CommunityCarbonAccountingActionResearchProject–

VietnamActivityReportFY2012

 

Makino Yamanoshita, Hoang Ngoc Y, and Nguyen The Dung 

 

 

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This report is made available to share information on the Community Carbon Accounting Action Research Project launched by IGES in May 2010.

Copyright © 2013 by Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) and Vietnam Forestry University.

All rights reserved. Inquiries regarding copyright should be addressed to the copyright holders in writing.

No parts of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without the prior permission in writing from the copyright holders.

Funding for the action research was provided by the Asia Pacific Network for Global Change Research, and the Ministry of Environment of Japan.

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(1) Site description The Vietnam site is newly joined to the CCA project in this fiscal year. The local partner is Vietnam Forestry University (VFU) and the project is located in Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh province (Figure 1). The project site in Vietnam is a small scale Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism (A/R CDM) project registered to the UNFCCC in 2009, and developed by VFU with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). The objective of the JICA project was capacity building of local organizations such as VFU on A/R CDM project development and the registered project was a test site of the JICA project. The local villages in the A/R CDM project area were not directly supported under the JICA project. The A/R CDM project is managed by a non-profitable organization, Forest Development Fund (FDF), and VFU is the lead project organization. The project design document is available on the UNFCCC web site (http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/DB/JACO1231473818.33/view). Under the A/R CDM

rules, the project is able to issue carbon credit every 5 years and this project plans to be verified in 2014. Monitoring and reporting is required for the issuance. The proposed site is suitable for CCA. As the site is a registered A/R CDM project, training of the local communities through the CCA action research will be directly applicable to the monitoring and reporting for the verification to issue carbon credits. Furthermore, the local people will be able to understand more clearly the concept of carbon credits through the experience of measuring the carbon stock in the forest they planted. Before the A/R CDM project started, the mechanism was explained to them but it was difficult for them to understand the concept of carbon credits, because these are invisible commodities. Better understanding of carbon credits through CCA may motivate the local community to manage the forests. For IGES, CCA at this site enables us to observe the

processes through which the local people understand the concept of carbon credits and their decision making on land use, forest management and benefit sharing from the carbon credits. The project is located in Xuan Phong and Bac Phong communes, Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh province, which is about 100 km west of Hanoi (Fig 1). Villages of ethnic minority are participating in the project and more than 200 households are involved. The project site is separated into 5 areas (Fig 2).

Figure 1: Project location

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Figure 2: Map of the project site (2) Proposed activities for FY2013 Meaningful participation of local communities in project design and implementation is essential for any forest carbon project, such as A/R CDM and REDD+ activities, to deliver real, long-term forest carbon sequestration and emission reductions. Community-based forest monitoring appears a useful way for local communities to participate in such projects. When communities themselves are forest owners and managers, it makes good sense for them to be involved in any efforts to generate scientifically verifiable data to monitor carbon stocks in their forests. With this capacity and knowledge, they will be in a much stronger position to understand the trade-offs of alternative forest uses and to negotiate with outsiders, such as carbon professionals. By participating in forest monitoring, local people will also have a better understanding of how forest carbon payments are generated and what must be done to maintain the payments, which can contribute to the permanence of emissions reductions. Further, in some circumstances it may be appropriate to pay local people for their participation in forest monitoring, and this provides an avenue for distributing forest carbon payments according to inputs (i.e. the efforts people make) and not just for “doing nothing” (e.g. paying people for refraining from clearing forests). Forest monitoring has long been the sole domain of trained experts and information on community forest monitoring is lacking. There are many questions to be answered to implement community forest monitoring. Is the community capable of monitoring the forest? What level of accuracy can the community achieve with their measurements? What capacity building and support is necessary from outside? To provide answers to these questions, IGES launched the Community Carbon Accounting (CCA) Project with the intention of developing and testing approaches for engaging communities in forest carbon stock monitoring. The CCA Project is being implemented at sites in Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Laos, and was introduced in Vietnam in 2012.

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The Cao Phong reforestation project is the one and only registered A/R CDM project in Vietnam. VFU was involved in the project as one of the project developers, and a researcher, now with IGES, with the cooperation of VFU, conducted some studies on community participation in the project. It was found that the level of understanding of the local community on carbon crediting was not high and the project needed their stronger engagement to manage the planted forest. At the same time, periodic carbon monitoring is required to generate carbon credits from the A/R CDM project. The A/R CDM project site is well suited to the objective of the CCA project to test community forest monitoring. The objective of this project is: To develop and test an approach to engage selected communities of the A/R CDM

project in Vietnam in monitoring their forests, particularly carbon stock changes, with a view to building their capacity to manage their forests.

To improve capacity of VFU researchers to be community trainers on CCA and to provide effective support to the community’s activities in the CCA project.

The main activities proposed for FY2012 were: 1) Two Capacity building workshops for VFU researchers to implement the CCA project: a) Community participation workshop: The purpose of this workshop is to build the capacity of VFU researchers to facilitate meaningful community participation in the design and implementation of forest monitoring, and to implement a forest carbon project through community forest monitoring. Experts on community participation from RECOFTC – the Centre for People and Forests will be invited as lecturers. b) Community forest monitoring workshop: The VFU researchers might have knowledge and skills on the forest monitoring as experts but the monitoring with communities requires some different skills. The purpose of this workshop is to share the approaches and experiences from the CCA projects that IGES and its partners are implementing in other countries. This will serve as preparation for the CCA activities in the A/R CDM project site in Vietnam. IGES will dispatch the lecturers. 2) Implementation of community-based forest monitoring: a) Preliminary study on carbon accounting methodologies in Vietnam: The official carbon accounting methodologies for national forest inventory in Vietnam and the requirements of the A/R CDM monitoring methodologies will be analyzed to develop a CCA methodology in this project. b) Selection of targeted community: One or more communities (villages) will be selected from the A/R CDM project area to implement the CCA project for the first year and adequate administrative arrangements will be organised, such as providing information of the project to all stakeholders and getting agreement and permission, if necessary. The communication with the community is important and the process of explaining the CCA project to them will be prepared carefully. c) Mapping of project site: There should be a GIS map of the A/R CDM project area prepared by an earlier JICA study. The map will be improved using GPS and

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ground truthing, if necessary. The sample plots will be selected following requirements on sampling frequency specified by the A/R CDM monitoring methodologies. Stratification of the project area will be considered according to the site conditions. d) Establishment and measurement of sample plots by communities: A training program will be designed and conducted with each community for them to establish sample plots and later to process and manage the data. The dimensions, number and location of sample plots, data to be collected (including carbon pools), measurement parameters and frequency, and allometric equations will be determined. e) Identifying the difficulty the community is facing in the A/R CDM project: During implementing of the CCA project in the selected community, problems and difficulty that the community is facing in the A/R CDM forest management will be identified through the workshop and interviews. Information will be provided to understand what support the community needs to improve its participation in the project. 3) Contribution to manual development Development of a Forest Monitoring Manual for local people: Near the end of FY2012, IGES will organize an information sharing workshop in Tokyo that will gather partners to share the outcomes and findings of their activities. IGES will also develop a forest monitoring manual for local people summarizing the information obtained from each project site. VFU is requested to attend the workshop and make contributions based on the CCA project in Vietnam. (3) Major activities conducted 1) Two Capacity building workshops for VFU researchers to implement the CCA project Two workshops, “Training workshop on community participation in forestry” and “Community carbon accounting workshop” were conducted in VFU in 2012. The details of the workshops are reported in 3.2.2.2. 2) Implementation of community-based forest monitoring All the activities listed under (2) 2) in the previous section were implemented as planned. Activity a), b), d) were implemented during the “Community carbon accounting workshop”. Activity c) and e) were conducted separately. 3) Contribution to manual development The manual development workshop was organized in Hayama at the end of January 2013. Two researchers from VFU participated. They made a presentation on the progress they made this year under the CCA project, and contributed to the discussion and manual development by providing their experiences and lessons learned. The report of the workshop is in 3.2.3.1. (4) Results and observations There are 11 villages participating to Cao Phong A/R CDM project. In Fy2012, the CCA CCA project was introduced to Ru 3 Village, which is located in the Xuan Phong Lake area in the project map (Fig 2). Ru 3 Village was selected because tree growth of their plantation is good and the village leader and the people in Ru 3 are cooperative,

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according to the FDF. At the same time, almost all villagers joined the A/R CDM project (42 out of 43 households) in Ru 3 Village (Table 1). Ru 3 Village appeared suitable for CCA as we would adopt the concept of community in the CCA project activity. Table 1: Villages participating to Cao Phong A/R CDM project (Based on FDF data) Communes Villages Total

number of household in the villages

Total households participating in project in 2009

Total households participating in the project in 2010

Total planted are (ha)

Xuân Phong

Rú 1 46 24 7.7 Rú 2 31 27 11.8 Rú 3 43 42 11.6 Rú 4 59 10 4.6 Rú 5 49 10 7.6 Nhõi 1 86 30 22.9 Nhõi 2 84 35 23.2 Cạn 1 86 22 13 59.2

Bắc Phong Má 1+ 2 190 14 13 25.1 Bắc Sơn 130 2 47 48.8

Total 804 216 73 222.5 1) Mapping of the site Although establishment of the tree plantations under the Cao Phong A/R CDM project has been completed, a map of the plantations has not been prepared. A researcher in VFU used GPS to map out the planted area in Ru 3 Village (Fig 3). In the project plan, Acacia mangium was to be planted over 8.39 ha in Ru 3 Village, however, only 5.45 ha (65 %) of the plantation was established. According to villagers, the reason for not planting some of the area was that the land was on steep slopes and too degraded to plant trees

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Figure 3: Map of planned (above) and actual (below) plantation area in Ru 3 Village

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2) CCA workshop results The CCA workshop was organized at VFU in October 2012. During the workshop, the VFU CCA team developed a CCA plan for Cao Phong A/R CDM project and designed a one-day community training course for tree measurement. The community training course was tested in the field. a) CCA plan All steps to be conducted for the CCA were listed, with reference to international and national forest monitoring standards and guidelines. In each step, the role of the community and the experts (VFU CCA team) was identified (Table 2). Table 2: Summary table of the CCA plan for Cao Phong A/R CDM project Step Activities Role of Expert Role of Community 1 Demarcation of A/R CDM project (mapping) Preparation Preparing equipment

(GPS etc) Selecting community

team member (to ask village leader)

Field data collection Boundary determination

Measuring and recording data.

Providing information in the field

Mapping Digitization of project boundary

Developing maps

2 Project area stratification Determination of

stratification criteria Select stratification

criteria Select stratification

criteria Providing information

in the field Field data collection

Boundary

determination Measuring and

recording data.

Providing information in the field

Mapping Digitized boundary of stratification on the map

3 Determination of carbon pools and methods of biomass estimation Determination of

carbon pools. Selecting carbon

pools

Estimated biomass method determination.

Studying methods of biomass estimation for Acacia mangium

Deciding methods for biomass estimation

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Selecting biomass equations

Survey on the parameters necessary for Carbon estimation

4 Sampling design Determination of

sample size and allowed range of errors

Deciding the size following the methodology and standards

Pilot survey to estimate the sample plot number get average, variance and standard error

Field measurement on H and DBH (average, variance and standard error)

Calculating the required number of sample plot

Following the Sourcebook and calculating

Plot arrangement method

Allocating sample plots on the map

5 Field measurement Preparation Determining shape,

size, and location of sample plots

Prepare the equipment and tools

Prepare the training of the community for the measurement (materials, flip charts etc.)

Sample plot setting and general information collection

Locating sample plots in the field (use GIS)Providing technical guidance to the community

Preparing clear field sheet

Being involved in the process to locate sample plots in the field Setting up the sample plot

Collecting and recording information

Measurement (H and DBH)

Providing technical guidance to the community

Observing the

Numbering trees Mark position to

measure at 1.3m)Measuring DBH and

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process of the community and correct if necessary

H Recording data

Data check Observing the process of the community and correct if necessary

Checking and the data sheet

Checking the recording

6 Estimating biomass and carbon Preparation Software selection:

Excel Data entry forms

(database) Collecting parameters

(wood density etc) and equations necessary for the calculation

Data processing Entering data Calculating and

estimating biomass and carbon

Calculating error/accuracy

7 Writing report and Results Feedback to the community Report Writing a report

including making figures, tables

Results Feedback to the community

Presenting the result in a way understandable to the community

- Organizing a meeting with community to report the result and discussing the next step with the community

Joining the meeting Utilizing the data if

possible

b) Community training

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At the CCA workshop, a one-day training plan for the field measurement (Step 5 in Table 3) was designed by the VFU CCA team and tested in the field with the community (Ru 3 Village). Some lessons extracted from the field test are listed below. Plot shape At the planning stage, the VFU CCA team assumed that a rectangular sample plot would be easier for the community to set up by themselves. When testing, the VFU CCA team found that the time required to set up a circular plot was much shorter. They concluded that they would use circular sample plots in the CCA project. DBH The VFU CCA team proposed using calipers to measure DBH. However, the VFU CCA team observed that it was difficult for some villagers to read the scale of the caliper because some numbers on the scale are hidden and this led to misreading. The community members suggested using cloth measuring tape as it is familiar to them and available at the local market. Checking of one cloth tape against a metal tape found that the former had not stretched and could still be used for accurate measurement. It was thus decided that measuring tapes would be used for DBH measurement in the CCA project. Tree height The VFU CCA team discussed using Blume-Leiss hypsometers for estimating tree height, but was concerned that these would be difficult for the community to use. During the field test, the community proved they could use hypsometers after they had received clear instruction and had sufficient practice. However, because of the tree density and foliage, it is difficult to spot the top of many of the trees. Villagers made a simple height measuring pole by attaching measuring tape to a stick and using a bamboo pole to raise this to the top of the tree. At the present height of the trees, this method is feasible and efficient, but cannot be used when the trees grow taller. The VFU-CCA team concluded that it would be more efficient not to measure height and instead to develop a DBH-H relationships for the A. mangium, or allometric equations that do not use height as a parameter to estimate tree biomass. 3) Social survey results The social survey was conducted on 20-21 November in Ru 3 Village. The purpose of the survey is to understand the livelihood of the villagers and identify the advantage and disadvantage of the A/R CDM plantation from the perspective of the villagers. Twenty one local people (participants) living in Ru 3 Village were invited to participate in the social survey at the culture house of the village (Table 3). The VFU CCA team organized workshops with women and men separately, and applied participatory methods (e.g. Participatory Rural Appraisal tools). Table 3: Social survey participants in Ru 3 Village No. Women (Nov 20) Men (Nov 21) 1 Bùi Thị Thiển Bùi Văn Hải (Head of the

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village) 2 Bùi Thị Thúy Bùi Cao Cường 3 Bùi Thị Mai Bùi Sinh Trưởng 4 Bùi Thị Hạnh Bùi Lương Thiện 5 Bùi Thị Binh Bùi Xuân Hiên 6 Bùi Thị Hà Bùi Văn Hiện 7 Bùi Thị Huệ Bùi Văn An 8 Bùi Thị Huyến Bùi Văn Xuân 9 Bùi Thị Cúc Bùi Đức Hoàng 10 Tạ Thị Sinh Bùi Văn Giám 11 Bùi Văn Xuân

The women’s group identified the benefits they received from the plantation and the difficulty they were facing to manage the plantation (Table 4). To solve the problems, they proposed to manage the forest as a group and to set up a patrolling system. There was no institutional arrangement among the A/R CDM project participants to manage the plantation, even though they recognized its necessity. The CCA activity might be able to provide support to organize the group. Table 4: Benefits and difficulties of plantation management identified by women Benefit Difficulty

Getting firewood Having more water for agriculture Receiving labor cost for tending and

protection of the plantation from the A/R CDM project

The plantation is far from the resident area, it is difficult to manage it frequently

Some part of the plantation was destroyed by grazing cattle owned by the people in surrounding villages

Some trees died but they don’t know the reason and can’t prevent it.

The men’s group identify the benefits of the forest as: (1) Environmental protection

To cover the bare land To prevent soil erosion To improve soil To provide fresh air To protect water source and provide water

Economic benefit To provide new and long term income sources To make the land use efficient by using degraded land Getting fuel wood

They also identified the most serious problem in the village as water scarcity. They thought they needed a new irrigation system so that they can expand the paddy field.

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These results suggest the local people might be motivated to manage the plantation by focusing on the link between forest and water. (5) Proposed activities for FY2013 In the first year of the CCA project, the local partner, VFU, has gained the capacity to conduct the CCA at their project area through the workshops and field tests. As it was the first trial, the CCA activity was implemented only in one village. In the next year, it is recommended to expand the area to implement the CCA activity and to do so, the CCA monitoring plan and community training plan developed this year should be improved based on the experience acquired. The social survey needs to be continued. The institutional arrangement of the community and the A/R CDM project should be identified and, if necessary, a new group to manage the plantation should be organized. The next year will be the implementation phase of the CCA project in Vietnam.