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Towards Indonesian carbon market: Input from REDD+ projects

Key messages

REDD+ projects in Indonesia are commercial ‘heavyweights’ in global voluntary carbon markets and among the largest suppliers of carbon offset credits in the world despite only a few of them operating in such markets.
REDD+ projects employ diverse approaches to secure financing (ranging from direct carbon offset sales to donor aid and donations). They offer a range of activities to achieve their conservation and rural development objectives, mostly tailored to local contexts.
Legislation to support a domestic carbon market already exists (and continues to emerge). It will be crucial to ensure the market is designed in a way that maximizes benefits for all stakeholders, and ensures REDD+ projects continue to play a key role in mitigating climate change.

Manual for the measurement, monitoring, and reporting of carbon and greenhouse gases in mangroves under restoration

This manual offers methodological tools to estimate carbon stocks and capture in mangrove forests under restoration, which can be used by government sectors, civil organizations, academic and business sectors, and local communities with technical support. The methodologies described herein are aligned with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for national greenhouse gas inventories (2006) and the wetlands supplement (2013).

Ensuring Zero Agricultural Land Expansion into High-Carbon Ecosystems

Relative to agricultural systems, high-carbon ecosystems – such as forests, peatlands, and mangroves – store large amounts of carbon in relatively small areas. Agricultural expansion often comes at the expense of high-carbon ecosystems, contributing to climate change. The food system is connected to these challenges. Ensuring no further agricultural expansion occurs in high-carbon ecosystems is a substantial climate change mitigation opportunity. The estimated costs of avoiding deforestation range from US$1.1 to US$395 billion per year, depending on growth scenarios and carbon prices; this is a bargain compared to the leverage these systems have on climate change and its social costs. Individuals, indigenous people, policies, institutions, and investments are all agents of change and will have to work together to avoid further land conversion.

Major carbon losses from degradation of Mauritia flexuosa peat swamp forests in western Amazonia

Tropical peat swamp forests are major global carbon (C) stores highly vulnerable to human intervention. In Peruvian Amazonia, palm swamps, the prevalent peat ecosystem, have been severely degraded through recurrent cutting of Mauritia flexuosa palms for fruit harvesting. While this can transform these C sinks into significant sources, the magnitude of C fluxes in natural and disturbed conditions remains unknown. Here, we estimated emissions from degradation along a gradient comprising undegraded (Intact), moderately degraded (mDeg) and heavily degraded (hDeg) palm swamps. C stock changes above- and below-ground were calculated from biomass inventories and peat C budgets resulting from the balance of C outputs (heterotrophic soil respiration (Rh), dissolved C exports), C inputs (litterfall, root mortality) and soil CH4 emissions. Fluxes spatiotemporal dynamics were monitored (bi)monthly over 1–3 years. The peat budgets (Mg C ha−1 year−1) revealed that medium degradation reduced by 88% the soil sink capacity (from − 1.6 ± 1.3 to − 0.2 ± 0.8 at the Intact and mDeg sites) while high degradation turned the soil into a high source (6.2 ± 0.7 at the hDeg site). Differences stemmed from degradation-induced increased Rh (5.9 ± 0.3, 6.2 ± 0.3, and 9.0 ± 0.3 Mg C ha−1 year−1 at the Intact, mDeg, and hDeg sites) and decreased C inputs (8.3 ± 1.3, 7.1 ± 0.8, and 3.6 ± 0.7 Mg C ha−1 year−1 at the same sites). The large total loss rates (6.4 ± 3.8, 15.7 ± 3.8 Mg C ha−1 year−1 under medium and high degradation), originating predominantly from biomass changes call for sustainable management of these peatlands.

Action needed to make carbon offsets from forest conservation work for climate change mitigation

Carbon offsets from voluntary avoided-deforestation projects are generated on the basis of performance in relation to ex ante deforestation baselines. We examined the effects of 26 such project sites in six countries on three continents using synthetic control methods for causal inference. We found that most projects have not significantly reduced deforestation. For projects that did, reductions were substantially lower than claimed. This reflects differences between the project ex ante baselines and ex post counterfactuals according to observed deforestation in control areas. Methodologies used to construct deforestation baselines for carbon offset interventions need urgent revisions to correctly attribute reduced deforestation to the projects, thus maintaining both incentives for forest conservation and the integrity of global carbon accounting.

Growth and aboveground carbon of trees estimated using the FORCASTREE (SExI-FS) model: possible inputs for land restoration and carbon project in the Philippines

In this report, we present the results of a projection of potential aboveground carbon storage of four tree-based practices using FORCASTREE (a model FOR simulating growth and CArbon of foreST and agroforest tREEs): a tree-tree growth and interaction model, formerly known as SExI-FS (Spatially Explicit Individual-based Forest Simulator), developed by the World Agroforestry (ICRAF). The four tree-based practices combine fast- and slow-growing and native and exotic tree species: (1) a mixture of different Dipterocarp species, (2) native and exotic non-Dipterocarp species, (3) Dipterocarp, fruit trees, and cacao, and (4) Dipterocarp species, native non-Dipterocarp species, fruit trees, and cacao. Scenarios of tree mortality (with or without mortality) and tree density (400 or 1100 trees per hectare) were considered for each practice.

A review of the participation of smallholder farmers in land-based carbon payment schemes

Carbon credit certification standards stipulate local community participation in the project cycle, but evidence and guidelines for effective smallholder participation are not harmonised and vary across standards. Projects that strengthen social capital can stimulate participation among the marginalized, reduce transaction costs, and promote equity and smallholder agency. The main incentives for farmers participation in carbon payments schmes are non-monetary, these include: improved yields, access to financial advisory services and credit, investments in local infrastructure and the development of income-generating activities.

Network analysis of blue carbon governance process in Indonesia

To align with international climate efforts to remain within 1.5 degrees of the earth temperature, Indonesia requires concerted measures from actors to preserve and restore carbon rich ecosystems, especially blue carbon ecosystem. Although studies have suggested the importance of blue carbon ecosystems in contributing to Indonesian climate action, translating science to policy remains a challenge. Mapping actors and the pattern of information exchange related to blue carbon can help identify potential barriers in the blue carbon governance process and policy development. This study uses Social Network Analysis and integrates it with results from in-depth qualitative evaluation of institutional respondents. Data is obtained through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with representatives from a broad range of organizations. It was found that the actor who oversees the fulfilment of the climate commitment, which is the most common objective of the network, is not a central actor. Second, the actors with the highest degree of centrality received little trust from other actors. Third, overall, the network has low quality ties. Each of these hinders knowledge providers’ ability to make an impact on policy development. By critically examining the interactions between actors, this research casts new light on the overlooked problem of the significance of the network in blue carbon governance process.

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