Development of the monitoring plan

Project participants in small-scale afforestation or reforestation (SSC 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 for a small-scale afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM or a bundle of small-scale afforestation or reforestation project activities under the CDM, 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 as specified
   in appendix B;
2. The collection and archiving of all relevant data necessary for determining the baseline net greenhouse gas removals by sinks during the crediting period as specified in appendix B;
3. Unless project participants have successfully shown to the DOE that significant leakage is not expected to occur, as specified in appendix B, the identification of potential sources of, and the collection and archiving of data on, leakage during the crediting period;
4. Changes in circumstances within the project boundary that affect legal title to the land or rights of access to the carbon pools;
5. Quality assurance and quality control procedures for the monitoring process in accordance with appendix B; and
6. Procedures for the periodic calculation of the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks due to the small-scale afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM, and documentation of the steps involved in those calculations;
7. Procedures for the review of implementation of relevant measures to minimize leakage where the circumstances of the project activity have changed in a manner that may result in, or increase, leakage (6/CMP.1 Annex, paragraph 23).

The monitoring plan must accord with the simplified modalities and procedures for small-scale A/R projects:

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:

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).

The monitoring plan may use the relevant simplified monitoring methodology if the designated operational entity (DOE) determines that it reflects good monitoring practice:

The monitoring plan for a proposed small-scale afforestation or reforestation project activity under the CDM may use the monitoring methodology specified in appendix B for the relevant project activity if the DOE determines at validation that the monitoring methodology reflects good monitoring practice appropriate to the circumstances of the project activity (6/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 24).

Bundled projects may use a separate monitoring plan for each project activity, or an overall monitoring plan for all project activities:

If small-scale afforestation or reforestation project activities under the CDM are bundled, a separate monitoring plan shall apply for each of the constituent project activities in accordance with paragraphs 23 and 24 above, or an overall monitoring plan shall apply for the bundled projects, as determined by the DOE at validation to reflect good monitoring practice appropriate to the bundled project activities and to provide for the collection and archiving of the data needed to calculate the net anthropogenic greenhouse gas removals by sinks achieved by the bundled project activities. Good practice may include monitoring of a sample of projects in a bundle (6/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 25).