Forest Carbon Calculator Forest Carbon Reporting Initiative of USAID’s Global Climate Change Program Nancy Harris, Winrock International Sandra Brown, Winrock International Patrick Smith, USAID

Land Use and Climate Change  Land use change is responsible for approximately 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mostly in tropical regions  Carbon stored in forests is emitted to the atmosphere as CO 2 when cleared for other land uses  Reducing deforestation/degradation and increasing forest cover are some potential options for mitigating climate change

USAID’s Forest Projects Latin America and the Caribbean Asia and the Middle East Europe and Eurasia Africa

Purpose and Scope of Forest Carbon Calculator  Allows USAID to calculate and report the climate impacts of its forestry projects worldwide (in tons of CO 2 e) on an annual basis  Allows calculation of a quantitative indicator of how USAID’s forestry projects are helping to mitigate climate change  Simple, web-based, easy-to-use tool  Does NOT generate estimates of marketable carbon credits!

Which activities are included?  Forest Protection Against Deforestation Illegal logging Fire  Forest Management Reduced Impact Logging Stop logging  Afforestation / Reforestation Plant native species Plantations  Agroforestry

How are CO 2 benefits calculated? Activity Data  “Data on the magnitude of human activity…taking place during a given period of time” --IPCC “2% of Indonesia’s forests cleared each year” “Native species restoration planned for 2,000 hectares in 2010” Emission/Removal Factors  “The average emission rate of a given greenhouse gas…relative to units of activity” --IPCC 550 t CO 2 per hectare of forest cleared 20 t CO 2 sequestered per year on every hectare of trees planted x

How are CO 2 benefits calculated?  LEVEL A Simplest level Minimal data input required Spatially refined default databases developed for each calculator  LEVEL B Project-specific User can override default values Final result tailored to specific project location

Understanding ‘Admin Units’  Calculators were designed to function at a sub- national scale (state, province, district, etc.)  Each administrative unit has a unique, spatially averaged profile of default values  User can select one or many administrative units  Default values do NOT represent values for a given point on the landscape!

1. Forest Protection Tool Illegal Logging Forest Fires Deforestation for another land use + Foregone Sequestration CO 2 ++ Wood products - Timber Extraction -Incidental Damage

Rate of Deforestation  Satellite imagery detects forest loss between 2000 and 2005 Landsat data used where available (30-m resolution) Global-scale MODIS data everywhere else

New benchmark map of tropical forest carbon stocks

2. Forest Management Tool -Roads -Skid trails -Landing decks Stop logging Change to RIL

Volume of timber extracted -Roads -Skid trails -Landing decks Country data reported to FAO Consultant reports Expert analysis

Incidental damage from timber extraction -Roads -Skid trails -Landing decks

Carbon impacts of logging infrastructure  Literature Review  Consultant Reports  Field data -Roads -Skid trails -Landing decks

3. Afforestation/Reforestation Calculator Biomass accumulates in aboveground vegetation over time. Belowground biomass is estimated as a proportion of aboveground biomass. CO 2

How quickly do trees grow?  Rate of carbon accumulation in biomass is based on the project location and the species planted  IPCC defaults for native species, pine, teak, eucalyptus  Ranges from ~2 to 60 t CO 2 ha -1 yr -1

4. Agroforestry Calculator  Extremely variable systems  Biomass accumulation varies by climate type Data points based on literature review for agroforests

How quickly do trees grow? Site QualityStand DensityGrowth Habit FastMediumSlowGoodFairPoor > < Each factor is weighted and an overall C accumulation curve is developed for the agroforestry practice =(0.33*CP SQ )+(0.33*CP GH )+(0.33*CP SD )

Calculator has four easy steps:  Step 1: Add project and select group  Step 2: Select activity and location  Step 3: Enter project data  Step 4: View Results

Step 1: Adding Project and Selecting Group: *Select “no group” if you have not yet been assigned to a group

Step 2:Activity and Location Location can be typed or selected on map

1. Select Region 2. Select Country 3. Select Admin Unit(s) Selecting your project location is easy as 1-2-3: Location from Map

Step 3: Level A Rate the project’s “management effectiveness”

Level B

Step 4:

Future Enhancements:  Updates to key data, expand A/R and agroforestry databases  Context Relevant Video Help  Generate Printable Reports (default + custom versions)  Additional calculators: Agricultural management Fuelwood substitution  Project planning tools Calculating future targets Scenario comparison