PS Project Form – AFOLU V1.0
Project Type: Forestation and Vegetation
Increase (F-V)
TSERING Grassland Revegetation
Carbon Offset Project
July 2012
Winrock International – TSERING Program
INSTRUCTIONS:
Font: All items in cover page shall completed using: English and numbers- Times New Roman 24pt, black,
regular (non-italic) font； Chinese- SongTi 24pt, black, regular (non-italic) font. The main content of this
document shall completed using: English and numbers- Times New Roman 11pt, black, regular (non-italic)
font；Chinese- SongTi 4th pt, black, regular (non-italic) font.
Instructions for completing the methodology template can be found in blue track mixed in the document.
Please delete all instructions, including this introductory text, from the final document.
Version Version number of this Project Form, Ver. 1.0
Date of Permit Day-Month-Year of this version of the document permitted by PSA
Panda Standard Association 3
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Table of Contents
_Toc325654459
Section 1: PROJECT OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................... 4
1.1. Project Title................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2. Project Type and Project Activity ................................................................................................. 4
1.3. Temporal Definition...................................................................................................................... 4
1.4. Project Boundary .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.5. Project Description........................................................................................................................ 4
1.6. Ex-ante Estimation of Net Emission Reductions/Removals ......................................................... 6
1.7. Project Parties ............................................................................................................................... 6
1.8. Offset Title and PS Credit Ownership .......................................................................................... 6
Section 2: APPLICATION OF APPROVED METHODOLOGY ............................................................ 7
2.1. Applied Methodology ................................................................................................................... 7
2.2. Methodology Justification............................................................................................................. 7
2.3. Identification of GHG Pools and Sources ..................................................................................... 7
Section 3: ADDITIONALITY ................................................................................................................... 9
3.1. Regulatory Conformity Test ......................................................................................................... 9
3.2. Common Practice Test .................................................................................................................. 9
3.3. Implementation Barriers Test........................................................................................................ 9
3.4. Performance Standard Test ........................................................................................................... 9
Section 4: NET EMISSION REDUCTIONS/REMOVALS .................................................................... 10
4.1. Baseline Scenario(s).................................................................................................................... 10
4.2. Net Baseline Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals .................................................... 10
4.3. Net Project Activity Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals ........................................ 11
4.4. Leakage ....................................................................................................................................... 13
4.5. Uncertainty.................................................................................................................................. 14
4.6. Net GHG Emission Reductions/Removals ................................................................................. 14
Section 5: PERMANENCE AND RISK MITIGATION ......................................................................... 16
5.1. Risk Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 16
5.2. Risk Mitigation ........................................................................................................................... 16
5.3. Monitoring Frequency................................................................................................................. 16
5.4. Monitoring of Project Implementation ....................................................................................... 16
5.5. Sampling Design and Stratification ............................................................................................ 16
5.6. Monitoring of Net Baseline Scenario Emission Reductions/Removals ...................................... 16
5.7. Monitoring of Net Project Activity Scenario Emission Reductions/Removals .......................... 16
5.8. Monitoring of Leakage................................................................................................................ 17
Section 6: ANCILLARY BENEFITS ...................................................................................................... 18
6.1. Poverty Alleviation Impacts (Optional) ...................................................................................... 18
6.2. Community Impacts .................................................................................................................... 19
6.3. Environment Impacts .................................................................................................................. 19
6.4. Stakeholder Comments ............................................................................................................... 19
Panda Standard Association 4
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 1: PROJECT OVERVIEW
1.1.
Project Title
Project title：TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Version： 0.1 (since this is only a partially completed Project Form, submitted along with the F-V
Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land)
Date of the document：23 May 2012
1.2.
Project Type and Project Activity
Forestation and Vegetation Increase (F-V)
Planned project activity: Planting grasses (Elymus sibiricus Linn., Elymus nutans Griseb. and Lolium
multiflorum) and woody vegetation resulting in vegetation structure below the CDM People’s Republic of
China (PRC) definition of forest on degraded lands
1.3.
Temporal Definition

Project start date: April 2011. The Project Start Date, defined in PS-AFOLU as the date by which the
Project Proponent began the Project Activity on Project lands, is here the date of planting or site
preparation.

Crediting period: 30 years (to be confirmed)

Crediting period start date: April 2011

Project term: The Project Term, per PS-AFOLU, is at minimum 30 years for Projects generating net
carbon sequestration or GHG removals: here March 2011 through March 2041.
1.4.
Project Boundary
Planting has and will take place in Ruo’ergai County, Sichuan Province, Aba Prefecture, on multiple small
parcels. Specific planting parcels are being identified at this time. All planting parcels will be assessed to
confirm that they meet the eligibility and applicability conditions of the F-V Methodology - Revegetation of
Degraded Land. Each parcel will be assigned a unique geographic identifier, to be included in the Project
Form.
1.5.
Project Description
The TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project (hereafter “Project”) aims to restore
degraded grasslands in Sichuan Province through active planting and maintenance of grasses and woody
vegetation, applying a Panda Standard methodology to quantify and verify carbon sequestration and
register credits on the Panda Standard Registry. Carbon project registration provides a mechanism to
Panda Standard Association 5
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
mobilize financial resources from Chinese companies and individuals interested in offsetting their
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and transfer these resources to China’s rural areas where they can
promote environmental improvements and alleviate poverty. The Project goals are to restore degraded
lands, combat ongoing desertification, generate forage for livestock, and alleviate poverty by creating a new
source of income and employment for poor rural households.
As a pilot project, the objective is to learn lessons and create a model that can be replicated both elsewhere
in Sichuan Province and in other parts of China with similar degraded grasslands. Nationwide, China has
almost 350 million hectares of shrub and grassland, much of which is relatively sparse and degraded, on
which activities similar to the Project could improve grassland productivity and generate carbon credits.
The Project will provide the first opportunity to pilot-test the Panda Standard F-V Methodology Revegetation of Degraded Land1. The latter will be used to assess poverty alleviation benefits of Project
activities in both quantitative and qualitative terms that can be verified.
The Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset project will work with poor households in Ruo’ergai County,
Sichuan Province to restore grasses and woody vegetation on degraded grassland. This project will be
implemented by TSERING and most likely be done in collaboration with the Sichuan Pastoral Area
Development Research Center. Technical measures include fencing, grass planting (mix of Elymus
sibiricus Linn., Elymus nutans Griseb. and Lolium multiflorum)., tree planting (mainly Salix haoana), and
application of organic fertilizer. Trees will be planted in heavily desertified land, at 2 meter spacing; while
grasses will be planted over the whole project area.
In order to create verified carbon offsets that can be registered and transacted on the Panda Standard
Registry, it is necessary to meet requirements of an approved Panda Standard sectoral specification, apply
an approved Panda Standard methodology, and secure validation and verification by an approved Panda
Standard third-party Auditor. The Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project falls under the
PS-AFOLU project category Forestation and Vegetation Increase (F-V), defined as activities that increase
carbon stocks in non-forested degraded lands through direct planting of seeds or seedlings or
human-assisted natural regeneration, resulting in vegetation structure either above or below the CDM
People’s Republic of China (PRC) definition of forest.
Winrock has also completed a Panda Standard F-V Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land,
incorporating review comments by the Panda Standard Technical Committee, which is currently under
review. The methodology provides applicability conditions; criteria to determine GHG sources, sinks and
reservoirs included in the project boundary; procedures to demonstrate additionality; procedures to
characterize the baseline scenario; equations to calculate baseline net GHG emissions/removals, project net
GHG emissions/removals, leakage, and net GHG emission reductions; and monitoring requirements.
The proposed Project timeline is to complete the Panda Standard Project Form, conduct baseline
measurements, and undergo the initial validation by an approved Panda Standard third-party Auditor before
the end of 2012.
1
Developed by Winrock International and submitted to the Panda Standard Technical Committee for approval.
Panda Standard Association 6
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
1.6.
Ex-ante Estimation of Net Emission Reductions/Removals
Crediting Year
Estimation of net
Baseline Scenario
GHG emission
reductions/removals
(tonnes of CO2 e)
Estimation of net
Project Activity
Scenario GHG
emission
reductions/removals
(tonnes of CO2e)
Estimation of
Estimation of net
leakage(tonnes of GHG emission
CO2e)
reductions/removals
(tonnes of CO2e)
Roles and responsibilities Function
Crediting year1
Crediting year2
Crediting year3
Year …
Total (tonnes
CO2e)
1.7.
of
Project Parties
Entity
Contact Information
Brief description
Winrock
International
Room 505, 5F, Unit B,
Winera Plaza, No. 7
Xinxiwang Road
Chengdu, Sichuan,
610042, P.R. China
Phone: +86.28.8523 0105
Non-governmental
organization
implementing
USAID-funded
TSERING Program
1.8.
Offset Title and PS Credit Ownership
project
participant
Panda Standard Association 7
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 2: APPLICATION OF APPROVED METHODOLOGY
2.1.
Applied Methodology
F-V Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land
2.2.
Methodology Justification
All parcels selected for planting will meet the applicability and eligibility conditions of the F-V
Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land, as follows:









2.3.
Planting will occur on lands where the most likely baseline land management is the continuation of
the existing or historical baseline land management;
The number of grazing days per animal in the project area is monitored.
Planting will occur on degraded lands that are expected to remain degraded or to continue to
degrade in the absence of the project, and are not expected to revert to a non-degraded state without
human intervention. The CDM A/R “Tool for the identification of degraded or degrading lands for
consideration in implementing CDM A/R project activities” shall be applied for demonstrating that
lands are degraded or degrading;
If any planting takes place on organic soils, drainage of these soils will not occur and not more than
10% of their area will be disturbed as result of soil preparation for planting;
Project lands will not fall into the wetland2 category;
Flooding irrigation will not be used;
Existing vegetation included in the Project parcels will be demonstrated to be below the forest
thresholds (tree crown cover or equivalent stocking level, tree height at maturity in situ, minimum
land area) adopted for the definition of forest by PRC. Any areas exceeding these thresholds will be
delineated and excluded from the Project boundary;
All young natural stands and all plantations on the land are not expected to reach the minimum
crown cover and minimum height chosen by PRC to define forest;
Planting areas are not temporarily unstocked, as a result of human intervention such as harvesting
or natural causes.
Identification of GHG Pools and Sources
The Project GHG assessment boundary will be as shown in Tables 1 and 2.
Table 1: Carbon pools accounted for in project boundary
Carbon pools
Above-ground Tree
biomass
2
Accounted
for
Yes
Justification / Explanation
Major carbon pool subjected to project activity
“Wetlands”, “settlements”, “cropland” and “grassland” are land categories as defined in the Good Practice
Guidance for Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (IPCC, 2003).
Panda Standard Association 8
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Accounted
for
Carbon pools
Justification / Explanation
Below-ground Tree biomass Yes
Major carbon pool subjected to project activity
Above-ground Non-Tree
biomass
Yes
Major carbon pool subjected to project activity
Below-ground Non-Tree
biomass
Yes
Below-ground biomass is expected to increase due to the
implementation of the project activity
Dead wood
No
No trees to be planted. Carbon stocks in dead wood in the
baseline scenario can be expected to decrease more or increase
less, relative to the project scenario.
Forest floor (litter)
No
No trees to be planted. Carbon stocks in dead wood in the
baseline scenario can be expected to decrease more or increase
less, relative to the project scenario.
Soil organic carbon (SOC)
Yes
Under applicability conditions of this methodology, carbon
stocks in this pool are likely to increase in the project compared
to the baseline. However, the methodology also provides the
conservative choice of not accounting for changes in carbon
stock in the pool.
Harvested Wood Products
No
No trees to be harvested.
Table 2: Emission sources and GHGs included or excluded from accounting
Included/
excluded
Justification/Explanation
N2O
Included
Application of fertilizers can lead to significant levels of
nitrous oxide emissions. Fertilizer will be used when planting
grasses (tentatively 10 kg/mu urea and 10 kg/mu compound
fertilizer).
Fossil Fuel Combustion CO2
Included
Use of machinery in the project can lead to significant levels
of carbon dioxide emissions. Mechanized equipment will be
used for land scarification prior to planting.
Water Inundation
Excluded
Under the applicability conditions of this methodology,
methane emissions from flooding irrigation are not expected
to increase.
Sources
Fertilizer emissions
Gas
CH4
Panda Standard Association 9
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 3: ADDITIONALITY
3.1.
Regulatory Conformity Test
3.2.
Common Practice Test
3.3.
Implementation Barriers Test
3.4.
Performance Standard Test
Panda Standard Association 10
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 4: NET EMISSION REDUCTIONS/REMOVALS
4.1.
Baseline Scenario(s)
Per the methodology, the baseline scenario will be determined using the latest version of the CDM
‘Combined Tool to identify the baseline scenario and demonstrate additionality in project activities’ . This
tool provides steps to identify credible alternative land use scenarios, evaluate applicable regulations, apply
barrier analysis and/or investment analysis to all identified scenarios, and apply common practice analysis.
This results in selection of the land use scenario that is credible, consistent with applicable enforced
regulations, faces fewest barriers, is most financially attractive, and is consistent with common practice.
Preliminarily, we assume that in the absence of the Project Activity, the baseline scenario will be the
continuation of the existing or historical baseline land management, i.e. that project lands will remain
degraded grasslands with little or no increase in carbon stocks.
The baseline net GHG removals by sinks will be calculated as the sum of the changes in carbon stocks in the
selected carbon pools within the Project Boundary that would have occurred in the absence of the
forestation and vegetation increase Project Activity. It is expected that the baseline non-woody
aboveground and belowground vegetation, dead wood and litter carbon pools will not show a permanent net
increase; it is therefore conservative to assume that the sum of the changes in the carbon stocks of
non-woody aboveground and belowground non-woody vegetation, dead wood and litter carbon pools will
be zero for all strata in the baseline scenario. Since carbon stock in soil organic carbon (SOC) is unlikely to
increase in the baseline, the change in carbon stock in SOC is conservatively assumed to be zero for all
strata in the baseline scenario.
4.2.
Net Baseline Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals
Baseline net GHG removals by sinks shall be calculated as:
t*
C BSL   CTREE _ BSL,t  C NT W OODY _ BSL,t  N 2 O fertilizer_ BSL,t  CH 4,enteric _ BSL,t  N 2 O grazing _ BSL,t
t 1
(1)
where:
 C BSL
C TREE _ BSL,t
C NT W OODY _ BSL,t
∆𝑁2 𝑂𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑧𝑒𝑟_𝐵𝑆𝐿,𝑡
CH 4,enteric _ BSL,t
N 2 O grazing, BSL,t
Baseline net GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
Sum of the carbon stock changes in above-ground and below-ground biomass of
trees in the baseline in year t; t CO2-e
Sum of the carbon stock changes in above-ground and below-ground biomass of
non-tree woody vegetation in baseline in year t; t CO2-e
Sum of N2O emissions as a result of nitrogen application within project boundary in
baseline in year t; t CO2-e
Sum of CH4 emissions as a result of enteric fermentation within project boundary in
the baseline in year t; t CO2-e
Sum of N2O emissions as a result of manure and urine deposited on grassland soil
Panda Standard Association 11
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
during grazing within the project boundary in the baseline, at year t; t CO2-e
1, 2, 3, … t* years elapsed since the start of the project activity
T
4.3.
Net Project Activity Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals
Actual net GHG removals by sinks shall be calculated as:
C ACTUAL  C P  GHG E _ PROJ
(2)
where:
C ACTUAL
Actual net GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
CP
Sum of the changes the carbon stock in the selected carbon pools within the project
boundary; t CO2-e
GHG E _ PROJ
Increase in non-CO2 GHG emissions within the project boundary as a result of the
implementation of the project activity; t CO2-e
With CP calculated for each of the included pools in Table 1, above, as follows:
C P,t  CTREE _ PROJ ,t  C NT W oody_ PROJ ,t  C HE _ PROJ ,t
 C DW _ PROJ ,t  C LI , _ PROJt  C SOC _ PROJ ,t  CW P _ PROJ ,i
(3)
where:
∆CP,t
Change in carbon stock in all selected carbon pools in the project scenario, in year t;
t CO2-e
CTREE _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in above-ground and below-ground biomass of trees in the
project scenario, in year t; t CO2-e (zero since no trees planted)
C NT W oody_ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in non-tree woody vegetation biomass in the project scenario,
in year t; t CO2-e
C HE _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in herbaceous vegetation biomass in the project scenario, in
year t; t CO2-e
C DW _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in the dead wood carbon pool in the project scenario, in year t;
t CO2-e (zero since no trees planted)
C LI _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in the litter carbon pool in the project scenario, in year t; t
CO2-e (zero since no trees planted)
C SOC _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in the soil organic carbon pool in the project scenario, in
year t; t CO2-e
CW P _ PROJ ,t
Change in carbon stock in the wood products carbon pool in the project scenario, in
year t; t CO2-e (zero since no trees planted nor harvest conducted)
I
1, 2, 3, … MPS strata in the project scenario
t
1, 2, 3, … t* years elapsed since the start of the project activity
Panda Standard Association 12
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
CP in each of these pools will be calculated using the formulae provided in section 8.4.1 of the F-V
Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land, which are not repeated here.
The increase in GHG emissions as a result of the implementation of the proposed project activity within the
project boundary is estimated as:
t*
GHGE _ PROJ   E BIOMASS _ BURN _ PROJ ,t  N 2 O fertilizer_ PROJ ,t  ETFC _ PROJ ,t  CH 4,enteric_ PROJ ,t  N 2Ograzing _ PROJ , t (4)
t 1
where:
GHG E _ PROJ
E BIOMASS _ BURN _ PROJ ,t
N 2 O fertilizer_ PROJ ,t
ETFC _ PROJ ,t
CH 4,enteric _ PROJ ,t
N 2 O grazing, PROJ ,t
t
Increase in GHG emissions as a result of the implementation of the proposed
project activity within the project boundary; t CO2-e
Emission of non-CO2 GHGs resulting from burning of biomass and forest fires
within the project boundary, in year t; t CO2-e
Annual N2O emissions as a result of nitrogen application in the project scenario
time t; t CO2-e. yr-1
CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the project scenario, during the year
t; t CO2-e
Sum of CH4 emissions as a result of enteric fermentation within project boundary
in the project scenario in year t; t CO2-e
Sum of N2O emissions as a result of manure and urine deposited on grassland soil
during grazing within the project boundary in the project scenario, at year t; t
CO2-e
1, 2, 3, … t* years elapsed since the start of the project activity
The CDM approved tool: “Estimation of non-CO2 emissions resulting from burning of biomass attributable
to an A/R CDM project activity” is used to estimate emissions from biomass burning.
E BIOMASS _ BURN _ PROJ ,t  GHG E ,t
E BIOMASS _ BURN _ PROJ ,t
GHG E ,t
(5)
Emission of non-CO2 GHGs resulting from burning of biomass and forest fires
within the project boundary, in year t; t CO2-e
CDM tool output parameter: Emission of non-CO2 GHGs resulting from burning
of biomass and forest fires within the project boundary, in year t; t CO2-e
To estimate emission from fertilizer, emissions can be estimated using the Tool in the Annex: “Estimation
of N2O emission from nitrogen fertilization Tool”.
The CDM Tool: “Estimation of GHG emissions related to fossil fuel combustion in CDM AR project
activities” is used to estimate fossil fuel emission. Fossil fuel combustion associated with the transport of
inputs to the project site and implementation of project activities are included. As allowed by the CDM
Tool, tor the estimation of GHG emissions related to transportation outside the project boundary only the
distance up to the first point of commuting is taken into consideration.
Panda Standard Association 13
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
M
ETFC _ PROJ ,t   ETFC ,i ,t
(6)
i
ETFC _ PROJ ,t
ETFC ,i ,t
I
t
CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the project scenario during the year t; t
CO2-e
CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion resulting from stratum i during the year t;
t CO2-e
1, 2, 3, … M strata in the baseline scenario
1, 2, 3, … t* years elapsed since the start of the project activity
To estimate CH4 emissions as a result of enteric fermentation and N2O emissions as a result of manure and
urine deposited on grassland soil during grazing Project Proponents shall use the tool in the Annex “CH4
emissions due to enteric fermentation and N2O from manure and urine deposited on grassland soils”.
4.4.
Leakage
Leakage may result from the displacement of pre-project agricultural or grazing activities. If significant, the
methodology requires leakage to be calculated using the CDM AR Tool: “Estimation of the increase in
GHG emissions attributable to displacement of pre-project agricultural activities in A/R CDM project
activity”3. The following formula shall be applied:
t*
LK   LK AGRIC,t LK CH 4,enteric,t  LK N 2O , grazing,t
(7)
t 1
where:
LK
Total GHG emissions due to leakage; t CO2-e
LK AGRIC,t
Leakage due to the displacement of agricultural activities in year t, as calculated in
the tool “Estimation of the increase in GHG emissions attributable to displacement
of pre-project agricultural activities in A/R CDM project activity”; t CO2-e
LKCH 4 , enteric, t
Leakage emission from CH4 as a result of enteric fermentation, in year t; t CO2e
LK N 2Ograzing, t
Total leakage from N2O emissions as a result of manure and urine deposition, at
year t; t CO2e
However, preliminarily leakage is expected to be insignificant as the primary pre-project activity is grazing
of livestock (yak), and the Project Activity will not result in any significant displacement of this activity. In
fact, a key objective of the Project is to increase forage availability such that over time the level of goods
and services provided in the project scenario should actually be greater than in the baseline scenario. With
no reduction (and likely increase) in goods and services, there will be no leakage through displacement of
pre-project activities and LK can be set equal to zero.
3
http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/ARmethodologies/approved
Panda Standard Association 14
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
4.5.
Uncertainty
4.6.
Net GHG Emission Reductions/Removals
The net anthropogenic GHG removals by sinks will be calculated as actual net GHG removals by sinks
minus baseline net GHG removals by sinks minus leakage, as follows:
C FV  PS  C ACTUAL  C BSL  LK
(5)
where:
C FV  PS
Net anthropogenic GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
C ACTUAL
Actual net GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
CBSL
Baseline net GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
LK
Total GHG emissions due to leakage; t CO2-e,
Uncertainty in the baseline scenario and uncertainty in the project scenario will be estimated using the
formulae in section 8.7 of the F-V Methodology - Revegetation of Degraded Land, which are not repeated
here.
Panda Standard Credits for the monitoring period T = t2 –t1 shall be calculated as:


PS t  Adjusted _ Ct2  Adjusted _ Ct1  BufferTOTAL
(6)
where:
PSt
Number of PS Credits at time t = t2 - t1; PS
Adjusted_Ct2
Cumulative total net GHG emissions reductions at time t2, adjusted to account for
uncertainty; t CO2-e
Adjusted_Ct1
Cumulative total net GHG emissions reductions at time t1, adjusted to account for
uncertainty; t CO2-e
BufferTOTAL
Total permanence risk buffer withholding; t CO2-e
If precision is calculated to be within ±15% of the mean at 95% confidence (across the entire Project
Boundary and not only within a carbon pool, stratum, or Project Activity), then no adjustment is required
and the final net emission reduction will be reported as the mean. If the 95% confidence interval is greater
than 15% of the mean, the adjusted amounts above will include an uncertainty deduction equal to the
calculated % of the mean represented by the confidence interval minus the allowable 15%.
The Buffer will be is determined by a risk assessment conducted using the Panda Standard Risk Analysis
Tool.
Panda Standard Association 15
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Crediting Year
Estimation of net
Baseline Scenario
GHG emission
reductions/removals
(tonnes of CO2 e)
Crediting year1
Crediting year2
Crediting year3
Year …
Total (tonnes
CO2e)
of
Estimation of
netProject Activity
Scenario GHG
emission reductions/
removals (tonnes of
CO2e)
Estimation of
Estimation of net
leakage(tonnes of GHG emission
CO2e)
reductions/removals
(tonnes of CO2e)
Panda Standard Association 16
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 5:
PERMANENCE AND RISK MITIGATION
5.1.
Risk Assessment
5.2.
Risk Mitigation
MONITORING
5.3.
Monitoring Frequency
5.4.
Monitoring of Project Implementation
5.5.
Sampling Design and Stratification
5.6.
Monitoring of Net Baseline Scenario Emission Reductions/Removals
Data/parameter monitored:
Data unit:
Used in equations:
Description:
Source of data:
Measurement procedures (if
any) :
Monitoring frequency
Data Uncertainty
Comments:
5.7.
Monitoring
of
Net
Reductions/Removals
Data/parameter monitored:
Data unit:
Project
Activity
Scenario
Emission
Panda Standard Association 17
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Used in equations:
Description:
Source of data:
Measurement procedures (if
any) :
Monitoring frequency
Data Uncertainty
Comments:
5.8.
Monitoring of Leakage
Panda Standard Association 18
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project
Section 6: ANCILLARY BENEFITS
6.1.
Poverty Alleviation Impacts (Optional)
The Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project is designed to have significant poverty alleviation
benefits by generating new income streams, increasing forage availability, and involving poor households
in Project design and implementation. These benefits will be assessed by applying the Panda Standard
Poverty Alleviation Criteria Tool, developed by a Chinese poverty expert under contract to Winrock
International and now in the final stages of review and approval.
The Poverty Alleviation Criteria Tool is a toolkit composed of poverty alleviation criteria, indicators, and
methods of assessment and verification. It has been developed in close alignment with the “Outline for
Development-Oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020),”4 also taking into account
international norms of safeguards adopted by mainstream voluntary carbon offset programs. The Tool
includes five poverty alleviation criteria and ten indicators, each assessed in a “gradational” format ranging
from Basic Poverty Alleviation (Level 3), to Pro-Poor Development (Level 2), to Sustainable Development
(Level 1). The five criteria are:
4

Refined poverty targeting criterion, addressing the successively more specific targeting of poverty
alleviation impacts to nationally designed poor counties, to poor townships and villages, and finally
to poor households.

Good governance criterion, addressing opportunities and conditions provided by carbon projects to
conduct stakeholder consultation, to enable project participants to exercise free, prior and informed
consent, and to participate in project management.

Livelihood improvement criterion, addressing minimally that carbon projects do not harm the food
security, income, and access to natural resources among project participants and the affected
communities, and/or make up any losses with equivalent compensatory measures; and further the
degree to which projects bring about livelihood improvement among project participants, in
particular, households and women in poverty.

Human resources criterion, addressing the extent to which carbon projects enhance the capacity of
poor households in self-development, self-management and self-organization, through
program-related trainings (in particular for families and women in poverty); enhance capacities for
self-management by participating in local village committees or cooperatives in collaboration with
PS-AFOLU projects; and enhance the capacity of project participants, especially the poor, in
accessing information or in bargaining with project proponents and other market agents.
The “Outline for Development-oriented Poverty Reduction for China’s Rural Areas (2011-2020) was officially
released by the Central Committee of Chinese Communist Party and the State Council of the Chinese Government
on December 1, 2011. The formal document can be accessed at http: //www.gov.cn/gongbao/
content/2011/content_2020905.htm.
Panda Standard Association 19
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project

Local culture criterion, addressing ways in which carbon projects located in ethnic minority
regions respect the religion and custom of local ethnic communities, through for example
safeguarding continued access to sacred or ancestral sites; ensuring that the technology and
management system associated with the project does not have negative impacts on the traditional
way of life or social organization among local ethnic communities; and extent to which the
technology and management system strengthens the culture and identity of local ethnic
communities through integration with the traditional knowledge system of local ethnic
communities.
For each of these criteria the Poverty Alleviation Criteria Tool provides proposed methods of assessment
and verification to substantiate whether project achievement on that criterion meets Level 3, 2 or 1. Projects
are then assessed against a final scoring system for the project to qualify as meeting the Basic Poverty
Alleviation (Level 3), Pro-Poor Development (Level 2), or Sustainable Development (Level 1).
6.2.
Community Impacts
6.3.
Environment Impacts
6.4.
Stakeholder Comments