[NEW] Introducing a Framework for Reforestation Verification
[NEW PROJECT CONCEPT NOTE: to collaborate please contact me here]
A proliferating number of projects are underway to enhance carbon stocks across the globe. Many of these projects focus on expanding tree cover with single fast-growing species, undermining regional efforts to protect and enhance complex ecosystems. A new verification program that sets benchmarks for the progression of ecological integrity in reforestation/afforestation projects can work to achieve both biodiversity and climate-related goals. Informed by existing methodologies and standards, this project seeks to converge the mutually reinforcing goals of carbon uptake and species richness.
The Problem - Twin Crises
The international community has failed to meet any of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and animal life continues to decline as we head toward the extinction of 1 million species by 2050 [1]. Meanwhile, climate change is accelerating as annual average surface temperatures reach record-breaking highs [2]. One of the key drivers of both biodiversity loss and climate change is the conversion of forests to other land uses [3]. Efforts are underway to improve tree cover, however, the quality of these forested areas is often low.
As the climate crisis grows, countries are pledging support for major afforestation and reforestation efforts in an attempt to offset emissions and enhance their carbon stocks. However, many of these projects (~45%) are expected to be plantations of fast-growing trees like acacia and eucalyptus [4], or other mixed species that do not support endemic plant and animal life. While these projects may function to sequester carbon, they also represent an opportunity to enhance the diversity of natural ecosystems. A system that verifies the enhanced value of a project based on the extent to which the trees can support high-functioning ecosystems is key to addressing both the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis.
Not All Credits Are Created Equal
Not all carbon credits are created equal. Each carbon project varies in terms of effectiveness at removing CO2, permanency, or sustainability. Current initiatives to introduce Biodiversity Credits may be challenged in the same way, as “diversity” in places implies heterogeneity - no two places are alike. The concept of tradable credits representing a static value of carbon or “nature” loses its applicability when theory meets practice.
It might be better to instead give projects the opportunity to be valued based on any extent to which they can contribute to a variety of high-value ecological targets. How can we encourage, verify and formally recognize the additive benefits a carbon project can generate?
We need a framework that can:
Verify efforts that advance ecological integrity across multiple indicators
Offer flexibility on how these indicators are defined and measured based on the capacity of each project
Value a project based on how successful it is in these incremental efforts
Identify high-integrity projects for investors
Clearly and discreetly define investment opportunities
Introducing
GEIR is a project designed to improve ecological systems across all global reforestation initiatives in order to enhance maximal species diversity, self-sustaining ecological processes, and resilience. By introducing a framework for project verification, Guiding Ecological Integrity in Reforestation (GEIR) will function by:
Setting achievable restoration targets for forest project managers
Assessing the quality of reforestation projects based on their contributions to ecosystem health
Through the classification and evaluation of targets and their advancement, GEIR can simultaneously help governments, organizations, and companies looking for high-impact projects to support by providing a clear discreet definition of ecological investment opportunities.
An Alternative to Other Credit Frameworks
The goal of GEIR is to function as a systematic approach to set project benchmarks for the progression of ecological integrity. Other nature crediting frameworks exist or are in development. However, GEIR is distinct in three key ways:
Points-based: It is a points-based system that avoids the challenges of fungible credits. GEIR aims to provide a value gradient representative of all unique restoration efforts put in place that yield observable results.
Biophysical: Success is determined by observable and measurable indicators that move the restoration meter forward. The indicator categories are biophysical to the exclusion of socio-economic indicators that are often included in other biodiversity frameworks. While managing social risks and promoting inclusion is fundamental to any project, quantifying success in these areas is often challenging. The effectiveness of this framework relies on its simple and direct focus on measurable improvements toward a state of restoration. However, securing social safeguards will be prioritized and embedded in the verification process as a prerequisite.
Bottom-up: GEIR is intended to be developed from the bottom up in close partnership (co-constructed) with local and indigenous communities. We have learned that formal verification can greatly encourage improvements in project sustainability, and this works best when the utility and accessibility are evident to project managers on the ground. Therefore, this framework's development will be in close partnerships with selected projects managed by local communities and/or indigenous people. Ensuring the indicators and how they are measured are co-constructed with the project managers themselves also provides this framework with the flexibility to be adapted to projects with varying degrees of internal capacity.
How Might This Verification Work?
The structure of GEIR is inspired by successful sustainable infrastructure rating frameworks, including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Envision, and Greenroads. By devising a points-based rating system for reforestation projects, GEIR aims to provide a scale on which any practices that promote ecological integrity can be measured and assessed.
GEIR Components
Project Type: Categorize your reforestation project
Rating Categories: Target system attributes
Rating Indicators: are the strategies to improve the systems
Points: are earned when you successfully implement a strategy (see scoring system below)
GEIR Scoring System
GEIR Verification System (work in progress)
Example Indicator Structure
Rating System
It is important to note here that our project would not replace existing tools. Instead, the system components would be informed by and feed into existing and available knowledge. For instance, the credit categories and credits would be informed by known criteria and indicators (e.g. SER rating system) and the strategies to obtain points per credit would be supported by known methodologies (e.g. IUCN ROAM).
A Game of Inches
In conclusion, this initiative hopes to promote projects that seek to enhance ecological integrity along with tree cover. Ultimately, the goal of this project is to expand natural landscapes that promote biodiversity, do not require additional resources to manage/maintain, and are resilient in the face of external threats. By applying a verification framework to these efforts, GEIR can incentivize incremental changes at the project level that would scale to worldwide improvements in the health of global ecosystems.
Project Team
Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon (Project Director): Kalifi Ferretti-Gallon is the founder of FutureForests, a consultancy with a focus on enhancing the ecological integrity of forests worldwide. She is a conservation policy analyst and scientist with 10+ years of research experience and has led interdisciplinary projects that have focused on forest change, protected areas, climate policy, and landscape restoration.
Randy Hayes (Project Advisor): Randy Hayes founded Rainforest Action Network. He directs Foundation Earth, a non-profit pursuing a human order for long-term ecological sustainability. He sits on many boards and has a background in filmmaking and green city government.
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