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Reports & Analysis
UN-REDD/FAO to Publish National Forest MRV System Recommendations
The document, entitled “Framework proposal for a national forest MRV system for REDD+ implementation” will be presented during the 32nd session of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), to be held in Bonn at the end of May.
By: Cécile Girardin, FAO Climate Change Forestry Department
One of the key elements for REDD+ implementation is the development of transparent, comparable, coherent, complete and accurate measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) national systems. These systems are a guarantee that Parties will effectively meet their respective mitigation commitments under a new UNFCCC mechanism which would include REDD+. The solutions proposed by FAO’s framework proposal for national MRV systems are compliant with the requirements of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), developed on the request of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and reflect the most common and robust approaches currently used by Annex I countries.  | | The three basic carbon-related MRV components and their relation to the IPCC guidelines. | The framework proposal aims to explain the concepts of REDD+ requirements under the UNFCCC and describes all the elements of a fully operational MRV system that follows IPCC guidance with the objective of navigating countries towards developing a National GHG Inventory to report on REDD+ activities. As such, the framework proposal provides the basis to strategically strengthen in-country technical capacities in relevant institutions. Ultimately, the outcome of the MRV system is to support countries to develop their National forest GHG Inventory to report on REDD+ activities to the UNFCCC Secretariat. The IPCC’s most commonly used approach is to estimate GHG emissions by relating information on the extent to which a human activity takes place (activity data, AD) to coefficients that quantify the emissions or removals per unit activity (emission factors, EF). In response to this, the Measurement and Reporting components of the proposed MRV system consist of the following three components (see figure): (1) a Satellite Land Monitoring System to assess activity data on forest area and forest area changes; (2) a National Forest Inventory to assess emission factors on carbon stocks and carbon stock changes; (3) a National GHG Inventory to estimate and report anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks. Finally, countries will each need to establish an institutional body responsible for the coordination of administrative and technical arrangements, the overall quality of reported estimates, monitoring of safeguards and the successful implementation of REDD+ policies at the national level. FAO, in collaboration with the Brazilian Space Agency (INPE) and relevant local organizations, will provide adapted training courses for UN-REDD Programme countries. |