The deadline for submission of supplemental materials has been extended to 12 July 2023.

Verra, the world’s leading standards setter for climate action and sustainable development, today reached a major milestone in its years-long process to update its REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) methodologies to ensure the integrity and quality of its forest carbon credits: it made public for the first time the updated draft methodology for REDD projects and launched a call to crowdsource data for its new standardized baselines.

“Verra’s REDD approach has significant benefits for international climate action,” said Julianne Baroody, Senior Director of Forest Carbon Innovation at Verra. “The updated draft methodology is the most significant revision to that approach since our first REDD methodology was introduced in 2009.”

Verra first announced this review in January 2020 and has held several consultations and technical reviews in the intervening time. Now, in addition to being made public, the draft methodology has been sent to an independent auditor – Aster Global – as part of Verra’s robust methodology development process. The methodology is expected to be finalized and released in Q3 of this year.

“Verra is constantly reviewing and refining its standards to include the latest data and science, and our landmark Verified Carbon Standard Program is no exception. We seek to establish the best possible standards through transparent, open consultation across civil society and the corporate sector, and we are confident the draft changes announced today are the next critical step in that ongoing journey of reflection and improvement.”

David Antonioli, CEO of Verra

About the Draft Consolidated REDD Methodology

In the most extensive evolution of the methodologies, the updated draft will replace five separate methodologies that include Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation (AUD) activities – a substantial subset of REDD projects – with one consolidated methodology: the Methodology for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (PDF). A module of that methodology, Estimation of Emissions Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation (PDF), will for the first time enable Verra to set baselines for all AUD projects in a specific country or region, providing increased consistency and certainty.

Verra is publishing the draft methodology to support stakeholders planning new projects or transitioning existing ones. We welcome input on practical details as we undertake the final revisions of the methodology.

Verra hosted a webinar on Thursday, 20 April 2023 to provide an overview of the draft methodology.

Verra is finalizing revisions to the risk mapping and allocation procedures, which are integral to the implementation of the methodology. We will share information on these essential and groundbreaking tools soon.

If you have questions about the consolidated REDD methodology or the AUD project transition process, please review the frequently asked questions or contact Salvador Sánchez Colón, Manager, REDD+ Technical Innovation (scolon@verra.org). If your question concerns a project listed on the Verra Registry, please provide that project’s identification number in the subject line.

Jurisdictional Data Development

To enable projects to use the module for Estimation of Emissions Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation (PDF), Verra will contract with service providers and crowdsource data to establish deforestation baseline data. Today, we are launching an initial call for data for the following 12 jurisdictions:

Acre State, Brazil, Amapá State, Brazil, Amazonas State, Brazil, Pará State, Brazil, Rondônia State, Brazil, Cambodia, Colombia, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe

By the end of 2024, jurisdictional baselines will be set in all 40+ jurisdictions with AUD projects worldwide.

Call for Data Service Providers

Verra welcomes governments, remote sensing companies, scientific organizations, and other data providers (including project proponents) to respond to the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Development of Jurisdictional Activity Data and Forest Cover Benchmark Maps for VCS Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation Projects (PDF). Entities may apply to supply data for one or more of the above jurisdictions. Verra will only select those proposals that meet the criteria for evaluation set out in the RFP.

Potential data service providers must submit proposals to Basanta Gautam, Manager, REDD+ Technical Innovation (bgautam@verra.org), by 30 April 2023.

Call for Supplemental Information

Verra also welcomes important supplemental materials for data service providers’ consideration. Acceptable primary data products are listed in the table below. See the draft module for Estimation of Emissions Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation (PDF) for more detail.

Each submission must include a description of the item, a proposal for its use in developing activity data or the forest cover benchmark map, and a full citation.

Contracted data service providers will review the supplemental information and determine if it meets Verra’s rigorous requirements. In cases where Verra receives multiple sets of data that meet its requirements, and one set constitutes official government data, Verra will use that data.

Primary Data Product Materials File Formats
Activity Data
(see AUDef Appendix 1, Sections A1.4.1 & A1.4.2)
Sample plot observations representative of jurisdiction, including those developed for the national Forest Reference Emission Level and by other groups. GPS points or polygons with attributes tables in Shapefiles (.shp) or Excel file with plot coordinates

A description of the sampling design

The working definition of forest (where adjustments from the official definition are needed for practical reasons) Word or PDF file
Spatial stratification for use in sampling design for jurisdiction Shapefiles (.shp) or raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)
Standard Operating Procedures for imagery interpretation and identification of planned deforestation Word or PDF file
National deforestation definition and planned deforestation characteristics Word or PDF file
Remote sensing data (especially high-resolution imageries) Georeferenced raster images in Native format (e.g., image file (.img), GeoTIFF (.tif))
Forest Cover Benchmark Map (FCBM)
(see AUDef Appendix 1, Section A1.4.3)
Project-specific FCBM (FCBMp) – these should include project boundaries and must be for projects listed or registered on the Verra Registry. A spatial resolution of 10m or finer must be utilized for all time periods from 2015 forward; before 2015, the minimum resolution is 30m. Shapefiles (.shp) or raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)
The working definition of forest (where adjustments from the official definition are needed for practical reasons) Word or PDF file
Description of the imagery classification approach Word or PDF file
Calibration and validation points GPS points or polygons with attributes tables in Shapefiles (.shp) or Excel file with plot coordinates
Remote sensing data (especially high-resolution imageries) Raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)
Land cover maps Shapefiles (.shp) or raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)
Maps of Identified Exclusion Areas (see AUDef Appendix 1, Section A1.4.1 Step 1) Maps depicting any of the identified exclusion areas (planned deforestation; active commercial plantations; intertidal zones; infrequent, large natural disturbances; large scale infrastructure; permanent bodies of water) Shapefiles (.shp) or raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)
Map of Available Land for Activity Shifting (see AUDef Appendix 2, Section A2.1) May include any combination of:

  • Ancillary spatial data
  • National carbon stock map
  • Map of potentially arable land
  • Map of protection status
  • Map of accessibility
Shapefiles (.shp) or raster files in GeoTIFF (.tif), Esri ASCII (.asc), Native raster format (.grd), image (.img)

 

Supplemental information must be submitted to Basanta Gautam, Manager, REDD+ Technical Innovation (bgautam@verra.org), by 31 May 2023.

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