Kenya National REDD+ Programme Roadmap for the establishment of reference levels and national forest monitoring system This document was prepared by Patrick Van Laake International Consultant on Forests and Climate Change For the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife / National REDD+ Coordinating Office With financial support from the Miti Mingi Maisha Bora project Table of Contents List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................... ii 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Principles ....................................................................................................................................... 1 1.3 Development approach ................................................................................................................. 2 1.4 Task details .................................................................................................................................... 2 1.5 Key documents on the national forest monitoring system and reference levels ......................... 3 1.5.1 Official documents from the UNFCCC ................................................................................... 3 1.5.2 Other relevant documents on specific issues........................................................................ 4 1.5.3 Kenyan context ...................................................................................................................... 4 2 Technical background ..................................................................................................... 5 2.1 IPCC Guidelines key concepts ........................................................................................................ 5 2.2 REDD+ activities and sampling .................................................................................................... 15 2.3 Data quality assessment .............................................................................................................. 17 3 Roadmap ....................................................................................................................... 19 3.1 Preliminaries ................................................................................................................................ 19 3.2 National forest monitoring system ............................................................................................. 28 3.3 Reference Levels .......................................................................................................................... 42 3.3.1 Official status ....................................................................................................................... 42 3.3.2 Terminology ......................................................................................................................... 45 3.3.3 IPCC methodologies related to reference levels ................................................................. 46 3.3.4 Proposals for the establishment of reference levels ........................................................... 47 4 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 58 Appendix: Land use area matrices and sub-matrices .............................................................. 60 i List of Acronyms AFOLU Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use scope of IPCC reporting AGB Above-ground biomass BAU Business-as-usual BGB Below-ground biomass CATIE Center for Tropical Agronomical Research and Training CFA Community Forest Association CH4 Methane CO2 Carbon dioxide CO2e CO2-equivalent CoP Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC DAF Development adjustment factor DBH Diameter at breast height DOM Dead organic matter DRSRS Department of Resource Survey and Remote Sensing FAO Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations GHG Greenhouse gas GWP Global Warming Potential H Height of the bole of a tree HWP Harvested wood products IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change KEFRI Kenya Forestry Research Institute KENCAS Kenya National Carbon Accounting System KFS Kenya Forest Service KNBS Kenya National Bureau of Statistics MFW Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife NGO Non-governmental organization N2O Nitrous oxide NOx Nitrogen oxides NRCO National REDD+ Coordination Office PCM Participatory carbon monitoring PDF Probability density function PFM Participatory forest monitoring PSP Permanent sampling plot RCMRD Regional Center for Mapping of Resources for Development REDD+ Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries REL Reference emission level RL Reference level SiHA Simple Historical Approach SO2 Sulfur dioxide SOM Soil organic matter UNEP United Nations Environment Programme UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change WMO World Meteorological Organization ii 1 Introduction 1.1 Objectives The Government of Kenya is in the process of establishing a National REDD+ Programme. Two critical elements of the National REDD+ Programme are forest reference levels and a national forest monitoring system. This document provides the first comprehensive steps towards establishing the design of the national forest monitoring system and reference levels, through an enumeration and detailed description of required tasks. 1.2 Principles Activities under the roadmap will be developed and implemented to be consistent with a number of key principles that comply with Kenya’s legal and customary systems and with Decisions from the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): Inclusive of all relevant aspects of a National REDD+ Programme. The roadmap will consider how the national forest monitoring system and reference levels fit into a larger picture of REDD+ implementation and national accounting of greenhouse gas emissions. Alignment with UNFCCC decisions. The roadmap recognizes all relevant decisions of the CoP with regards to the national forest monitoring system and reference levels. Consultation with all relevant stakeholders. Consultations on the development and implementation of this roadmap will be held within the government agencies responsible for REDD+ management, but also with stakeholders in other areas of government, lower administrative levels in forestry and other areas of government, universities and research institutions, non-governmental organizations, private sector parties and local communities living in or near forests. Recognizing cross-cutting issues. Governance in forestry is considered a crucial element for the successful implementation of a National REDD+ Programme and it permeates all areas of intervention. Gender equality will be respected and fostered throughout the development and implementation of this roadmap and the National REDD+ Programme itself. Recognizing secondary benefits. A successful National REDD+ Programme will recognize the need to sustain the livelihoods of the communities living in or near the forest, as well as the overall economic development of Kenya. Many secondary benefits in timber and non-timber forest products can be had from the results of the National REDD+ Programme that supplement the core benefits that will accrue to the local communities for their efforts in implementing REDD+. Other, non-tangible or non-monetary benefits can be had as well, such as enhanced protection of water towers and the preservation and enhancement of biodiversity. The national forest monitoring system must facilitate the monitoring and quantification of these secondary benefits. 1 1.3 Development approach The development of the roadmap was coordinated by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, specifically the National REDD+ Coordination Office. In the development of the Roadmap the following key considerations will be adhered to: Strategic. This roadmap is a document that drives further design, development and implementation activities. It is intended to draw the outlines of what needs to be done, by whom, when and how. It will recognize the new Constitution of Kenya and the process of restructuring the administration of the forestry sector. Cooperative. The Government of Kenya will work closely together with all relevant stakeholders to develop and implement the roadmap. These stakeholders include the international community, multi-lateral agencies and the donor community at the international level and all interested parties in Kenya domestically. Multi-phased. The roadmap and its activities will be developed and implemented over three key phases, in concert with the decision of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (Decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 73): 1. Formulating policies for the national forest monitoring system and reference levels and building capacity for designing and implementing these. 2. Implementation of the national forest monitoring system and construction of the reference levels and capacity building for operators at all levels of stakeholders. 3. Full operation of the national forest management system. Action-oriented. Activities will be designed to deliver concrete