8. Reporting Guidelines for the Relevant Articles of the Kyoto Protocol
Under Article 5.2 of the Kyoto Protocol, the Revised 1996 Guidelines for
National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide the basis for the accounting and
reporting of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all
greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. These Guidelines
were developed to estimate and report national greenhouse gas inventories
under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
not for the particular needs of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the Guidelines
do provide a framework for addressing the accounting and reporting needs of
the Kyoto Protocol. Elaboration of the Land-Use Change and Forestry Sector
of the Guidelines may be needed, reflecting possible decisions by the Parties
for accounting and reporting LULUCF under the Kyoto Protocol, taking into
account, inter alia:
Any decisions made by Parties on ARD under Article 3.3 and on additional
activities under Article 3.4. [6.3.1, 6.3.2]
The need to ensure transparency, completeness, consistency, comparability,
accuracy, and verifiability. [6.2.2, 6.2.3,
6.4.1]
Consistent treatment of Land-Use Change and Forestry as other Sectors,
with respect to uncertainty management and other aspects of good practice.
[6.4.1]
Any decisions adopted by Parties to address other accounting issues
(e.g., permanence, the meaning of "human induced" and "direct human induced,"
wood products, and project based activities). [6.4.1]
9. Potential for Sustainable Development
Consideration would need to be given to synergies and tradeoffs related
to LULUCF activities under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol in the context
of sustainable development including a broad range of environmental, social,
and economic impacts, such as: (i) biodiversity; (ii) the quantity and quality
of forests, grazing lands, soils, fisheries, and water resources; (iii) the
ability to provide food, fiber, fuel, and shelter; and (iv) employment, human
health, poverty, and equity. [2.5.1, 3.6]
For example, converting non-forest land to forest will typically increase
the diversity of flora and fauna, except in situations where biologically
diverse non-forest ecosystems, such as native grasslands, are replaced by
forests consisting of single or a few species. Afforestation can also have
highly varied impacts on groundwater supplies, river flows, and water quality.
[3.6.1]
A system of criteria and indicators could be used to assess and compare
sustainable development impacts across LULUCF alternatives. While there are
no agreed upon set of criteria and indicators, several sets are being developed
for closely related purposes, for example assessment of contributions to sustainable
development by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. [2.5.2]
For activities within countries or projects between countries, if sustainable
development criteria vary significantly across countries or regions, there
may be incentives to locate activities and projects in areas with less stringent
environmental or socioeconomic criteria. [2.5.2]
Several sustainable development principles are incorporated in other multilateral
environmental agreements, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity,
the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Ramsar Convention on
Wetlands. Consideration may be given to the development of synergies between
LULUCF activities and projects that contribute to the mitigation or adaptation
to climate change with the goals and the objectives of these and other relevant
multilateral environmental agreements. [2.5.2]
Some of the more formal approaches to sustainable development assessment
that could be applied at the project level are, for example, environmental
and socioeconomic impact assessments. These methods have been applied across
a wide range of countries and site-specific activities to date and could be
modified to be applicable to LULUCF projects. [2.5.2.2]
Some critical factors affecting the sustainable development contributions
of LULUCF activities and projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change
include: institutional and technical capacity to develop and implement guidelines
and procedures; extent and effectiveness of local community participation
in development, implementation, and distribution of benefits; and transfer
and adoption of technology. [5.5, 5.6]
