It can often be extremely difficult for AFOLU project developers to estimate the carbon stocks in Aboveground Live Tree Biomass (ALFB). This is due in large part to the fact that many projects encompass remote, hard to access areas, forcing project developers to rely on ground-based forest inventory plots which can be both costly and cumbersome.

To potentially address this, Terra Global Capital developed a new tool that could allow project developers to use remote sensing instead of traditional ground-based forest inventory plots to estimate the forest carbon pools. This proposed tool provides a method for determining ALFB through a combination of remote sensing and field measurements data to determine a cost effective and accurate estimate of carbon forest pools.
As with any proposed tool, the first step in the VCS approval process is to solicit public comments. To that end, I would encourage you to take a close look at it, and offer your thoughts, both pro and con. This comment period began on 24 April 2014 and will end on 24 May 2014:

Please contact the VCS to submit any comments by emailing secretariat@v-c-s.org. Comments must include a name, organization, country and email address.

You can also learn more about other methodology elements under development and the VCS methodology approval process.