The field method (see page on Aim of Research) has been more or less perfected at this point and is in use in all sites. In the fourth year of the research, measurements of the biomass and carbon impacts of CBFM in seven countries will continue at the 25 plus sites which have been involved in earlier phases. At many of the sites, control sites (where no CBFM has been initiated) have been measured for comparison.
In addition more emphasis is being devoted in this phase to estimating the opportunity costs and the transaction costs of community carbon forestry, and the non-carbon benefit to local communities is being estimated. It is intended that several of the projects will be submitted for non-compliance international carbon crediting and local carbon credit purchase systems are being considered in two areas.
Work will be done on baseline methods, with a view to proposing suitable baseline methodology through which CBFM projects can dovetail into national REDD programmes. Work will also be done on the design of transparent systems for distribution of incentives/rewards to promote community carbon forestry.
Members of the research team are engaged in the
debate on REDD both at national level and internationally and will continue
to promote CBFM in this context.