Development of the monitoring plan

Project participants in A/R projects must include a monitoring plan as part of the project design document (PDD):

Project participants shall include, as part of the project design document, a monitoring plan that provides for:

1. The collection and archiving of all relevant data necessary for estimating or measuring the actual net greenhouse gas removals by sinks during the crediting period. The monitoring plan must specify techniques and methods for sampling and measuring individual carbon pools and greenhouse gas emissions by sources included in the actual net greenhouse gas removals by sinks, that reflect commonly accepted principles and criteria concerning forest inventory;
2. The collection and archiving of all relevant data necessary for determining the baseline net greenhouse gas removals by sinks during the crediting period. If the project uses control plots for determining the baseline, the monitoring plan must specify techniques and methods for sampling and measuring individual carbon pools and greenhouse gas emissions by sources;
3. The identification of all potential sources of, and the collection and archiving of data on, leakage during the crediting period;
4. The collection and archiving of information relating to the planned monitoring and remedial measures relating to any significant negative socio-economic and environmental impacts, including impacts on biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and impacts outside the project boundary of the proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM;
5. Collection of transparent and verifiable information to demonstrate that any choice not to account for one or more carbon pools, and/or emissions of the greenhouse gases measured in CO2 equivalents, for the purpose of calculating the baseline net greenhouse gas removals by sinks and/or actual net greenhouse gas removals by sinks does not increase the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks;
6. Changes in circumstances within the project boundary that affect legal title to the land or rights of access to the carbon pools;
7. Quality assurance and control procedures for the monitoring process; and
8. Procedures for the periodic calculation of the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks due to the afforestation or reforestation project activity and documentation of all steps involved in those calculations, and for the periodic review of implementation of activities and measures to minimize leakage (5/CMP.1 Annex, paragraph 25).

The monitoring plan must be based on the approved monitoring methodology or a new methodology:

A monitoring plan for a proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM shall be based on a previously approved monitoring methodology or a new methodology appropriate to the afforestation or reforestation project activity, in accordance with paragraphs 12 and 13 above, that:

1. Is determined by the DOE as appropriate to the circumstances of the proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity;
2. Reflects good monitoring practice appropriate to the type of afforestation or reforestation project activity;
3. Takes into account uncertainties by appropriate choice of monitoring methods, such as number of samples, to achieve reliable estimates of net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks; and
4. In the case of small-scale afforestation and reforestation project activities under the CDM, is in accordance with simplified modalities and procedures developed for such activities (5/CMP.1 Annex, paragraph 26).