[Iyrp-gcg] Fwd: Fw: afforestation corporate engagement

[Maryam Niamir-Fuller]

For urgent action -
Dear GCG members
(and sorry for cross posting)
Below please see an opportunity for us to influence the development of the
Greenhouse Gas Protocol as it relates to land emissions and sinks.
Please do share this with your networks. The more people comment the
better.  Deadline not specified but the sooner the better.

Best regards
*...*...*...*
Dr. Maryam Niamir-Fuller
Co-Chair of International Support Group for the IYRP

*Support the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
2026  https://www.iyrp.info <https://www.iyrp.info>*







---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Maryam Niamir-Fuller <mniafull2 at gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 8, 2022 at 9:52 AM
Subject: Fwd: Fw: afforestation corporate engagement
To: Jurgen Hoth <jurgenhoth1521 at gmail.com>, Carlos Martorell <
martorell at ciencias.unam.mx>, Mekdaschi, Rima (CDE) <
rima.mekdaschi-studer at unibe.ch>, Tim Scott <tim.scott at undp.org>, SEVA <
vivekseva at gmail.com>, Martina Fleckenstein <mfleckenstein at wwfint.org>, kirk
<kirkaolson at hotmail.com>, Ykhanbai Hijaba <y.hijaba at gmail.com>, Fagouris (
fagouris at gmail.com) <fagouris at gmail.com>, Ariell Ahearn Ligham <
ariell.ahearn at ouce.ox.ac.uk>, Carleton, Elliot (ILRI) <e.carleton at cgiar.org>,
Karina Berg <karinaberg at wwf.org.br>, Ian Scoones <I.Scoones at ids.ac.uk>,
Briske, David D <dbriske at tamu.edu>, VelascoGil, Gregorio (AGAG) <
Gregorio.VelascoGil at fao.org>, <abdul.khan at ouce.ox.ac.uk>, Tungaa SG <
tungaa.sg at gmail.com>, Ann Waters-Bayer <waters-bayer at web.de>, Flintan,
Fiona (ILRI) <F.Flintan at cgiar.org>, MAGERO Chris <Chris.Magero at iucn.org>,
Igshaan Samuels <isamuels at uwc.ac.za>
Cc: Hannah Birge <hannah.birge at tnc.org>, Carolyn Baldwin <
carolbaldwin at ksu.edu>


Dear Members of the Afforestation in Rangelands Working Group

Please see below an opportunity to comment on the Greenhouse Gas (GHG)
Protocol for the Land Sector being developed by WRI and WBCSD. The GHG
Protocol is the most commonly used standard/guidance for corporations to
verify and certify their emissions reductions. There is an opportunity to
comment on it. Carolyn Baldwin (a member of our Afforestation Working
Group) brings it to our attention and Hannah Birge of The
Nature Conservancy (TNC) makes a suggestion on how to provide comments.
And I am also pleased to say that Hannah is now the newest member of this
Working Group.

*...*...*...*
Dr. Maryam Niamir-Fuller
Co-Chair of International Support Group for the IYRP

*Support the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists
2026  https://www.iyrp.info <https://www.iyrp.info>*







---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Carolyn Baldwin <carolbaldwin at ksu.edu>
Date: Fri, Dec 2, 2022 at 11:02 AM
Subject: Fw: afforestation corporate engagement
To: Maryam Niamir-Fuller <mniafull2 at gmail.com>


Maryam-

Please see the email below and if you think it's appropriate, share this
opportunity with the group to comment on GHG Protocol * Land Sector and
Removals Guidance* *– Draft for Pilot Testing and Review*.

Link:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=H6xrR7I22UqGmc2mutH4YkTo9xq9VRpCteO0lzUos9hUMFBQREg2WVBTS1hLNVcwNERGNEFUQUJKSSQlQCN0PWcu

Carol

Carol Baldwin, Ph.D.

Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Community Vitality

Umberger 103, 1612 Claflin Road

Kansas State University

Manhattan, KS 66506

785.532.0416

carolbaldwin at ksu.edu

------------------------------
*From:* Hannah Birge <hannah.birge at TNC.ORG>
*Sent:* Friday, December 2, 2022 8:58 AM
*To:* Carolyn Baldwin <carolbaldwin at ksu.edu>
*Cc:* Heidi Mehl <heidi.mehl at TNC.ORg>; bobermeyer at tnc.org <
bobermeyer at tnc.org>
*Subject:* Re: afforestation corporate engagement




Hi Carolyn,



Quick request. Would you please navigate to the this link
<https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=H6xrR7I22UqGmc2mutH4YkTo9xq9VRpCteO0lzUos9hUMFBQREg2WVBTS1hLNVcwNERGNEFUQUJKSSQlQCN0PWcu>,
which is the comment form for Green House Gas Protocol’s Land Sector and
Removals draft guidance, and leave a remark re: afforestation and
grasslands? Feel free to copy paste what I wrote, and to pass this email
along to anyone who might be interested in also submitting a comment. They
can be from anywhere on earth and from any type of entity. I have included
a copy of the offending image at the end of this email FYI. Thank you 😊!



Chapter 7



Page 104



*Comment:* We request an amendment to Figure 7.1, entitled "Land Use
Categories and Subcategories, and Relationship to Accounting Approaches,"
which shows a grassland to forest conversion scenario as “land use change
with carbon stock gain.” We request that the grassland to forest conversion
scenario should instead be classified as “land use change with carbon stock
losses.”



In virtually all cases, the transition of native (i.e., pre-conversion land
use) grasslands to savannahs and forests results in a material net loss of
ecosystem services, including long term (>15 yr) carbon storage, as
afforested grassland systems are prone to fire related carbon losses. As
such, native grassland to forest conversation should not be considered a
legitimate pathway for an entity seeking to report reduced emissions
according to GHGP standards.



A small sample of the relevant scientific literature supporting this
assertion can be found at
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.14288
and https://www.nature.com/articles/nature00910.





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------------------------------


Hannah Birge writes:



I’m an agricultural scientist with The Nature Conservancy. Part of my
purview is keeping abreast of opportunities in the land sector for GHG
benefits (offsets and Scope 3).



Through conversations with colleagues and external stakeholders, a question
about afforestation has repeatedly come up. Specifically, whether or not af
forestation of grasslands could legitimately generate offsets. To be clear,
grassland afforestation is something TNC is *not *promoting – quite the
opposite. In addition to threatening an already imperiled ecosystem, af
forestation of grasslands may lead to a net neutral or even decline in
ecosystem carbon, especially over the long run as grasslands are fire-prone
systems. I am happy to share the growing volume of literature to support
this point, if it would be helpful.



My objective in reaching out is to see if we (my immediate team and some
stakeholders at Kansas State University) could provide updated language in
your grassland and relevant forestry* protocols to make clear that, in most
cases, grassland afforestation would not be an appropriate practice for
generating credible forestry carbon offsets. This finding would likely
shake on its own out as project developers make predictions about carbon
outcomes, because the scientific literature points to negligible carbon
gains, and even potential losses, from grassland afforestation over the
longer (>20 year) term. We still think that adding language about grassland
afforestation in your protocols would alleviate concerns from the
conservation community while creating efficiency for project developers
weighing practice options. I’ve highlighted relevant areas where we might
add language in the pasted screenshots of the protocols at the end of this
email.



Please let me know if you’re open to having a larger discussion.



Thanks so much for considering our request,

Hannah



*In much of the non-cropland US Great Plains, tree canopy cover is already
at or above 10%. I think many ecologists would consider these grasslands in
transition. So, at the very least, the 10% threshold is probably where we’d
want to make a distinction for this very specific situation of native
grassland afforestation.





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