Status of VMD0055-Compliant Jurisdictional Maps of Allocated Deforestation Risk

Projects in Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program that use VCS Methodology VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0 and VCS Module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation, v1.1 are required to use VMD0055-compliant project baseline activity data derived from jurisdictional maps of allocated deforestation risk to set the baseline for their projects, an essential step in the project registration process.

To register a REDD project with Verra’s VCS Program, project proponents must acquire the VMD0055-compliant allocated deforestation risk maps and the risk-allocated project baseline activity data (VMD0055-compliant data), which can be accessed through the Verra Project Hub. Prior to finalizing the VMD0055-compliant risk maps, Verra publishes provisional lower-resolution (1 ha) versions of the allocated deforestation risk maps (open-access data) for each jurisdiction.

Verra’s standard process is to publish VMD0055-compliant data approximately two to three months after the provisional open-access data for a given jurisdiction has been released. Information about the release dates of provisional open-access data can be found on the Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps Timetable page.

This page provides information about the development status of VMD0055-compliant data for jurisdictions where provisional data have been posted.

Country	Jurisdiction	Status	Projected Release Date
Guatemala	National	Updates to both the forest cover benchmark maps and reference datasets are in progress to resolve inconsistencies in forest area and deforestation identified during review of each. In parallel, we are evaluating existing national datasets to support alignment with Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and UNFCCC reporting.	Q3 2026
Kenya	National	The forests in these jurisdictions consist primarily of dryland forests which present unique challenges for mapping due to the sparse nature of tree cover and limited data availability in these geographies. We are working with partners to adjust the approach to mapping for open-canopy forests. Provisional maps for some sub-national jurisdictions are projected for Q1 2027.	CONTACT
Tanzania	National	The forests in these jurisdictions consist primarily of dryland forests which present unique challenges for mapping due to the sparse nature of tree cover and limited data availability in these geographies. We are working with partners to adjust the approach to mapping for open-canopy forests. Provisional maps for some sub-national jurisdictions are projected for Q2 2026.	CONTACT
Zambia	National	The forests in these jurisdictions consist primarily of dryland forests which present unique challenges for mapping due to the sparse nature of tree cover and limited data availability in these geographies. We are working with partners to adjust the approach to mapping for open-canopy forests. Provisional maps for some sub-national jurisdictions are projected for Q1 2027.	CONTACT

 

*Page last updated May 1, 2026.