Community guidelines for accessing forestry voluntary carbon ... - FAO

Community guidelines for accessing forestry voluntary carbon markets
1. tree height;
2. crown cover; and
3. area.
For each of these parameters a range was determined within which each
individual country was allowed to choose a value. These three values,
chosen by the country, together determine when vegetation qualifies as
forest. The ranges from which a country can select a value are as follows:
1. Tree height: between 2 and 5 metres at maturity (so, a
specimen of a particular species must have the capacity to
grow to that potential height at maturity);
2. Crown cover: between 10 and 30 percent (the proportion of
ground obscured by foliage, when viewed from above, as a
percentage of total area); and
3. Area of forest: between 0.05 and 1 hectare.
Each country can have its own set of parameter values, but they are
known to the UNFCCC and can be accessed from the CDM website at
http://cdm.unfccc.int/DNA/index.html. Any CDM project in the country
must use the national definition.
Where countries have not made a choice on their forest parameters,
the designated national authority (DNA) of a country, which approves all
CDM projects, may require project developers to use any internationally
acceptable definition for a forest (see Box 8).
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