freshwater Wetlands Activity Requirements) are eligible), result in drainage or irrigation of areas with organic soils, and soil disturbance on organic soils shall be unless than 10% of the area that is submitted to certification (not 10% of the entire project area).

Other specific eligibility requirements are set at the methodology level. 

Which Agriculture activities are eligible under Gold Standard?

At present, Agriculture projects include eligible activities that are covered by an approved Gold Standard Impact Quantification Methodology such as:

Agriculture projects must follow the Gold Standard for the Global Goals Principles and Requirements, the Stakeholder Consultation and Engagement Requirements, the Safeguarding Principles & Requirements and the Gender Policy.

All Land Use and Forests (LUF) projects must follow the Land-use & Forests Activity Requirements.

Is REDD+ eligible under Gold Standard?

The preservation of our standing forests is one of the most important steps in the fight against the climate crisis. It is essential that we continue to find new ways to channel finance to maintain them and restore degraded landscapes. Both are critical to meeting both our climate and SDG targets.

REDD+ projects claim to avoid emissions by protecting a forest from being deforested, as compared to a baseline deforestation rate. This protection aims to stop the CO2 stored within the trees and forest ground from being released into the atmosphere if they were to be cut down.

This type of project is NOT eligible for Gold Standard carbon credit issuance. This is because it is very difficult to set a defensible baseline of deforestation rates, and therefore emissions, to effectively measure and guarantee the causality and quantity of CO2 reduction. These activities also have difficulty guarding against ‘leakage’, where trees elsewhere are cut down instead. These issues have been a concern in carbon markets since their beginnings. Gold Standard took the decision not to issue REDD+ credits over a decade ago.

Of course, avoiding deforestation is vital. At Gold Standard we are exploring new ways to encourage forest conservation. These include corporate collective action in shared sourcing areas, sustainable commodities and Scope 3 markets; and landscape finance, blended finance vehicles and emerging nature strategies and more appropriate mechanisms to support them - which could have components of results-based finance, but without carbon crediting.

What is the length of crediting period for LUF projects?

A/R specific: The crediting period shall be a minimum of 30 years and maximum 50 years. The Project Developer shall select the crediting period based on the characteristics of the project.

AGR specific: The crediting period shall be a fixed 10-year period unless otherwise stated in applicable Impact Quantification Methodology. For example, a rice project is allowed a crediting period of 15 years (renewed twice after 5 years)

The crediting period starts either with the Project Start Date or three years prior to the date of Project Design Certification, whichever occurs later.

The Project Start Date is defined as:

A/R specific: The project start date shall be the earliest date when the first trees are planted.

AGR specific: The project start shall be the earliest date when implementation of the project activities that lead to the certification of Ecosystem Services and SDG Impacts starts. For example, for a project that involves shift in agricultural practice the start date is the date when the first project participant shifted to the improved agricultural practice.

What are the requirements for microscale LUF projects?

To be defined as microscale the following requirements must be met under the  Smallholder, small scale and microscale definitions and requirements for Land-Use and Forestry (LUF) projects – Gold Standard for the Global Goals: 

A microscale project is defined as a project:

1. with a maximum project area of 500ha. 
 2. that shall not generate more than 10,000 tCO2e/yr.

If a microscale project generates more than 10,000 tCO2e in any monitoring year, the project issuance will be capped to 10,000 tCO2e. A monitoring year may be covered under two or more consecutive monitoring reports.   
 

A microscale project applying LUF activity requirements may apply provisions of validation and verification as per Micro-scale Project Requirements.  
 

LUF Projects can only be certified if their identified activity is eligible under an approved Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Impact Quantification methodology. 

Which tree species are eligible for A/R projects?

The A/R methodology does not have species eligibility requirements. However, selected species must comply with the Safeguarding Principles & Requirements for environment, ecology and land use.

What is New Area Certification?

New areas are project areas that are added to (or removed from) an existing Gold Standard project after it achieves Registered Status (after the design certification).

New Area Certification applies only to land use and forest projects, see Land Use and Forests (LUF) Activity Requirements Version 1.2.1, section 2.1.15.

To add new areas to a project the following requirements are set:

The inclusion of new areas shall follow the Project Design Certification process as per Principles and Requirements. 
The Project Developer should assess if the new areas present material differences from the Design Certified project and update the Safeguarding Principles & Requirements accordingly. Materiality must be assessed according to Principles and Requirements. 
For new areas proposed for inclusion, the crediting period end date will be the same as for the previously Design Certified project activity.  
The registered Monitoring & Reporting Plan template shall be updated with the information for new areas as needed. 
A site visit and an opinion by a VVB is required to confirm the eligibility of the proposed activities in the new areas.
New Areas inclusion can be certified before or during a performance certification, but it is always required to have the opinion of a VVB based on a site visit to the new area/s being certified.
Project Developers shall pay the applicable review fee.

A project developer shall consult with Gold Standard before removing a certified area and/or reducing the size of a certified area, in order to assess the materiality of the changes.

Permanence

How do you ensure that Gold Standard Emission Reductions from sequestration (Land Use) represent permanent carbon reductions?  For example, what happens if a forest burns down? 

Certification of Gold Standard projects for carbon sequestration ensures climate integrity through five backstops designed to ensure that activities do not underperform and, should they do so, to address and resolve issues transparently. These are: 

Robust requirements on values and process that thoroughly assesses the design of the activity; 
Frequent Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of the activity (carbon and non-carbon); 
A compliance pathway that clearly lays out how activities that under-perform get back on track. 
The liability of underperformance remains with the project owner under The Gold Standard Terms & Conditions; and 
The Gold Standard Compliance Buffer, which requires that projects reserve 20% of its Emission Reduction issuance in the event that carbon is no longer sequestered due to an event like forest burning or unplanned clearing.

Any loss of carbon stocks must be addressed as detailed in Gold Standard for the Global Goals  Performance Shortfall Guidelines. 

What is a Compliance Buffer?

To ensure permanence and address the issue of reversal, Gold Standard requires a fixed 20% contribution for a pooled compliance buffer. In the event that carbon sequestration from a Project is reversed, Gold Standard will promptly retire the equivalent number of GS VERs from the Compliance Buffer. Reversals can be caused by both human activities and natural events, such as logging, forest fires, and droughts.

Unlike other standards, our compliance buffer remains untouched even after the crediting period of the project, further reducing the risk of reversal and non-permanence.

For projects applying the LUF Requirements, 20% of the issued PERs and GSVERs shall be transferred into the Gold Standard Buffer. Contribution to the buffer is not required for projects that issue GSVERs for permanent GHGs reductions and/or avoidance (e.g. methane avoidance in rice cultivation) i.e., involves no risk of GHGs reversal. In cases when same project activity involves carbon sequestration and GHGs reductions and/or avoidance, the project shall contribute to buffer for 20% of the GSVERs and PERs issued for the carbon sequestration component only.

The buffer transfer is distributed pro rata according to the vintage years. Upon written notice to the Gold Standard at or prior to issuance, the Project Developer may transfer issued GSVERs from other Gold Standard certified Projects to the Gold Standard Conformity Buffer in lieu of the GSVERs from the Project.

Land Ownership

Does land ownership need to be valid for the entire crediting period?

To be eligible for certification, projects must provide evidence of secured titles in line with section 2 (B) of the LUF Activity Requirements.

I am a developing a project on behalf of the land owner, what endorsements must I secure?

Project developers should follow the requirements outlined in section 2 (B) Secured Titles in the LUF Actvity Requirements and Section 3 of the Principles and Requirements on the Legal Ownership of credits and Other Rights.

How is Carbon Credit ownership demonstrated, and what structures are in place to ensure that local communities are consulted?

Where GSVERs are sought, Gold Standard requires clear demonstration of CO2 user rights.

CO2 user rights are rights that grant the titleholder any benefit that could be generated from the certification of the carbon sequestration or greenhouse gas reduction by the project. For land use projects, the holder of the CO2 user rights is usually the owner of the land, where the project activity takes place – except when such rights have been expressly transmitted to another person or entity by the land owner, or when an authority act / decision / order / regulation assigns such rights to a different person than the land owner.

Gold Standard recognises that the structure of CO2 user rights can be unique to project design and provides guidance to Project Developers in section 2 (B) Secured Titles in the LUF Activity Requirements and Section 3 of the Principles and Requirements on the Legal Ownership of credits and Other Rights.

Where ownership is transferred, the legal chain of title must be demonstrated transparently, with full documentary support, and with free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

Planned Emission Reductions

What is a PER?

Many climate protection projects require upfront finance and often use forward sales of Emission Reductions, that is, securing sales before the actual issuance of the unit. This is particularly relevant in the land use context because project cycles are longer, reflecting the time it takes to sequester CO2 in forests and other carbon sinks. However, untracked forward sales do not provide buyers with sufficient protection, increasing the risk of over-selling the anticipated outcomes, and thus threaten environmental integrity.  

Gold Standard enables the registration of number of expected emission reductions following project performance certification to a limit of five years forward using scientific calculations to ensure that the quantity is not overestimated. These are registered as ‘Planned Emission Reductions’ and can be traded but not retired. After Performance Certification, when the effective emission reductions are verified, the PERs are converted into GSVERs and issued into the Impact Registry where they may be retired.

PERs may be issued by Projects following the LUF Requirements. They are subject to the following requirements:

PERs shall be issued only from project areas that have scientifically robust carbon modelling as required by the relevant Approved Methodology.
PERs shall be issued only from project areas where the VVB confirms, by certification, that trees have been planted or activity has taken place.
PERs shall be issued only after a successful Design Certification or subsequent Performance Certification.
80% of the PERs shall be issued to the project’s registry account according to their expected vintage years (years of delivery). The remaining 20% shall be issued to the Compliance Buffer.
All transfers and assignments of PERs shall be recorded in the Impact Registry.
After Performance Certification, where the effective emission reductions are verified, the PERs are converted into GSVERs, which are issued into the Impact Registry.
Project Developers shall transparently communicate the differences between PERs and GSVERs as described by the definitions in Claims Guidelines.

Further information on PERs can be found in section 11.2 of the GHG Emissions Reduction & Sequestration Product Requirements

What claims can be made by buyers of PERs?

Since PERs represent expected rather than actual sequestration, Funders shall not make Impact, Offsetting, or Compliance claims until conversion to a GSVER occurs.

Funders and Project Developers should refer to section 5.3 of our Claims Guidelines for examples of claims that may be made against both PERs, and bundled PERs & GSVERs.

Carbon Quantification

How is the carbon stored in forests measured? 

The quantity of carbon stored in a forest depends on factors like geographical location, mix of species, silvicultural management, soil type, and climate.   The Gold Standard Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) methodology, which applies to projects that plant trees (it is understood by trees also bamboo, palms and shrubs; by planting it is also considered assisted natural regeneration), requires biomass in plantations to be measured via a forest inventory. The A/R methodology requires following the  BioCarbon Fund – Winrock’s Sourcebook for LULUCF Projects  to conduct a forest inventory. 

  The process of measuring biomass up to issuance of Gold Standard Verified Emission Reduction (GS-VER) from an A/R project can be summarised as: 

Division of the project area in modelling units (MUs) that represent planted areas with homogenous characteristics. 
MUs are then sampled following a random sampling approach (sample points can be permanent plots) to measure tree biomass.  
Below-ground biomass is calculated based on root-to-shoot ratio coefficient obtained from literature sources demonstrated to be applicable to the project plantation. 
Above-ground and below-ground biomass is added at the sample plot level and expanded to the MU level. The sum of the total biomass in all MUs represents the biomass in the project area.  
Total biomass is converted to metric tons of CO2-equivalent (tCO2e). 
Baseline, leakage and project emissions, both in tCO2e, are deducted from the tCO2e from total biomass. This gives the net tCO2e sequestered by the project. 
Net tCO2e in the project area is adjusted by discounting uncertainty above 20% error from the mean at 90% confidence level.  
The resulting adjusted net tCO2e is used to issue GS-VERs. One (1) tCO2e represents one (1) GS-VER.

Further information can be found in Gold Standard Afforestation/Reforestation (A/R) methodology.

What is the definition of a Modelling Unit?

Modelling Units are distinct parts of the eligible area where carbon stocks can be quantified based on a Gold Standard- approved SDG Impact Quantification Methodology. To meet the precision level for the carbon stocks estimation (see Annex A- Uncertainty of LUF Parameters). MU areas normally have homogeneous characteristics to quantify a certain SDG Impact (growth patterns, management treatment and start date).

Can Alternative MRV approaches be integrated into Gold Standard Forestry projects?

Gold standard is exploring Alternative MRV (AMRV), with a focus on assessing the accuracy and uncertainty of tree biomass estimates by comparing existing methods to remote sensing. The AMRV protocol is in development and will shortly enter a pilot phase. When the pilot is open for participation, a call of interest will be published here.

As of today, AMRV approaches cannot be applied to Gold Standard projects. Project Developers should follow the A/R methodological requirements for verifying increments in tree biomass using a forest inventory approach.

For any remaining questions please contact us at help@goldstandard.org