Policy Brief 5: Measuring and Monitoring Terrestrial Carbon as Part of "REDD+" MRV Systems

One of the key unresolved issues in the United Nations negotiations on the inclusion of terrestrial carbon (the carbon stored in the terrestrial system including trees, other  vegetation, soil, and peatlands) in the climate change solution is how to ensure that real, quantifiable and comparable carbon emission reductions and sequestration take place. To meet international requirements, countries and on-the-ground implementers will need appropriate carbon measurement and monitoring methods. This Policy Brief summarises important aspects of key methods, including their maturity, cost, and availability. It also describes how policy choices determine measurement and monitoring quality, and input and capacity requirements, and provides recommendations to progress to full terrestrial carbon accounting. This Policy Brief is an edited extract from a report commissioned in conjunction with the UN-REDD Programme. It is part of a larger project led by the Terrestrial Carbon Group with its partners that will, by working with developing and developed countries and supporting institutions, produce a roadmap for filling gaps in the science of terrestrial carbon measurement, monitoring, and management by 2013.

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