Verra Publishes Final Deforestation Risk Maps for Colombia, Cambodia, and Mai Ndombe (DRC)

REDD projects in many major geographies now able to move ahead with implementation

Verra today released unplanned deforestation allocated risk maps for an additional three jurisdictions, Colombia, Cambodia, and the Mai Ndombe province in the Democratic Republic of Congo, marking a major milestone in the operationalization of VM0048 Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation, v1.0 in the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program. With the availability of these additional data, proponents can now proceed with project development and registration in nine jurisdictions that represent a high percentage of REDD project activity.

Previously, Verra had published risk maps for Peru and the Brazilian states of Acre, Amazonas, Mato Grosso, Pará, and Rondônia.

The availability of deforestation risk maps enables proponents to request activity data for projects in these jurisdictions, a necessary step for registering a REDD project with the VCS Program under VM0048 and its associated module VMD0055 Estimation of Emission Reductions from Avoiding Unplanned Deforestation, v1.1. Proponents can use these VMD0055-compliant data to set the baselines for their projects, which are used to calculate the emission reductions achieved by the project.

Verra has also updated the timetable on the VMD0055 Jurisdictional Data Table page indicating the projected availability of provisional open-access allocated deforestation risk maps (for due diligence purposes) and final (VMD0055-compliant) risk maps for the following jurisdictions:

Final Allocated Deforestation Risk Maps

• Guatemala: Final risk maps are expected for Q3 2026 to ensure benchmark maps and reference datasets meet the robust requirements of VMD0055, requiring updates to both the forest cover benchmark maps and reference datasets.

Provisional Open-Access Risk Maps

The following jurisdictions are in Band 3 and have now been assigned to a dedicated data service provider and will be available later in 2026 than initially projected.

• Papua New Guinea: Expected for Q2/3 2026
• Brazil, State of Amapá State: Expected for Q4 2026
• Brazil, State of Mato Grosso (Baseline Validity Period 2): Expected for Q4 2026
• Brazil, State of Pará (Baseline Validity Period 2): Expected for Q4 2026

Additionally, because there are no registered or pipeline avoided unplanned deforestation projects in Indonesia, risk maps will not be completed at present, and Indonesia has been moved to Band 6. A module for avoided planned deforestation activities (which would be more relevant to Indonesia) is currently being developed and is anticipated to open for public consultation in Q4 2026.

Verra also continues to work on risk maps for Tanzania, Kenya, and Zambia. 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, and we now anticipate releasing provisional open-access data for sub-national jurisdictions in Tanzania in Q2 2026 and Kenya and Zambia in Q1 2027.

If you are planning to develop a REDD project in a jurisdiction that is currently in Band 4 or 5 on the Jurisdictional Data Timetable, please contact secretariat@verra.org to let us know. We aim to sequence risk map development to accommodate jurisdictions with the highest demand and having more information about project needs will help inform our release schedule for deforestation risk maps.