Forest Carbon Accounting : Overview & Principles

Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the United Nations, UNDP, UNEP, UNEP Risoe Centre or their Member States. Executive Summary Forests play an important role in the global carbon balance. As both carbon sources and sinks, they have the potential to form an important component in efforts to combat global climate change. Accounting for the carbon within forest ecosystems and changes in carbon stocks resulting from human activities is a necessary first step towards the better representation of forests in climate change policy at regional, national and global scales. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), as part of the UNDP-UNEP CDM Capacity Development Project for Eastern & Southern Africa, is seeking to promote carbon projects in sub-Saharan Africa, in the important bio-carbon sector and others. This report reinforces UNDP's capacity building efforts by presenting the main principles, practices and challenges of carbon accounting in the forestry sector. Forest carbon accounting can be divided into three forms. Stock accounting assesses the magnitude of carbon stored in forest ecosystems at a single point in time. Emissions accounting assesses the net greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere resulting from forests. Emission reductions accounting assesses the decrease in emissions from project or policy activities, often so that they can be traded. Forest carbon accounting identifies the carbon-density of areas, providing information for low-carbon-impact land use planning. It prepares territories for accounting and reporting of emissions from the forestry sector. It allows comparison of the climate change impact of the forestry sector relative to other sectors, as well as allowing comparison between territories. Finally, it enables trade of project emission reductions on carbon markets and for emission reductions to be included in policy targets. Good practice in forest carbon accounting must be adhered to. In particular, transparency in methods and accuracy and precision in accounting are required for public and political acceptance of resultant estimates. A basic knowledge of the principles underlying forest carbon accounting is also beneficial. Understanding biomass dynamics and flows between carbon pools in forest ecosystems enables more effective accounting. The practice of forest carbon accounting requires clear identification of the accounting boundary in both space and time. Stratifying the forest into areas with similar carbon characteristics further improves the accuracy of carbon accounting. Data for accounting can be gathered from a variety of sources, including existing secondary data, …