Avoided Conversion in the Pematang Gadung Peat Swamp forest Project Description, Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Contents 1. Project details ...................................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Summary description of the Project ................................................................................. 1 1.2. Sectoral scope and project type ....................................................................................... 2 1.3. Project proponent ............................................................................................................ 2 1.3.1. Implementing partner: Fauna and Flora International...................................................... 3 1.3.2. Roles and responsibilities of the project proponent and implementing partner ............... 3 1.4. Other entities involved in the project ............................................................................... 3 1.5. Project start date ............................................................................................................. 4 1.6. Project crediting period .................................................................................................... 6 1.7. Project scale and estimated GHG Emission Reductions or Removals ................................. 6 1.8. Description of the project activities .................................................................................. 7 1.8.1. Establish community-based land management rights ...................................................... 7 1.8.2. Develop forest management workplans .......................................................................... 8 1.8.3. Obtain a license for carbon credit trading ........................................................................ 9 1.8.4. Participate in government spatial planning activities ....................................................... 9 1.9. Project location .............................................................................................................. 11 1.10. Conditions prior to implementation ............................................................................... 14 1.10.1. Land use status prior to initiation .................................................................................. 14 1.10.2. Condition of peatland ................................................................................................... 16 1.10.3. Condition of the forest .................................................................................................. 16 1.11. Compliance with Laws, Statutes and Other Regulatory Frameworks ............................... 19 1.11.1. Laws, statutes and other regulatory frameworks relevant to the project ....................... 19 1.11.2. Compliance of the project with relevant local, regional and national laws, statutes and regulatory frameworks ................................................................................................................ 21 1.12. Ownership and other programs ...................................................................................... 22 1.12.1. Right of use................................................................................................................... 22 1.12.2. Emissions Trading Programs and Other Binding Limits ................................................... 22 1.12.3. Participation under Other GHG Programs ...................................................................... 22 1.12.4. Other Forms of Environmental Credit ............................................................................ 22 1.12.5. Projects Rejected by Other GHG Programs .................................................................... 23 1.13. Additional information relevant to the project ............................................................... 23 1.13.1. Eligibility criteria for grouped projects ........................................................................... 23 1.13.2. Leakage management ................................................................................................... 23 1.13.3. Commercially sensitive information .............................................................................. 23 1.13.4. Further information ...................................................................................................... 23 2. Application of the methodology ......................................................................................... 24 2.1. Title and Reference of Methodology .............................................................................. 24 2.2. Applicability of methodology .......................................................................................... 24 2.2.1. Condition A: Tropical, undrained peat swamp forest in southeast Asia .......................... 24 2.2.2. Condition B: Baseline approach ..................................................................................... 25 2.2.3. Condition C: avoided conversion, not avoided degradation ........................................... 25 2.2.4. Condition D: avoided planned conversion ..................................................................... 25 2.2.5. Condition E: Avoided conversion by large corporate entities.......................................... 25 2.2.6. Condition F: Net peat drainage depth shall be calculated using a depth of one meter .... 25 2.2.7. Condition G: Exclusion of the dead wood and litter carbon pools ................................... 25 2.2.8. Condition H: Project area does not include human settlements ..................................... 26 2.2.9. Condition I: Forest biomass is steady-state or increasing at the start of the project........ 26 2.2.10. Condition J: Volume of trees extracted upon conversion is assumed to be the total volume above a minimum diameter threshold ............................................................................. 26 i 2.2.11. Condition K: The project boundary shall be hydrologically intact ................................... 26 2.2.12. Condition L: The project area was not zoned for conversion to generate additionality for REDD 26 2.3. Project boundaries ......................................................................................................... 26 2.3.1. Geographic project boundaries ..................................................................................... 26 2.3.2. Sources, sinks and reservoirs (carbon pools) .................................................................. 29 2.3.3. Emission sources included in the project boundary, other than those resulting from changes in carbon pools .............................................................................................................. 30 2.4. Baseline scenario ........................................................................................................... 31 2.4.1. Step 1a &b: Identify credible alternative land use scenarios ......................................... 31 2.4.2. Step 1c: Selection of the most plausible baseline scenario ............................................. 35 2.4.3. Step 2: Investment Analysis .......................................................................................... 39 2.4.4. Step 4: Common practice analysis ................................................................................. 39 2.4.5. Conclusion of the additionality and baseline assessment ............................................... 40 2.5. Methodology deviations................................................................................................. 40 3. Quantification of GHG emission reductions and removals ................................................. 41 3.1. Methodology Step 5: Stratification ................................................................................. 41 3.1.1. Step 1: Stratification according to pre-existing conditions and baseline projections ....... 41 d) Site specifications for each stratum and supplementary sampling ............................................ 41 e) Final stratification of baseline scenario.................................................................................... 44 3.1.2. Step 2: stratification according to the project activity .................................................... 47 3.1.3. Step 3: Final ex-ante stratification ................................................................................. 47 3.1.4. Step 4: Leakage stratification ........................................................................................ 47 3.2. Methodology Step 6: Procedure for determining the baseline scenario .......................... 48 3.3. Methodology Step 7: Procedure for demonstrating additionality ................................... 48 3.4. Methodology Step 8: Baseline emissions ........................................................................ 49 3.4.1. Methodology step 8.1: estimate of carbon stock changes in the aboveground biomass . 49 Increase in carbon stocks due to aboveground biomass growth in baseline land-use (8.1.3) ......... 52 3.4.2. Methodology step 8.2: GHG emissions from peat .......................................................... 55 3.5. Methodology Step 9. Ex ante net avoided GHG emissions .............................................. 57 3.6. Methodology Step 10. Leakage ...................................................................................... 57 3.6.1. Market leakage ............................................................................................................