THE NIHT TOPAIYO REDD+ PROJECT Document Prepared by EP Carbon Contact: Paz Lozano, [email protected] Project Title The NIHT Topaiyo REDD+ Project Version V1.55 Date of Issue 28 September 2020 Prepared By EP Carbon Contact 2930 Shattuck Ave Suite 304 Berkeley, California 94705 +1 415 634 4650 https://www.epcarbon.com/ CONTENTS 1 PROJECT DETAILS................................................................................................. 6 1.1 Summary Description of the Project ................................................................................ 6 1.2 Sectoral Scope and Project Type .................................................................................... 6 1.3 Project Eligibility .................................................................................................................. 7 1.4 Project Design ..................................................................................................................... 8 1.5 Project Proponent ............................................................................................................ 13 1.6 Other Entities Involved in the Project ............................................................................. 14 1.7 Ownership .......................................................................................................................... 14 1.8 Project Start Date ............................................................................................................. 15 1.9 Project Crediting Period .................................................................................................. 16 1.10 Project Scale and Estimated GHG Emission Reductions or Removals ...................... 17 1.11 Description of the Project Activity .................................................................................. 19 1.12 Project Location ............................................................................................................... 20 1.13 Conditions Prior to Project Initiation ............................................................................... 20 1.14 Compliance with Laws, Statutes and Other Regulatory Frameworks ....................... 21 1.15 Participation under Other GHG Programs .................................................................... 23 1.16 Other Forms of Credit ....................................................................................................... 23 1.17 Additional Information Relevant to the Project ........................................................... 23 2 SAFEGUARDS ..................................................................................................... 27 2.1 No Net Harm ..................................................................................................................... 27 2.2 Local Stakeholder Consultation ..................................................................................... 28 2.3 Environmental Impact ..................................................................................................... 31 2.4 Public Comments ............................................................................................................. 32 2.5 AFOLU-Specific Safeguards ............................................................................................ 33 3 APPLICATION OF METHODOLOGY ................................................................... 35 3.1 Title and Reference of Methodology ............................................................................ 35 3.2 Applicability of Methodology ......................................................................................... 35 3.3 Project Boundary .............................................................................................................. 36 3.4 Baseline Scenario ............................................................................................................. 40 3.5 Additionality ...................................................................................................................... 45 3.6 Methodology Deviations ................................................................................................. 50 4 QUANTIFICATION OF GHG EMISSION REDUCTIONS AND REMOVALS .......... 50 4.1 Baseline Emissions ............................................................................................................. 50 4.2 Project Emissions ............................................................................................................... 83 4.3 Leakage ............................................................................................................................. 86 4.4 Net GHG Emission Reductions and Removals .............................................................. 88 5 MONITORING .................................................................................................... 91 5.1 Data and Parameters Available at Validation ............................................................ 91 5.2 Data and Parameters Monitored ..................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 5.3 Monitoring Plan ............................................................................................................... 139 ACRONYMS AAC Annual Allowable Cut DBH Diameter at Breast Height FCA Forest Clearing Authority FPIC Free, Prior, Informed Consent ILG Incorporated Landowner Group LLG Local Level Government NER Net Emissions Reduction NIHT New Ireland Hardwood Timber PAA Project Accounting Area PAI Project Activity Instance PDR Project Description Requirement PNG Papua New Guinea 1 PROJECT DETAILS 1.1 Summary Description of the Project As of 2014, Papua New Guinea surpassed Malaysia and became the world’s sole largest exporter of tropical timber wood, exporting 3.8 million cubic meters of tropical wood that year (Mittal, 2016). Every year, the region loses approximately 1.4% of its forested land (Shearman, et al., 2008), and with it, critical habitat to some 5% of the world’s biodiversity (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2016) and alongside a massive global carbon sink. This makes Papua New Guinea a key area for intervention. NIHT Inc. is in the unique position to make a global stance against unsustainable timber harvesting and become a key conservation leader in Papua New Guinea. NIHT Inc. has partnered with the traditional landowners of New Ireland and East New Britain to put an end to deforestation initiated by industrial logging in the region. The preservation of these rainforests is essential to not only the carbon and biodiversity benefits mentioned above, but also the wellbeing and prosperity of the people of New Ireland. The project is located in the forested areas of New Ireland and East New Britain in Papua New Guinea that meet the Eligibility Criteria listed in Section 1.4. The project has evolved based on the input and needs expressed by persons living in the region. What began as a traditional timber operation has been recognized as an opportunity with enormous carbon sequestering potential, and has evolved into a forest protection project. The expansion of industrial timber is a historical trend in Papua New Guinea, and a threat specifically to the project zone as observed in previous plans to conduct industrial commercial logging throughout the area. The project plans to generate the majority of its emissions reductions through the avoidance of the initial planned industrial timber operations, and will maintain integrity of its forest through forest patrols, inventories, and sustainable management. The project aims to alleviate these pressures on the forests through financial support of clans in the area. By providing the alternative livelihood and income source of carbon finance, it will be possible to avoid conducting industrial-scale commercial timber harvesting in the area, and instead provide revenues to communities through conservation and sustainable management initiatives. This project activity, beyond protecting local forests and biodiversity, contribute to social and economic development in one of the poorest and most isolated areas of Papua New Guinea. Commercial logging and the subsequent forest loss generate large amounts of GHG emissions. As per point 1 in the eligibility criteria in section 1.4.1, the project area would undergo large-scale commercial harvesting in the absence of the project, producing large amounts of GHG emissions. By preventing this commercial logging that would have occurred without the project and instead protecting these forests with a forest protection program, the project will generate significant GHG emission reductions. By stopping exploitative industrial commercial timber harvesting in the project area, the project expects to generate over 55 million tons of CO2 emissions reductions across the 30 year project lifetime. 1.2 Sectoral Scope and Project Type Project Description: VCS Version 4.0 This project falls under VCS Sectoral Scope 14 “Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use” in the category of REDD (AFOLU-REDD+). As it focuses on reducing timber extraction and stopping the high- grading of forests in the project area, it is classified at Avoided Unplanned Deforestation (AUD) and Planned Degradation. The baseline type under the VM0009 methodology is F-P1.b. This is a grouped project within the designated geographic area of New Ireland and East New Britain, with the first PAI representing the Kamlapar Incorporated Landowner Group (ILG) in the Konoagil Rural Local Level Government