Registration process

In summary, the registration process for afforestation and reforestation (A/R) projects is as follows:

The designated operational entity (DOE) submits a request for registration;
The secretariat processes the request;
The Executive Board appoints a Registration and Issuance Team (EB-RIT) to appraise the request for registration; and
On the advice of the EB-RIT, the Executive Board either approves or rejects the proposed project activity.

Request for registration

In order to apply for registration of an A/R project, the DOE conducting the validation must submit a request for registration to the Executive Board. This is set out in 5/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 15(f), which requires the DOE to:

Submit to the Executive Board, if it determines the proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM to be valid, a request for registration in the form of a validation report including the project design document, the written approval of voluntary participation from the designated national authority of each Party involved, as referred to in paragraph 15(a) above, and an explanation of how it has taken due account of comments received (5/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 15(f)).

The Executive Board has since clarified that the request for registration must be submitted using the CDM project activity registration and validation report form (F-CDM-REG) (EB 24, Annex 29). The requirements of F-CDM-REG conform to the requirements in the paragraph above, so submission of this completed form with the necessary attachments will satisfy 5/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 15(f), and no separate reports are required.

Although these procedures are not specifically stated to apply to A/R projects, there is no corresponding document for A/R projects and it can therefore be assumed that these procedures apply equally to A/R projects.

F-CDM-REG requires the following information to be completed and/or attached:

Section 1: basic project information (the name of the project, the name of the DOE submitting the request for registration, the names of the project participants and the sector into which the project falls);
Section 2: summary of validation findings (the PDD, the validation report and the CVs of validation team members must be attached);
Section 3: further documents (the letters of approval and the modalities of communication must be attached); and
Section 4: a declaration that the DOE has no conflict of interest in relation to the project.

The requirements for a request for registration are repeated in the Procedures for the registration of a proposed CDM project activity (Version 03), contained in EB 14, Annex 7, paragraph 1:

In accordance with paragraph 40 (f) of the CDM modalities and procedures (CDM M&P), the request for registration of a proposed CDM project activity shall be in the form of a validation report which includes the project design document, the written approval of the host Party and an explanation of how the DOE has taken due account of public comments received on the CDM-PDD (EB 14, Annex 7, paragraph 1).

These procedures replace earlier versions contained in EB 11, Annex 4 (Version 02) and EB 9, Annex 5 (Version 01).

Administrative process

The process after the request for registration, set out in EB 14, Annex 3, paragraph 3, is as follows:

To start the process, a DOE shall submit all required documents for a request for registration, except for the proof of payment of the non-reimbursable registration fee, using the electronic, internet-based, submission tool provided by the secretariat to each DOE;

The DOE shall, upon submission of the required information, receive automatically a unique reference number which shall be used to identify the bank transfer of the non-reimbursable registration fee;

The DOE shall submit, using the submission tool, the proof of payment which shall indicate the unique reference number;

Upon receipt of the non-reimbursable registration fee, the secretariat shall immediately inform the DOE;

The secretariat shall expeditiously determine whether the submission by the DOE is complete, i.e. whether the DOE has submitted the required number of documents. This determination does not include an assessment of the content of documents and information submitted;

After the non-reimbursable registration fee has been received and the secretariat has determined that the submission by a DOE is complete, the "request for registration" (as defined in paragraph 40 (f) of the CDM modalities and procedures) shall be considered received and made publicly available through the UNFCCC CDM web site for a period of eight (8) weeks.

At the latest on the day the request for registration is made publicly available, the secretariat shall convey the announcement of this publication, including the name of the proposed CDM project activity, the first and last day of the eight-week period and the location on the UNFCCC CDM web site, to:

The project participants through the DOE;

The public through the UNFCCC CDM news facility (EB 14, Annex 3, paragraph 3).

An earlier version of this procedure was set out in EB 9 Annex 5 and modified in EB 11, Annex 4. The current version of the procedure provides more detail about the process for submitting documents, making payments and receiving confirmation from the secretariat.

The Executive Board has since clarified that in conducting the completeness check, the secretariat must confirm that:

evidence to support the prior consideration of the CDM has been referenced in the PDD, where required, and assessed in the validation report

the monitoring plan contains information regarding how all parameters required by the methodology or applicable general guidance will be monitored and reported (EB 38, Annex 20).

To provide guidance on demonstrating compliance with the first requirement, the Executive Board has adopted Guidance on the demonstration and assessment of prior consideration of the CDM (EB 41, paragraph 68).

English is the working language of the Executive Board. Therefore, the secretariat's completeness check is conducted on the basis of the English documents submitted for a request for registration.

Executive Board consideration

Once the DOE has submitted to the Executive Board a request for registration in the form of a validation report attaching the PDD, the Board initially has eight weeks in which to consider whether the project should be registered. At the conclusion of the eight week period, the registration is deemed final, unless a review is requested in accordance with the rules:

The registration by the Executive Board shall be deemed final eight weeks after the date of receipt by the Executive Board of the request for registration, unless a Party involved in the proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM, or at least three members of the Executive Board, request a review of the proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM (5/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 16).

Unless a request for review is made, the request for registration will then be marked on the UNFCCC CDM website as "registration completed":

Unless there is a request for review, a request for registration shall, after eight (8) weeks, be marked the UNFCC CDM web site as "registration completed". The thereby registered CDM project activity and related documents submitted for the request for registration shall be displayed as registered and made publicly available (EB 14, Annex 7, paragraph 3(h)).

In considering requests for registration, the Executive Board is assisted by a Registration and Issuance Team (EB-RIT), which prepares appraisals of requests for registration submitted by DOEs and assesses whether the validation requirements are met and/or appropriately dealt with by DOEs. The role of the EB-RIT is set out in the Revised terms of reference and related procedures for a registration and issuance team (RIT) (EB 29, Annex 14, paragraph 5(a)).

Appraisals of requests for registration

When a request for registration is made, the secretariat identifies an RIT team. Any member that has a conflict of interest in relation to the assignment must notify the secretariat:

With the announcement of a request for registration, as defined in the procedure "Procedures for registration of a proposed CDM project activity"4, the member assigned to undertake the task will be informed and shall have a maximum of 2 days to indicate whether they have or not a conflict of interest, which should be described. If a conflict of interest situation exists another person shall be assigned (EB 29, Annex 14, paragraph 22).

The review team prepares an appraisal of the request for registration, in accordance with the procedure set out in EB 29, Annex 14:

The appraisal shall indicate whether validation requirements have been met and/or appropriately dealt with by the DOE and provide reasons in case these conditions are not fulfilled. The appraisal shall also cover whether additional guidance/clarification/revisions could avoid re-occurrence of the issues identified. The appraisal should assess in particular the application of the baseline and monitoring methodology, additionality, and determination of baseline (EB 29, Annex 14, paragraph 23).

The appraisal must be submitted using the form CDM-REGappr, within the relevant time period:

The member shall prepare an appraisal using the form "Appraisal of registration requests (F-CDM-REGappr)"submit it within 20 (15 for small-scale) calendar days to the secretariat through a dedicated interface on the UNFCCC CDM website (EB 29, Annex 14, paragraph 24).

The secretariat will prepare a summary note of the appraisal and forward it to the Executive Board for consideration:

The secretariat shall prepare, on the basis of the member's appraisal, a summary note of the request for registration and forward this, together with the member's appraisal, to the Board within 10 (5 for small-scale) calendar days of receiving the member's appraisal (EB 29, Annex 14, paragraph 25).

The Executive Board has confirmed that the summary note must contain the following information:

The summary note will include an assessment clearly specifying if issues raised are or not of minor nature (EB 38, Annex 20).

Rejection by the Executive Board

If the Executive Board rejects a project activity, the reasons for that rejection must be published on the relevant section of the CDM website:

The Board agreed to instruct the secretariat to include on the relevant section of the CDM website the reasons for the rejection of the project activity for all cases rejected by the Board (EB 26, paragraph 82).

If a proposed project activity is not registered the first time, it may be resubmitted and registered later:

A proposed afforestation or reforestation project activity that is not accepted may be reconsidered for validation and subsequent registration after appropriate revisions, provided that this afforestation or reforestation project activity follows the procedures and meets the requirements for validation and registration, including those relating to public comments (5/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 17).

Withdrawal of a project participant

If a project participant withdraws from a proposed CDM project activity after validation but before registration, it must provide the Executive Board with a letter confirming its voluntary withdrawal:

The Board agreed that where a project participant listed in the PDD published at validation is not included in the PDD submitted for registration, the DOE shall provide a letter from the withdrawn project participant confirming its voluntary withdrawal from the proposed project activity, and address this issue in its validation report (EB 30, paragraph 41).