Projects must provide a complete list of organizations participating in the project. This must include: the organization's name, role in the project, registration number, address, contact person, email address, and phone number.
Work with us as a Reforestation supplier
We've combined requirements from our modular protocol framework outlining everything you need to be validated as a Reforestation supplier.
We provide further support to compile a compliant validation package on our platform, Isometric Certify.
Overview
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List of Reforestation requirements
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Table of contents
Project setup
Project setup
Essential project details including who's involved, the location of your project, and how much carbon will be removed.
Projects must provide an estimate of the net removal and/or reduction capacity of this project for the duration of the project crediting period (metric tonnes).
Projects must provide a brief explanation for why they are eligible under the selected protocol.
Projects must submit at least one address and/or specific geo-coordinates for the project. Projects may submit multiple project locations – please specify what role each location plays in the project.
Projects must provide reasoning and evidence for legal ownership over the rights to all removals and reductions that will be claimed.
Projects must provide a brief technical description of the Project activity in accessible language. This should include information on facilities and equipment, the age and average lifespan of equipment, descriptions of technologies, products, services and infrastructure to be utilised, and all further information essential to understanding how carbon removal or emissions reduction is achieved by the Project.
To mitigate the risks of double counting and scheme-hopping, Projects undergoing Validation must disclose any participation in other carbon standards or registries within the past five years, provide recent validation and verification audit reports (including findings and any suspensions or withdrawals), and state whether they withdrew from any prior scheme before completing a first verification.
Protocol & monitoring data
Protocol & monitoring data
How will you be measuring, monitoring and maintaining carbon removal, including data models and risk assessments.
Projects must define the temporal and geographic project boundary.
Projects must provide a detailed description of the GHG statement approach and methodology in relation to calculations.
Projects must define their system boundary to include all sources, sinks, and reservoirs (SSRs) and their associated GHGs as specified in the relevant protocol. Any GHG SSR that is excluded from the system boundary must be clearly identified and supported by robust justification and evidence where applicable.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must demonstrate a durability in excess of the designated project durability threshold.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must select from the durability threshold(s) defined in the protocol or module to be the project durability threshold.
Projects must demonstrate Financial Additionality by evidencing removals and/or reductions are the main purpose and only source of revenue; OR demonstrating that economic barriers would prevent project implementation in the absence of carbon finance.
Projects must evaluate leakage by providing a robust assessment of the potential increases in GHG emissions outside the system boundary that occurs as a result of the project activity.
For verification, Projects must conduct a sensitivity analysis that demonstrates the impact of each input parameter’s uncertainty on the final net CO₂e uncertainty. For validation, Projects must describe how the sensitivity analysis will be performed and explicitly state whether they will use Certify
Projects must specify whether they used conservative estimates of input parameters, variance propagation and/or Monte Carlo simulations in consideration of uncertainty (one or multiple options).
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must complete the protocol or module specific risk assessment to support the risk of reversal and buffer pool size.
Projects must assert the method(s) for compliance with regulations for all jurisdictions to which the project is beholden.
Projects must demonstrate that activities similar to the activities of the proposed project are not common practice.
Projects must perform and report a common practice analysis.
Projects must demonstrate Regulatory Additionality by evidencing that the project is not required by existing laws, regulations, policies, or other binding obligations.
Projects must reason and evidence the baseline scenario of their activities having not taken place. Projects will only be credited for removals or reductions above this counterfactual baseline.
Projects must describe and justify any models used for quantification, monitoring, and meeting specified protocol requirements.
Projects must demonstrate Environmental Additionality by evidencing the climate impact of the project. Removals must be net negative after subtracting the counterfactual CO2 removal and all project GHG emissions, including leakage, from project CO2 removals. Reductions must have a net emission reduction after subtracting the Counterfactual GHG CO2e reduction and all project GHG emissions, including leakage, from project CO2e reductions.
Projects must describe the data collection and storage approach taken, including how data is transmitted, collected and stored, the length of time for which records are archived, backup procedures and strategies and the person(s) / organization(s) responsible for measurement and data collection.
Environmental & social impacts
Environmental & social impacts
How will your project affect people and nature, and how will you manage any risks that arise.
Projects must describe the conditions under which the project will be considered closed, and describe the project closure plan – outlining any post-cessation actions that will be undertaken upon closure of the project.
Projects must demonstrate that it creates no net environmental harm through an environmental impact assessment. This assessment must include, but is not limited to, resource efficiency and pollution prevention and biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of living natural resources.
Projects must provide an overall assessment for the potential material environmental and social impacts, both within and beyond its boundary.
Projects must outline and detail compliance with applicable national and local laws and regulations.
Projects must demonstrate that it creates no net social harm by evaluating the potential negative social risks from a project’s implementation.
Projects must demonstrate how their carbon removal activities are consistent with relevant SDGs.
Stakeholder input process
Stakeholder input process
How will your project work with and respond to the community while staying compliant and adaptable.
Projects must outline the mechanism for stakeholders to voice, process and resolve grievances.
Projects must provide a description and documentation of how comments by local stakeholders have been invited and compiled, a summary of comments received, report on how due account was taken of comments received, and the date and location of the stakeholder consultation, providing photographic evidence where possible.
Pathway-specific
Pathway-specific
How will your project meet pathway-specific process requirements.
Projects must demonstrate that the project area is ≥ 1 hectare
Projects must demonstrate that the project area is ≥ 1 hectare.
The Project lies within a biome, ecoregion, or forest type for which one or more AGB data products are available that meet the eligibility guidelines as determined by Isometric.
Projects must demonstrate that the project area is ≥ 1 hectare.
Projects must provide justification that they are not occurring in a region where significant reforestation activities are driven by market demand, local and/or national incentives, or other forestry policies.
Projects should provide a description of forestry practices in order to demonstrate that they do not resemble commercial plantation practices.
Projects must provide evidence that the activities are occurring on degraded lands or lands that do not meet the definition of a forest.
Projects must provide evidence that the Project activities occur in lands that have historically supported and can ecologically support forests.
Projects must demonstrate the Project area does not include any areas that have experienced deforestation within the 10 years prior to Project initiation.
Projects must demonstrate that no Project activities will occur in wetlands (e.g. peatlands, marshes, mangroves).
Projects must demonstrate that the Project will not reforest any areas where reforestation is projected to have a negative net climate impact, inclusive of biome-specific uncertainty.
Projects must provide field measurement details
Projects must provide the allometric equations used.
Projects must use allometric equations which are widely accepted in scientific literature or which have rigorous evidence supporting their applicability.
Projects must provide a description of the major sources of uncertainty.
Projects must evaluate and report uncertainty and how it was accounted for within the quantification procedures.
Projects must meet a statistical equivalence between field plot data and the AGB map.
Projects must report when the model was most recently benchmarked against field plot measurements within the project, which must be within 5 years.
Projects must submit a description and copies of any data used and/or collected for benchmarking.
Projects must provide details on the frequency of ALS data collection throughout the crediting period and how this aligns withe the requirements under the crediting protocol.
Projects must provide details on the spatial coverage of the ALS measurements.
Projects must provide details of the instruments and calibrations used and their alignment with manufacturer's specifications.
Projects must provide the flight altitude and velocity of the drone/plane used for ALS measurements.
Projects must report the details of their data aquisition approach and show it is sufficient to yield a digital elevation model of 1 m resolution or greater over the observed area.
Projects must provide details of the data processing procedures used with sufficient detail to allow for replication and justification of the appropriateness of the workflow for high resolution LiDAR.
Projects should use plots within the project area for developing the ALS-based predictive model.
Projects must provide evidence that the selected model type is based on peer-reviewed methodologies, with prior usage in peer-reviewed studies or in industry or government applications.
Projects must provide justification that the model is applicable to the species and ecoregion represented in the project area.
Projects must provide details of the entire modeling workflow and justifications for each step, including model selection, feature selection, model architecture, datasets collation, and any assumptions used.
Projects must provide data and code used to train the model, including metrics extracted from the ALS measurements.
Projects must provide evidence of the validation of the model used, which can be either via a track use in in science, industry or government applications or direct validation against reputable data.
Projects must provide an assessment of model skill, which must use data that is representative of the project area but was not used in model training.
Projects must report the range of feature values to which the model is being applied for AGB estimation in the project area relative to the range of values over which the model was developed to ensure the model is being appropriately applied.
Projects must provide details on the procedure used for applying the model to generate an AGB map for the project area.
Projects must provide details on the procedure used for quantifying M_AGB using the generated AGB map for the project area.
Projects must provide a description and copies of all data used and/or collected for AGB quantification.
Projects crediting non-permanent emission impacts must create a table that outlines all monitored parameters in their selected protocol and modules.
Projects must provide adaptive management plans for all foreseeable risks identified in the preparation of environmental and social impact assessments in line with Section 3.7 of the Isometric Standard.
Projects must provide a list of all rare, threatened, or endangered species and endemic species in the project area.
Projects must assess the impacts of project activities on Indigenous Peoples, in addition to the requirements of the Stakeholder Engagement plan as set forth in Section 3.5 of the Isometric Standard.
Projects must identify and develop processes for the protection and promotion of community well-being.
Projects must demonstrate that they do not harm the quantity or quality of local water resources.
Projects must report if there is any use of synthetic herbicides or fertilizers for project establishment or project operations
Projects must report if there is any use of synthetic pesticides for the control of non-native pests and/or invasive insect outbreaks for project establishment or project operations.
Projects must document whether there are rare, threatened, or endangered ecosystems and habitats within the project area. If none are identified, provide the evidence of due diligence in arriving at this conclusion.
Projects must document and quantify all significant ecosystem services provided in the project region.
Projects must document whether there are community needs within the project area. If none are identified, provide the evidence of due diligence in arriving at this conclusion.
Projects must document whether there are cultural values within the project area. If none are identified, provide the evidence of due diligence in arriving at this conclusion.
If Projects plant less than five species from two genera, Projects must support this planting decision with scientific evidence rooted in literature and field studies that the region naturally supports less than the minimum species and genera required, in consultation with Isometric.
Projects must list all species of woody vegetation that will be planted and/or maintained as part of project activities.
Projects must document the procurement and maintenance plan of its seedling and germplasm pipeline
Projects must provide a description of planned reforestation activities. At a minimum, this must include all fertilizer use and animal interventions, as well as site preparation activities.
Projects must provide a detailed monitoring plan for the assessment of annual mortality rates.
Projects must provide a detailed plan for the reporting of forest thinning activities.
Projects must provide information on Pre-Project Productivity.
Projects must quantify leakage and provide all supplementary information, required documentation, and evidence to support leakage estimations.
Projects must the spatial extent of leakage mitigation and disclose full details of leakage mitigation activity.
Projects must complete and report the results of the reforestation risk assessment.
Projects must implement mandatory safeguards for all reforestation projects that must be in place at the start of the Project and be maintained throughout the Project Commitment Period.
Projects must indicate whether they will contribute 20% of Credits generated in a Reporting Period to the Buffer Pool or contribute Credits based on the risk-based buffer pool contribution approach.
Projects must provide a shapefile of the Project boundaries and describe the rationale for the selection of the Project site
Projects must demonstrate that they have proper authorization which covers the length of the Project Commitment Period from the true property ownership by providing evidence of the landowner's signatory consent.
Projects must provide a financial model and cash flow statement to demonstrate continued financial viability of the Project for the full Project Commitment Period.
Projects must describe how long-term mainenance of forest carbon stocks will be supported and Reversals will be prevented after the Project Commitment Period.
Projects must describe the project timeline, including the duration of the Crediting Period and the frequency of Reporting Periods
Projects must provide the length of the intended Ongoing Monitoring Period and justification for its length, if any.
Projects must provide ex-ante estimates of forest growth and expected time to forest maturity and includes descriptions of the model or calculation basis of the projections, including the associated uncertainty.
Projects must identify and describe the regional, natural ecosystems that contain and surround the project area.
Projects must specify and justify the carbon fraction which will be used for the calculation of CO2e in aboveground biomass.
Projects must specify the root-to-shoot ratio for calculation of carbon stored in belowground biomass