This manual serves as a guide for conducting measurements for estimation of carbon stocks in A/R project activities. It is recommended for use where host countries do not have existing standards or best practices in place for conducting these assessments. The guide outlines three approaches including estimation by default factors, estimation by modelling, and estimation by measurement (or some combination of these approaches). The manual does not prescribe detailed procedures for conducting field measurements in carbon stocks but refers to the IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (2003) for standard operating procedures.

Section 4.3 of the Guidance outlines methods for defining project boundaries, measuring, monitoring and estimating changes in carbon stocks and non-CO2 greenhouse gasses, implementing plans to measure and monitor, and developing quality and quality control plans. This material is intended for use with projects under the Kyoto Protocol.

This guidance is designed to accommodate a wide range of users, technical capacity, and data availability. The guidance provides three tiers of approaches which are like the IPCC Tiers 1-3. It is intended to help landowners or land managers assess the carbon impacts of management interventions in managed forest systems. There is guidance for assessing the impacts of reforestation activities, which can be used in a restoration scenario. It is intended for use in the United States but may be adapted for use elsewhere.

This methodology quantifies and monitors the GHG emission removals associated with projects engaged in afforestation, reforestation, revegetation, and restoration activities. Activities can include changes to agricultural practices or landscape management, agroforestry, and restoration, rehabilitation, or recuperation of degraded ecosystems. The methodology is based on the Clean Development Mechanism methodology “AR-ACM0003 A/R Large-Scale Consolidated Methodology. Afforestation and reforestation of lands except wetlands. Version 2.0 AR.” Projects following this methodology can generate carbon credits that will be managed by the Global CarbonTrace Platform, which uses blockchain technology to track transactions.