Gold Standard for Global Goals Verification Report

GOLD STANDARD VERIFICATION OF GS PROJECT NO. (GS-504) WWF GOLD STANDARD BIOGAS VOLUNTARY EMISSION REDUCTION (VER) PROJECT

Report No. 10518SM

04 April 2020

TÜV SÜD South Asia Pvt. Ltd. Solitaire, I.T.I. Road, Aundh Pune- 411007 INDIA

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Title of the project activity WWF Nepal Gold Standard Biogas Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) Project

GS Reference number of the project activity GS 504

Version number of the verification and certification report 3.0

Completion date of the verification and certification report 04/04/2020

Monitoring period number and duration 1 ( 2nd Crediting Period) of this monitoring period 01/07/2014-30/06/2019

Version number of monitoring report to which this report applies 02

Crediting period of the project activity corresponding to this monitoring period 01/07/2014-30/06/2021

Project participant(s) Biogas Sector Partnership (BSP)-Nepal Government of Nepal, Ministry of Environment, Science Technology (MoEST), Alternative Energy Pro- motion Centre

Host Party Nepal

Sectoral scope(s) 1, 3 and 13

Methodology (ies) Technologies and Practices to Displace Decentralized Thermal Energy Consumption Version 2.0

Estimated amount of annual average certified SDG impact (as per approved 91,309 tCO2e PDD)

Certified GHG emission reductions or 435,983 tCO2e

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net anthropogenic GHG removals for this monitoring period 2014-15 87484 tCO2e

2015-16 87493 tCO2e

2016-17 86388 tCO2e

2017-18 87601 tCO2e

2018-19 87017 tCO2e

Name of DOE TUV SUD South Asia pvt Ltd ( E-0005)

Name, position and signature of the approver of the verification and certification report Eswar Murty, Sr. Manager Certification Body TUV SUD South Asia Pvt Ltd

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Table of Contents Page

1 METHODOLOGY ...... 4 1.1 Objective ...... 4 1.2 Scope ...... 4 1.3 Verification Process ...... 4 1.4 Appointment of the Team ...... 5 1.5 Review of Documents ...... 6 1.6 On-site Assessment and follow-up Interviews ...... 7 1.7 Resolution of Clarification and Corrective and Forward Action Requests ...... 8 1.8 Internal Quality Control ...... 8

2 CARBON VERIFICATION AND REPORTING ...... 8 2.1 FARs from Validation / Previous Verification ...... 8 2.2 Project Implementation in accordance with the registered PDD ...... 8 2.3 Sampling Approach ...... 10 2.4 CLs, CARs and FARs raised ...... 12 2.5 Compliance of the Monitoring Plan with the Methodology ...... 13 2.6 Compliance of the Monitoring with the Monitoring Plan ...... 13

3 SUSTAINABILITY VERIFICATION ...... 15 3.1 Assessment of SDG outcomes for the current Monitoring period ...... 15 3.2 Assessment of Data and Calculation of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions ..... 17

4 VERIFICATION OPINION ...... 19

Annex 1: List of findings Annex 2: Information Reference List Annex 3: Appointment Certificates

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1 METHODOLOGY

1.1 Objective

TÜV SÜD has been commissioned by the aforementioned client to perform an independent verifica- tion assessment. The objective of the verification work is to comply with the requirements of Gold Standard require- ments. According to this assessment TÜV SÜD shall: • ensure that the project activity has been implemented and operated as per the registered PDD, and that all physical features (technology, project equipment, monitoring and metering equip- ment) of the project are in place, • ensure that the published MR and other supporting documents provided are complete, verifiable and in accordance with applicable GS4GG and CDM requirements, • ensure that the actual monitoring systems and procedures comply with the monitoring systems and procedures described in the monitoring plan and the approved methodology, • evaluate the data recorded and stored as per the applicable requirements. • assessment of the sustainability monitoring parameters as per the GS requirements.

1.2 Scope The scope of any assessment is defined by the underlying legislation, regulation and guidance given by relevant entities or authorities. In the case of GS project activities, the scope is set by: ➢ GS 4 GG requirements ➢ Clean Development Mechanism Validation And Verification Standard (VVS) for Project Activities v2.0 ➢ Baselines and monitoring methodologies (including GHG inventories) ➢ Environmental issues relevant to the applicable sectoral scope ➢ Applicable environmental and social impacts and aspects of GS project activity ➢ Current technical and operational knowledge of the specific sectoral scope and infor- mation on best practice ➢ Stakeholder consultation and feedback

The verification process is not meant to provide any form of consulting for the project participant (PP). However, stated requests for clarifications, corrective actions, and/or forward actions may pro- vide input for improvement of the project design.

Once TÜV SÜD receives the MR, it is made available on the GS Registry through a dedicated inter- face on the Gold standard website. The Verification shall commence only after the project docu- ments are listed on the registry.

1.3 Verification Process The information provided by the project participants is assessed by applying the means of verifica- tion specified in the GS4GG, Toolkit and the VVS.

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Once TÜV SÜD receives the Monitoring Report and a confirmation from any PP to upload, the MR is made available on the GS Registry. A competent assessment team is selected prior to the start of the verification. The team is selected to cover the technical area(s), sectoral scope(s) and relevant host country experience for evaluating the GS project activity. Additionally, a competent Technical Reviewer or Technical Reviewer Team is appointed to conduct checks on quality and completeness.

The verification team performs first a desk review, followed by an on-site visit, which results in the formation of a draft report and a list of findings. The next step involves the evaluation of the findings through direct communication with the PPs and then finally the preparation of the verification report. This verification report and other supporting documents then undergo an internal quality control by the CB “Environment and energy” before submission to the GS.

1.4 Appointment of the Team According to the technical scopes and experiences in the sectoral or national business environment, TÜV SÜD has composed an assessment team in accordance with the appointment rules of the TÜV SÜD Certification Body “Environment and Energy”. The composition of an assessment team has to be approved by the Certification Body (CB) to as- sure that the required skills are covered by the team. The CB of TÜV SÜD operates the following qualification levels for team members that are assigned by formal appointment rules:

• Assessment Team Leader (ATL); • Verifier (V); • Verifier Trainee (T); • Technical Experts (TE); • Country expert (CE); • Technical reviewer (TR).

It is required that the sectoral scope(s) and the technical area(s) (TA) linked to the methodology/ies and project has to be covered by the assessment team. Appointment certificates of the selected team members are attached to this report as Annex.

Verification team member No. Role Last name First name Affiliation Involvement in (e.g. name of

central or other

office of DOE or outsourced enti-

ty)

findings

(s)

inspection

site site

-

erification

Typeof resource Desk review On Interview V 1. Team Leader, EI Meesa Srikanth TUV SUD     Verifier & South Asia Technical Ex- pert

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Technical reviewer and approver of the verification and certification report No. Role Type of Last name First name Affiliation resource (e.g. name of central or other office of DOE or outsourced entity) 1. Technical reviewer IR Murty Eswar TUV SUD South Asia 2. Approver IR Murty Eswar TUV SUD South Asia

1.5 Review of Documents Publication has been initiated before the verification activities started. Based on the published MR the assessment team performed a desk review to:

• verify the completeness of the data and the information presented in the MR. • check the compliance of the MR with respect to the monitoring plan depicted in the registered PDD and verify that the applied methodology was carried out. Particular attention to the frequen- cy of measurements, the quality of the metering equipment including calibration requirements, and the quality assurance and quality control procedures was paid, • evaluate the data management and the quality assurance and quality control system in the con- text of their influence on the generation and reporting of emission reductions.

A complete list of all documents reviewed is available in the Information Reference List attached as Annex 2 to this report.

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1.6 On-site Assessment and follow-up Interviews

Duration of on-site inspection: 21/10/2019- 24/10/2019 No. Activity performed on-site Site location Date Team member 1. During the on-site assessment of the 10 districts of 21/10/2019 Srikanth Meesa project TUV SUD team has assessed the Nepal to implementation and operation of the 24/10/2019 proposed project activity, the composting facility, reviewed the information flows for generating, aggregating and reporting the monitoring parameters, interviewed key personnel of the plant to confirm the operational and data collection procedures, cross-checked between information provided in the monitoring report and data plant. The values used in the ER calculations were confirmed by means of checking the records provided by the client. Checked the quality control and quality assurance procedures in place to prevent or identify and correct any errors or omissions in the reported monitoring parameters. There were no hindrances or barriers that were faced by the verification team while carrying out the site visits all equipment and processes of the project activity were accessible.

Interviews No. Interviewee Date Subject Team member Last name First name Affiliation 1. Maharjan Bhairaja Sr. Technical 21/10/2019 to Monitoring and Srikanth Meesa Advisor (BSP-N) project imple- 24/10/2019 mentation 2. Lamich- Prakash Executive 21/10/2019 to Monitoring and Srikanth Meesa Director(BSP-N) project imple- hane 24/10/2019 mentation 3. Shrestha Saroj Ku- BSP-N 21/10/2019 to Monitoring, Fiels Srikanth Meesa mar surveys and pro- 24/10/2019 ject implementa- tion 4. Bahadur Ram BSP-N 21/10/2019 to Monitoring, Fiels Srikanth Meesa surveys and pro- 24/10/2019 ject implementa- tion 5. Households Stakeholders in 21/10/2019 to Field Surveys Srikanth Meesa the project vil- 24/10/2019 lages

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1.7 Resolution of Clarification and Corrective and Forward Action Re- quests The objective of this phase of the verification is to resolve the requests for corrective actions, clarifi- cations, and any other outstanding issues which need to be clarified for TÜV SÜD`s conclusion on the achieved emission reductions. Three CARs, one CR and no FARs were raised during the course of verification. All the CARs and CRs raised by TÜV SÜD are resolved during communication between the client and TÜV SÜD. To guarantee the transparency of the verification process, the concerns raised and responses that have been given are documented in detail in the List of Findings that is attached as Annex 1 to this report.

1.8 Internal Quality Control Internal quality control within the team is assured by means of a technical review process that takes place after the on-site assessment and after closure of findings. The internal quality control in the verification process is given by the final decision (Verification and Certification Conclusion) made by the CB “Environment and Energy”.

2 CARBON VERIFICATION AND REPORTING In the following sections, the results of the verification are stated. The verification results relate to the project performance as documented and described in the final PDD and final Monitoring Report. The verification findings for each verification subject are presented below.

2.1 FARs from Validation / Previous Verification NA.

2.2 Project Implementation in accordance with the registered PDD

The project activity involves installation of 7500 bio digesters across the Tarai Arc Landscape in Ne- pal. WWF Nepal program (Former PP), was involved in partial grant to local households adopting Biogas plants within the Terai Arc Landscape (TAL) regions and credit to purchase biogas plant systems through Micro-Finance institutions. Similarly WWF Nepal Program was involved in awareness raising and capacity building of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) promoting this systems.

From this second crediting period WWF Nepal has transferred the project to BSP-Nepal. Now BSP- N is managing the project under its national biogas promotion activities, manage the database, check the quality of the installed plants, ensure after sales (in this case ongoing systems repairment) services through pre-qualified companies and manage the guarantee the fund.

The biogas plants implemented under this project activity are the biogas for the thermal energy needs of households. The use of biogas digester plants will displace fossil fuel and/or non- renewable biomass (firewood). The fixed dome design, called GGC 2047 model, which was de- signed and developed in Nepal, is implemented in this project. This model is considered to be relia- ble, well-functioning, simple, durable and with low maintenance cost. The biogas plants are based on a uniform technical design and are manufactured and installed following established technical standards in Nepal. The households feed cattle dung mixed with water into the biogas plant, which through anaerobic digestion produces biogas.

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The operational lifetime of project is 25 years and from the sampled biodigesters from the PP and the DOE, there were no instances of replacement or renovation.

The year-wise (strata) installation of the biogas digesters are given below:

Table- Installation of Biogas plants under the project activity (year-wise) Batch Number Project date Number of plants (Strata) From To 1 01.01.2007 31.12.2007 1676 2 01.01.2008 31.12.2008 1089 3 01.01.2009 31.12.2009 1448 4 01.01.2010 31.12.2010 1777 5 01.01.2011 30.06.2011 1510 Total 7500

The distribution of the biogas digesters in 10 districts are given below:

Table 1: Distribution of digesters (clusterwise) SNo District VDC/Cluster Number of Total Number of installations installations 1 Banke Mahadevpuri 131 131 2 Bardiya Bagnaha 112 641 Dhodhari 104 Motipur 163 Neulapur 116 Shivpur 27 Surya Patuwa 91 Thakur Dwara 28 3 Chitwan Bachhauli 187 292 Padampur 105 4 Dang Chaulahi 273 1562 Lalmatiya 401 Sisahaniya 635 Sonpur 253 5 Kailali 128 2177 80 N.P. 484 Geta 262 257 44

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Lalbojhi 32 216 Phalampur 218 147 Ramsikhar Jhala 147 Ratanpur 58 Udasinpur 121 6 Kanchanpur Besi Bichawa 59 1355 Daijee 267 Jhalari 230 Krishnapur 226 Pipaladi 101 Raikar Bichawa 190 Shankarpur 80 Suda 232 7 Makwanpur Padampokhari 593 1299 Handikhola 706 8 Palpa Dobhan 11 11 9 Parsa Nirmalbasti 30 10 Rautahat Ramauli 2 2 Grand Total 7500 7500

2.3 Sampling Approach The following parameters are determined by PP through sampling approach: Type of parameter Description

Mean based 1. Pp,y = Quantity of fuel that is consumed in project scenario p during year y parameters 2. N(T),h = Number of animal of livestock category (cow or buffalo) in premise h

Proportion based 1. Up,y = Usage rate of project plant in project scenario p during year y parameters 2. MS(T,S,k) = Fraction of livestock category T's manure fed into the bio-digester, in climate region k

PP sampling

The sample size for each of these parameters is determined using stratified sampling approach stratified based on age. All units installed in a given calendar years are deemed as having same age irrespective of completion date of their installation for sampling purposes. The units in the population will be categorised based on age and sample size shall be determined based on expected parameter value in each age category using stratified random sampling approach as per the Guideline: Sampling and surveys for CDM project activities and programmes of activities and “Standard for sampling and surveys for CDM project activities”.

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The sampling was performed within the level of precision of 10% and a confidence level of 95%. The sample size was determined using following formula:

Where: z = value for the standard normal distribution value, with an infinite number of readings, and for the desired confidence level. For confidence level of 95%, z = 1.96

The age wise distribution of digesters is given below: Installation Number of Sample taken SN year Biogas 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

1 2007 1676 22 22 22 22 22 2 2008 1089 15 15 15 15 15 3 2009 1448 20 19 19 19 19 4 2010 1777 23 24 24 24 24 5 2011 1510 20 20 20 20 20 Total 7500 100 100 100 100 100

Considering the provision for the sample calculation for mean value parameters and the proportional parameter and minimum sample required for the Kitchen Performance Test (KPT), 100 samples were taken in each monitoring. Yearly monitoring was done to capture all the monitoring parameters stipulated in PDD and the transition documents as applicable.

DOE Sampling

Since it is not practical to individually verify all 38,092 leaks within the project boundary through on- site inspections, Acceptance Sampling approach was employed by verification team, which follows the “Standard for sampling and survey for CDM project activities and programme of activities”, version 7.0 and “Guidelines for sampling and survey for CDM project activities and programme of activities”, version 4.0.

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TUV SUD has taken the “Table 1 Sample Size and Acceptance Number” of the guideline into consideration in order to select a random sample from the PP data, and the AQL of 1%, the UQL of 10%, and the producer’s and consumer’s risk both at 5% were selected. Therefore, a sample size (n) of 25 should have been verified at least, and accordingly with 2 as the maximum number of discrepancies (acceptance number) between the verified data and the PP data.

However a total number of 25 samples were selected on random basis covering the areas in the boundary. The user survey reports submitted clearly explains the age wise sampling. All the survey results have been checked during verification and the same are provided by the PP.. Annual HH survey to capture usage of firewood ex-post has been checked from the sampling records and this showed significant decrease in the firewood consumption.

The list of the samples of biogas plants verified by the audit team is provided below.

S.No Biogas plant code Date of Installation 1 SPGKIL660056 2/27/2010 2 PGCBAN640028 4/15/2008 3 DUVKIL640012 4/22/2008 4 PDGBAR670156 5/18/2011 5 PGCBAR630029 3/10/2008 6 TGGKIL670051 4/29/2011 7 NKGBAN670011 4/19/2011 8 BCEBAR650011 4/2/2009 9 DUVKIL640001 3/4/2008 10 TGGKIL640016 2/24/2008 11 SMGKIL660056 2/27/2010 12 SPGKIL660036 5/8/2010 13 SMGKIL660205 5/7/2010 14 SMGKIL670058 2/26/2011 15 GGCKIL640125 4/20/2008 16 TGGKIL670044 3/24/2011 17 TGGKIL670051 3/9/2011 18 PDGBAR670151 4/15/2011 19 LECDAN65001 9/28/2008 20 LECDAN650025 3-Apr-09 21 NDPDAN650055 2/23/2009 22 RGGDAN670124 8-Jun-11 23 RSGDAN670042 11/2/2010 34 LECDAN630010 21-Nov-10 25 LECDAN630010 2-Nov-09

2.4 CLs, CARs and FARs raised Areas of verification findings No. of CL No. of CAR No. of FAR Compliance of the monitoring report with the monitoring 1 report form Compliance of the project implementation with the regis- 1

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tered PDD Post-registration changes Compliance of the monitoring plan with the monitoring methodology including applicable tool and standardized baseline Compliance of monitoring activities with the registered monitoring plan Compliance with the calibration frequency requirements for measuring instruments Assessment of data and calculation of emission reduc- 2 2 tions or net removals Others (Assessment of SDG outcomes) Total 2 4

2.5 Compliance of the Monitoring Plan with the Methodology During the document review and furthermore during the on-site visit, the verification team has re- viewed the registered monitoring plan and compared it with the monitoring methodology to verify their compliance. Based on this review and observations provided by the Objective observer through the conflict zone verification report and the on–site checklist sheet/, the verification team confirmed that the implemented monitoring plan is in compliance with the registered PDD and the monitoring methodology as well.

2.6 Compliance of the Monitoring with the Monitoring Plan The monitoring has been carried out in accordance with the monitoring plan contained in the regis- tered PDD. All parameters were monitored and determined as per the Monitoring Plan. The verification of the parameters required by the monitoring plan is provided as follows:

The monitoring has been carried out in accordance with the monitoring plan contained in the regis- tered PDD. All parameters were monitored and determined as per the Monitoring Plan.

The verification of the parameters required by the monitoring plan is provided as follows

Data / Parameter: Pp,y Data unit: kg/household/day Description: Quantity of fuel that is consumed in project scenario p during year y Source of data used: Project Field tests to determine fuel-wood usage for cooking in the project households. User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verifica- The data has been checked from the Kitchen performance tests tion/Comments: performed during the user survey for each year for 3 days in sampled households done by the PP. Sample was selected randomly (stratified) by the PP based on age of the project devices. The value for individual household was verified on random sample basis from the filled survey forms available with the BSP Nepal office Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

Pp,y 1.56 1.46 1.47 1.44 1.53

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Cross-check The DOE has further done a sample of the households to cross check the fuel consumption in the project.

Data / Parameter: Up,y

Data unit: % Description: Usage rate in project scenario p during year y Source of data used: User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verifica- The data has been checked from the user survey reports for each year in tion/Comments: sampled households done by the PP. Sample was selected randomly (stratified) by the PP based on age of the project devices. The usage rate of project biogas plants was determined through sampling surveys.

Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

Up,y 96 95 94 95 95

Cross-check The DOE has further done a sample of the households to cross check the usage rate of project biogas plants.

Data / Parameter: N Data unit: number Description: Cumulative number of units of biogas plants installed Source of data used: Installation database Means of verifica- The cumulative number of biogas plants installed has been checked from tion/Comments: the database of the installation. Cross-check Registered PDD and also the Renewal PDD

Data / Parameter: LEp,y

Data unit: tCO2e Description: Leakage in project scenario p during year y Source of data used: User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verifica- The data has been veriifed from the default value factor of 0.05 taken to tion/Comments: account the leakage of biogas as per the methodology AMS I.E given by UNFCCC. The factor has been applied to calculate the leakage in project scenario. Cross-check --

Data / Parameter: MS(T,S,k) Data unit: % Description: Fraction of livestock category T's manure fed into the bio-digester, in climate

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region k Source of data used: User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verifica- The values are verified based on the user survey reports. This value is tion/Comments: based on the usage surveys done on a sampling basis. The biogas plant users were asked to provide an estimate of the % of manure they feed into the biogas plant. The sample was selected randomly (stratified) by the PP based on age of the project devices. Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19

MS(T,S,K) 81 82.2 82 82 80

Cross-check The DOE has further done a sample of the households to cross check the % of manure fed into the biodigester..

Data / Parameter: N(T),h Data unit: number Description: Number of animal of livestock category T in premise h Source of data used: User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verifica- The data has been verified from the user survey reports and the sample tion/Comments: surveys. The number of animals (Cows / buffaloes) were determined during usage survey through survey questionnaire on a sampling basis. The sample was selected randomly by the PP (stratified) based on age of the project devices.

Parameter Monitoring year N (T),h 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Cow/Oxen 2.12 2.28 2.29 2.44 2.38 Buffalos 1.74 1.78 1.87 1.98 1.93

Cross-check The DOE has further done a sample of the households to cross check the number of livestock category.

3 SUSTAINABILITY VERIFICATION The monitoring has been carried out in accordance with the GS sustainability monitoring plan con- tained in the registered PDD and annex. All the sustainability parameters were monitored and de- termined as per the Monitoring Plan.

3.1 Assessment of SDG outcomes for the current Monitoring period

SDG Indicator SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth Data Unit : Fraction

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Description : Time and savings post project intervention Source of data used : User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verification 1. % of household confirming time savings (in-case of firewood /comments : collection in baseline) after project intervention

Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Men 92 84 89 91 87 Women 100 100 100 100 100 Children 47 61 67 72 66

2. % Project households confirming money savings (in case of firewood collection in baseline) after project intervention Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 % response 100 100 97 99 100

The above data has been checked from the user survey reports and also confirmed from the DOE sampling of the households.

SDG Indicator SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being Data Unit : Fraction Description : Improvement in air quality after project intervention Source of data used : User survey reports: 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19 Means of verification % of household confirming visible reduction in smoke (indoor air pollution) /comments : while cooking with biogas

Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Drastically reduced 90 82 86 79 83 Reduced 10 15 14 21 17 Not reduced 0 0 0 0 0 Do not know 0 3 0 0 0

% of households households confirming visible reduction in soot deposition on utensils/walls while cooking with biogas Parameter Monitoring year 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 Yes 100 100 100 96 100 No 0 0 0 0 0 Do not know 0 0 0 4 0 The above data has been checked from the user survey reports and

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also confirmed from the DOE sampling of the households.

SDG Indicator SDG 4: Quality education Data Unit : Number Description : Number of technician/people trained Source of data used : Training records/awareness campaign records Means of verification The number of technicians trained have been verified from the /comments : training participation records submitted by the PP. A total of 23 people have been trained by BSP Nepal in the installation of biogas plants.

SDG Indicator SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth Data Unit : Number Description : Number of jobs created Source of data used : List of Employees Means of verification Total of 22 nos. of employees are working with BSP Nepal which /comments : includes skilled and unskilled staff, involved in different functions. The employee list has been checked to confirm the same.

3.2 Assessment of Data and Calculation of Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions

Means of verification GHG emission reductions or net GHG GHG emission reductions or net removals by sinks reported up to 31 GHG removals by sinks reported December 2012 from 1 January 2013 onwards

NA 435,983 tCO2 Year-wise break-up of emission reductions: Year Emission Reductions (tCO2) 01/07/2014 -31/12/2014 (2014) 87,484 01/01/2015- 31/12/2015 (2015) 87,493 01/01/2016 -31/12/2016 (2016) 86,388 01/01/2017 -31/12/2017 (2017) 87,601 01/01/2018 -31/12/2018 (2018) 87,017 Total 435,983

The ER calculations have been updated for each monitoring year as given above.

Comparison of actual value of outcomes with estimates in approved PDD Values estimated in ex ante Actual values achieved dur- Item calculation of approved PDD ing this monitoring period

SDG 13 456,545tCO2eq 435,983tCO2eq

SDG 1 Poor Situation Improved situation

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SDG 3 Poor Situation Improved situation

SDG 4 Poor Situation Improved situation

SDG 7 Poor Situation Improved situation

SDG 8 Poor Situation Improved situation

SDG 12 Poor Situation Improved situation

Findings N/A Conclusion The emission reduction calculations provided in the spreadsheet have been verified to be correct based on the formula and also the SDG benefits. The conservative value of 5% leakage as per approved UNFCCC metho- dology has been considered for this project activity for the given monitoring period. The audit team confirms that the emission reductions generated from this monitoring period are correct and accurate.

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4 VERIFICATION OPINION

TUV SUD South Asia has performed verification of the emission reductions reported for the project activity “ WWF Nepal Gold Standard Biogas Voluntary Emission Reduction (GS VER) Project ”, GS Reference No. 504 for the period 01/07/2014 to 31/12/2018, with regard to the relevant GS4GG principles and requirements. The project participants are responsible for the collection of data in accordance with the monitoring plan and the reporting emission reductions from the project.

It is TUV SUD’s responsibility to express an independent verification opinion on the reported emission reductions from the project and does not express any opinion on the selected baseline scenario or on the validated and registered PDD. Based on documented evidences and corroborated by an on-site assessment TUV SUD can confirm that:

(i) the project has been implemented and operated as per the PDD; (ii) the monitoring report and other supporting documents provided are complete and verifiable and in accordance with the applicable GS4 GG principles and requirements; (iii) the monitoring is in place as per the applied baseline and monitoring methodology; (iv) the monitoring complies with the monitoring plan; (iv) the monitoring plan in the PDD is as per the applied baseline and monitoring methodology.

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Annex 1 List of Findings

Compilation and Resolutions of CARs, CRs and FARs

Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusi on Issue Completeness of the MR as per the GS requirements: GS Monitoring report is required to be completed Requirement closed Corrective Ac- 1. : tion Request Following points are not included in the submitted MR:

• Project Representative information provided in page 2 of the MR is not consistent with the provided PDD and the validation report. • Project description is provided • For the sake of transparency, information on the clusters per district, villages per district and the installations per village is to be included. • Description on the project’s implementation is not provided in section B.1 of the submitted MR. • Description of the monitoring system included in section C of the submitted MR is not complete. • For the sake of transparency, description provided in section E.5 needs to be elaborated and justified. • Font type and size is not consistent across the submitted MR.

Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

Response • Project representative information provided in page 2 of the MR is revised and is consitent with PDD and validation report. See the revised MR • Project description is updated and provided in section A.1 of the revised MR. • The cluster-wise installation data is updated accordingly in section A.2 of revised MR. See table 1 of revised MR. • Description on the project’s implementation is updated in section B.1 of revised MR as per the information required. • Description of Monitoring systems is updated in section C of the revised MR. • The section E.5 of the MR is updated to elaborate the contribution of project activities to SDGs. The monitored parameters to justify the contribution as per the PDD are given in section D.2 of the MR. • The font type and size are made uniform where applicable through-out the revised MR. Assessment Hence the issue is closed. Means of verification Adjustment on Changes in the monitoring report or supporting annexes

Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusion Issue Determination of achieved emission reductions:

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Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

GS Requirement Emission reductions shall be measurable, realistic and verifiable closed Corrective Action 2. : Request • The monitored data is not provided in section D.2 and the respective survey documents and summary reports except the excel sheets are not submitted yet which are neces- sary to assess the achieved emission reductions. • Description of the sampling plan is not clear enough to understand how the sample was chosen consistently in line with the guidelines in section D.3 of the MR.

• For the monitoring parameters N(T),h, and MS(T,S,k), it is not clearly described how “The sample shall be selected randomly (stratified) based on age of the project devices”. • As per the provided field survey document the sample taken is 152. However, there is no justification on how the sample is representative considering the age, size, and vol- ume of the installations and how it is in line with the approved PDD and the applied GS methodology. Response • The monitored data is provided in section D.2 of the MR and the survey reports are submitted along with this response. (see documents: 1. User Survey_2014-15.pdf; 2. User Survey_2015-16.pdf; 3. User Survey_2016-17.pdf; 4. User Survey_2017-18.pdf; 5. User Survey_2018-19.pdf) • Stratified random sampling approach was followed as per the PDD. The section D.3 of the revised MR has clearly mentioned about the sampling approach. The corresponding sample calculations are given under section 2.1.1 of the user survey reports. • As mentioned above stratified random sampling was done to monitor the mean value and proportional parameters. For the parameters N(T),h, and MS(T,S,k), same is applicable. For detail sampling, see section 2.1.1 of the user survey reports and sample calculation spreadsheet provided with this response (1. Sample Calculation 2014-15.xls; 2. Sample Calculation 2015-16.xls; 3. Sample Calculation 2016-17.xls; 4. Sample Calculation 2017-18.xls; 5. Sample Calculation 2018-19.xls) • That field survey was mistakenly submitted which is actually belong to the baseline survey. The sampling for the survey was done as per the PDD. The age (implemented in calendar year) are chosen as strata irrespective of size and volume. See the user survey reports and the sample calculation of spreadsheet for each monitoring year

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Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team provided with this response. For the strata allocation and sampling plan, see the section B.7.2 of PDD. So, the sampling approach is in-line with PDD. Assessment Hence the issue is closed Means of verification Adjustment on Changes in the monitoring report or supporting annexes

Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusion Issue Project’s implementation: GS Requirement Project’s implementation as per the approved PDD in order to meet the GS requirements closed Corrective Action 3. : Request As per the provided PDD and the applied monitoring methodology, the field survey to determine the quantity of fuel consumed in the project scenario” and the leakage survey to determine the leakage in the project scenario” are to be conducted in once in 2 years. The usage survey to determine the usage rate is to be conducted once in a year.

However, these documents were not submitted yet. If these are not conducted a justification is required and the PP is required to a take an approval on the deviation from GS and the it is to clearly described in section B.2.1.

Response As per PDD, and the applied monitoring methodology, the field survey to determine the quantity of fuel consumed in the project scenario” and the leakage survey to determine the leakage in

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Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team the project scenario” are to be conducted in once in 2 years and the usage survey to determine the usage rate is to be conducted once in a year. However, PP has conservatively done yearly monitoring and provided the survey report to monitor the parameters. As per PDD, the leakage can either be estimated through the survey or can be used the published data. To avoid the leakage survey, PP used the default value (0.95% factor) provided in AMS I.E methodology by UNFCCC as conservative approach. So, PP is in the opinion that there is no any deviation and conservative approach was followed to monitor the monitoring parameters. Assessment Hence the issue is closed Means of verification Adjustment on MR Changes in the monitoring report or supporting annexes

Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusion Issue Consistency of the data to determine the emission reductions: GS Requirement Emission reductions shall be measurable, realistic and verifiable. closed Corrective Action 4. : Request During the site visits to the installations, verification team has made the following observations and shall be addressed the PP:

• Exact location of the installations were not easy to locate by the site team who assisted during the site visit to the installations. Hence, PP is required to create a robust system to access the existing installations. • The number of cows and buffalos are found 2 on average. However, the average cattle is taken 2.39 as per the survey. Moreover, it was noticed 1 household was not having

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Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team any cattle. However, the survey data excel sheet has indicated they have 2 cows and 2 buffalos and they are taking the dung from other villagers or from the roads to obtain the biogas. Thus, it appears the information obtained from the survey is not accurate and verifiable. • Real name of one of the households with the biogas plant code PDGBAR670156 was not consistent with the provided field survey excel sheet. • As per the provided field survey sheet, the average number of operational days per month is 27.4. However, the considered number of operational days is 30 to determine the achieved emission reductions. • As per the provided field survey sheet, the quantity of the firewood consumed during the project implementation is less than 1 kg per day. However, the verification site visit revealed the quantity of firewood consumed would be at least 1 kg per day on a conservative basis.

Response • The database of all installed Biogas plan is clearly maintained to identify the exact location. Sometime, the support staffs may not be able to locate them due to the expansion of the households however biogas can be clearly identified by its unique number. But PP is aware on this and will be able to identify the location very easily from next verification. • As mentioned in the response of CAR No 2, the survey sheet was mistakenly submitted which actually belongs to the baseline survey for the crediting period renewal of the project activity. The actual survey reports are provided with this response which are used for the ER calculation and quantifying other SDG parameters. • The actual name, date and size of the digesters are the ones incorporated in the database of the project activities which was validated by the DOE during registration and crediting period renewal. The process of including the households digestor into the project is a rigorous one, where various levels of checks are performed during the inclusion. The release of subsidy to the digestors is after careful review of information captured on the ground, and is again cross checked for correctness of data. So the information captured in the PoA database is final. Sometime, the confusion may create on the actual name of the owner and the responded who actually responded to the field visit. This will not affect the ER calculation and monitoring of other parameters.

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Corrective Action Requests by the assessment team • As mentioned above, the sheet was mistakenly provided which was done for the baseline study. Survey report for actual monitoring of the parameters of interest are provided with this response and are in-line with PDD. • As mentioned above, the actual parameters monitored are given in section D.2 of the revised MR and in corresponding user survey report. The value obtained are between 1.44 to 1.56 kg/HH/day. So, it is in-line with the estimation of the verification field survey by GS-VVB. Assessment Hence the issue is closed Means of verification Adjustment on MR Changes in the monitoring report or supporting annexes

Clarification Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusion Issue Data consistency and accuracy GS Requirement Consistency of data closed Clarification Request Clarification Request No. 1 • As per the provided validation report, the final version of the PDD is version 06 dated 28/02/2018. However, the submitted PDD is version 08 dated 18/10/2018. Thus, it is not clear whether the provided validation report is the final validation report or not. • The documents related to the competency of survey teams that are involved in the field survey, usage survey and leakage survey and the training provided to them are not submitted to the DOE.

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Clarification Requests by the assessment team • Evidence source documents for the SDG parameters 1,3,4,8&12 indicated in the monitoring report are yet to be submitted for review. • PP is required to provide the evidence for the date of project certification included in the MR. • Project transfer agreement between WWF and BSP-N is not furnished. • The description for the difference in the actual and ex-ante emission reductions is not clearly presented in section E.6. • PP is required to confirm whether the submitted transition annex was approved by GS. • For parameters SDG 1 “% project household confirming money savings”. It needs to be clearly demonstrated how the money saving data was obtained through the surveys. Response • The final PDD after incorporating the GS response is the Version 08 dated 18/10/2018 and can also be verified from GS. Sometime, the GS raised the minor issues which are not applicable to GS-VVB that may leads to update the version number of the PDD and accepted by the GS. So, the PDD submitted to GS VVB is final one. • The user survey reports submitted with this response clearly mentioned how the survey was done and how the enumerators are oriented. Please see section 2.1.2 and annex 2 of the survey reports. • The user survey reports are submitted along with this response which evidenced the SDG contribution by the projects during monitoring years. • The e-mail (and/or screenshot of the project from GS account??) from the GS on pro- ject certification is attached for the reference. • Project transfer agreement between WWF-Nepal and BSP-Nepal is attached with this response. • The differences in the actual achievement in the ex-ante value and actual value is elab- orated in section E.6 of MR. This is because of the difference in actual monitored value during the monitoring period and the assumption of the value ex-ante. • The project is transited to GS4GG as per the requirement of GS. This can be evidenced by the (e-mail/screenshot of the project account??? from GS). • The parameters SDG 1 “% project household confirming money savings” was done through the survey as stipulated in the PDD/transition annex. The survey reports are provided along with the response. Same is also elaborated in the table under section

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Clarification Requests by the assessment team D.2 of revised MR.

Assessment Hence the issue is closed Means of verification Adjustment on MR Changes in the monitoring report or supporting annexes

Clarification Requests by the assessment team

Comments and Results Conclusion Issue Data consistency and accuracy GS Requirement Consistency of data  closed Clarification Request Clarification Request No. 2 During the site visits to the installations, verification team has made the following observations and shall be addressed by PP: • In the Banka district, Mothipur cluster, it was observed few villagers were also using fire wood, LPG gas provided on subsidy along with the biogas every day or at least 3-4 months in a year. This was not presented in the provided survey excel sheet and the submitted MR. It is not clear, how this was accounted in order to determine the emission reductions due to the avoidance of the firewood. • Few households complained that the biogas produced is not sufficient enough to cool the meal. • During winter season for a period of 3-4 months, the households are using the wood as the produced gas quantity is not sufficient to cook the meal. • The quantity of the cow dung used per day as per the provided survey sheet is 37 kg.

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Clarification Requests by the assessment team However, it was observed that the maximum quantity of cow dung used per day is 30 kg. Hence, client is required to justify the applied value for the dung used in biogas stoves. Response • During the field visit, it was observed that few households had firewood and also some households have LPG cylinders for cooking purpose. The survey has also revealed that that LPG was mainly used as only back-up for emergency cases and hardly use those cylinders as an option as this has to be purchased and expensive incomparision to the firewood. From the field visit to the household, it can be evidenced that the first priority of the Biogas users are always biogas as it is free of cost. The bio-digesters are designed to provide the gas to meet the households’ daily meal cooking needs. In accessible areas, it was found that few household kept the LPG as back-up only for special occasions and preferred to use less costly fuels over LPG. In this context, the consumption of the firewood is accounted during the user survey and accounted in ER calculation as this is one of the monitoring parameters but LPG use is considered as negligible. So, PP is in the opinion that the ER calculation is conservatively done for the project activity. • The production of gas depends on the quantity of dung fed and the temperature. Generally in winter season, the gas output is little bit less than as usual and people use the firewood as back-up. The consumption of firewood after the project activity is captured in the survey and accounted in ER calculation as monitoring parameters. • As mentioned above, the consumption of firewood after the project activity is also monitored and accounted in ER calculation as per the PDD. • The survey sheet was mistakenly submitted which actually belongs to the baseline study. The survey reports are provided along with this response that includes the actual monitoring parameters and corresponding monitored value for them. Assessment Hence the issue is closed Means of verification Adjustment on MR Changes in the monitoring report or

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Clarification Requests by the assessment team supporting annexes

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Annex 2 Information Reference List

Addi- tional Issuance Infor- Author/Editor/ and/or sub- mation Title/Type of Document. Publication place REF. Issuer mission date (Rele- NO. (dd/mm/yyyy) vance in CDM Context) 1. BSP Nepal GS 504 Revised PDD version 8 18/10/2018 2. BSP Nepal GS 504 Transition Annex to PDD 3. BSP Nepal GS 504 Monitoring Report version 03 11/03/2020 4. Gold Standard GS 504 project page 5. GS 504 Renewal of CP Validation Report version 1.1 28/02/2018 6. BSP Nepal GS 504 ER calculation sheet 01/12/2019 7. BSP Nepal Field data sheets for ER and SDG monitoring 8. BSP Nepal User Survey Reports 2014-19 9. BSP Nepal Sample of the household survey questionnaire 2014-19 10. BSP Nepal Database of households 2014-19 11. BSP Nepal Sample calculation sheet 2014-19 12. BSP Nepal List of Employees 13. BSP Nepal Training records

Annex 3 Appointment Certificates

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