Verra has launched a public consultation on proposed revisions (methodology development ID #M0273) to Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Methodology VM0047 Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation, v1.0 and the associated module VMD0054 Module for Estimating Leakage from ARR Activities, v1.0. The proposed updates will facilitate the adoption of the new Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) methodology by clarifying the applicability conditions for a census-based approach.

The suggested revisions, which are based on stakeholder feedback, include the following:

  • Clarifications to the georeferencing requirements associated with the census-based approach, which applies to contiguous areas of less than one hectare and is best suited to dispersed planting activities (e.g., urban forestry, agroforestry, shelterbelts, revegetation that does not meet the forest definition)
  • Clarifications around options to account for the clearing of degraded ecosystems for site preparation
  • Updates to equation numbers, footnotes, and cross-references

The proposed revision to VMD0054 is a minor correction to the definition of leakage mitigation areas.

These revisions demonstrate Verra’s commitment to continuously improving its methodologies, which falls under the “Enhanced Program Integrity and Impact” priority area of the New Era for Verra initiative.

To provide feedback, please submit the M0273 VM0047 Comment Template (XLSX) by June 24, 2024.