Panda Standard Association
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project / 1

PS Project Form – AFOLU V1.0

ProjectType: Forestation and Vegetation Increase (F-V)

TSERING Grassland Revegetation

Carbon Offset Project

July 2012

Winrock International – TSERING Program

Panda Standard Association
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project / 1

INSTRUCTIONS:

Font: All items in cover page shall completed using: English and numbers- Times New Roman24pt, 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 Roman11pt, black, regular (non-italic) font；Chinese- SongTi 4thpt, 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
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project / 1

Table of Contents

_Toc325654459

Section 1:PROJECT OVERVIEW

1.1.Project Title

1.2.Project Type and Project Activity

1.3.Temporal Definition

1.4.Project Boundary

1.5.Project Description

1.6.Ex-ante Estimation of Net Emission Reductions/Removals

1.7.Project Parties

1.8.Offset Title and PS Credit Ownership

Section 2:APPLICATION OF APPROVED METHODOLOGY

2.1.Applied Methodology

2.2.Methodology Justification

2.3.Identification of GHG Pools and Sources

Section 3:ADDITIONALITY

3.1.Regulatory Conformity Test

3.2.Common Practice Test

3.3.Implementation Barriers Test

3.4.Performance Standard Test

Section 4:NET EMISSION REDUCTIONS/REMOVALS

4.1.Baseline Scenario(s)

4.2.Net Baseline Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals

4.3.Net Project Activity Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals

4.4.Leakage

4.5.Uncertainty

4.6.Net GHG Emission Reductions/Removals

Section 5:PERMANENCE AND RISK MITIGATION

5.1.Risk Assessment

5.2.Risk Mitigation

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

5.7.Monitoring of Net Project Activity Scenario Emission Reductions/Removals

5.8.Monitoring of Leakage

Section 6:ANCILLARY BENEFITS

6.1.Poverty Alleviation Impacts (Optional)

6.2.Community Impacts

6.3.Environment Impacts

6.4.Stakeholder Comments

Panda Standard Association
TSERING Grassland Revegetation Carbon Offset Project / 1

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 (ElymussibiricusLinn.,ElymusnutansGriseb. and Loliummultiflorum) 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 March2011 through March 2041.
  • 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 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 Land[1]. 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 projectwill 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 includefencing, grass planting (mix of ElymussibiricusLinn.,ElymusnutansGriseb. and Loliummultiflorum)., tree planting (mainly Salix haoana), and application of organic fertilizer. Trees will be planted in heavily desertified land, at2 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.

1.6.Ex-ante Estimation of Net Emission Reductions/Removals

Crediting Year / Estimation of net Baseline ScenarioGHGemission reductions/removals (tonnes of CO2 e) / Estimation of netProject Activity Scenario GHG emission reductions/removals(tonnes of CO2e) / Estimation of leakage(tonnes of CO2e) / Estimation of net GHG emissionreductions/removals (tonnesofCO2e)
Crediting year1
Creditingyear2
Crediting year3
Year …
Total (tonnes of CO2e)

1.7.Project Parties

Entity / Contact Information / Brief description / Roles and responsibilities / Function
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 / project participant

1.8.Offset Title and PS Credit Ownership

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:

  • 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 degradedlands 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 wetland[2] 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 / Accounted for / Justification / Explanation
Above-ground Tree biomass / Yes / Major carbon pool subjected to project activity
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

Sources / Gas / Included/
excluded / Justification/Explanation
Fertilizer emissions / 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 / CH4 / Excluded / Under the applicability conditions of this methodology, methane emissions from flooding irrigation are not expected to increase.

Section 3:ADDITIONALITY

3.1.Regulatory Conformity Test

3.2.Common Practice Test

3.3.Implementation Barriers Test

3.4.Performance Standard Test

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:

(1)

where:

 / 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 during grazing within the project boundary in the baseline, at year t; t CO2-e
T / 1, 2, 3, … t* years elapsed since the start of the project activity

4.3.Net Project Activity Scenario GHG Emission Reductions/Removals

Actual net GHG removals by sinks shall be calculated as:

(2)

where:

/ Actual net GHG removals by sinks; t CO2-e
/ Sum of the changes the carbon stock in the selected carbon pools within the project boundary; t CO2-e
/ Increase in non-CO2 GHG emissions within the project boundary as a result of the implementation of the project activity; t CO2-e

With calculated for each of the included pools in Table 1, above, as follows:

(3)

where:

∆CP,t / Change in carbon stock in all selected carbon poolsin the project scenario, in yeart; tCO2-e
/ 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)
/ Change in carbon stock in non-tree woody vegetation biomass in the project scenario, in year t; t CO2-e
/ Change in carbon stock in herbaceous vegetation biomass in the project scenario, in year t; t CO2-e
/ Change in carbon stock in the dead wood carbon poolin the project scenario, in yeart; t CO2-e (zero since no trees planted)
/ Change in carbon stock in the litter carbon poolin the project scenario, in yeart; t CO2-e (zero since no trees planted)
/ Change in carbon stock in the soil organic carbon poolin the project scenario, in yeart; t CO2-e
/ Change in carbon stock in the wood products carbon poolin the project scenario, in yeart; 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

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:

(4)

where:

/ 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 timet; tCO2-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
t / 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.

(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-CO2GHGs 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”.