CDM in VN

“The golden Forest”
Practical Guidelines for AR-CDM project activities in Vietnam
Claudia Doets
Nguyen Van Son - Le Viet Tam
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May 2006 - SNV Vietnam
“The Golden Forest”

Practical Guidelines for AR-CDM project activities in Vietnam
Claudia Doets
Nguyen Van Son - Le Viet Tam
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements .................................................................. 5
List of abbreviations................................................................. 7
List of Figures, Photo’s and Tables ........................................... 9
1. INTRODUCTION .................................................... 13
Objective .................................................................... 13
Background................................................................. 13
Summary of rung vang ................................................. 13
Process of the proto-project .......................................... 15
Summary of results ...................................................... 15
Expectations ............................................................... 16
Partners ..................................................................... 16
2. MAPPING AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT.................... 17
Mapping Kyoto-land and potential project area ................. 17
Baseline for socio-economical impact assessments ........... 21
Decision on tree species................................................ 23
3. PLANTING ............................................................. 27
Selection of households ................................................ 27
Mapping of individual plots ............................................ 30
Small holder plantation design ....................................... 32
Seedlings and budget ................................................... 34
Training of farmers, site preparation and planting ............. 36
Set-up forest clubs ....................................................... 38
4. CARBON CALCULATIONS ....................................... 41
Selection of Baseline Methodology .................................. 41
First carbon data gathered ............................................ 44
Next steps in full-scale ARCDM project development ......... 47
Additionality ................................................................ 48
“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

for AR-CDM project activities in Vietnam
3
Benefits of CDM ........................................................... 49
Fire control, carbon accounting and modality for carbon sale .... 50
5. AR-CDM IN VIETNAM ............................................ 53
6. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................... 57
7. REFERENCES - FURTHER READING ........................ 61
Internet links .............................................................. 61
References of books ..................................................... 62

4 for AR-CDM project activities in Vietnam
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Dear Reader,
This publication has become reality through the hard labour of some and the facilitating
environment and cooperation of many.
The hard labour came from the co-authors of the Rung Vang project team Mr Ho Van
Doan, Ms Ho Thi Ngoc Quy, Mr Pham Than Ngoc Phu and Mr Phan Tien Sy. Their
daily work was motivated and inspired even when the weather in A Luoi was chilly and
wet during the winter months. They were responsible for the implementation of the
proto-project. We would also like to acknowledge Mathieu Van Rijn and Ms Nham
for their research activities, Mr Phan Minh Triet and the extension workers of
OARD.
For the ‘facilitating environment and cooperation’ we would like to thank Mr Vo Van Du
(DPC), Mr Dang Vu Tru (FPU) and Mr Le Anh Hoai Thu (ONRE) of local government
in A Luoi. Their support and cooperation has been the critical factor for the success
of the proto project and we hope the lessons learned will be used when developing
the CDM component of the 2006-2015 reforestation programme currently being
developed by the district.
We would like to thank Mr Vu Tan Phuong and his team of the Research Centre of
Forest Ecology and Environment (RCFEE) for their work on site-species mapping and
carbon quantification and for presenting their results. We would also like to thank
Mr Le Ha and his team of the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute for their
plantation design and we would like to thank Mr Bui Huu Manh for training the team
in MapInfo and being readily available for additional questions.
Outside A Luoi we would like to thank the Jinke Van Dam (TBI), Chris Dickinson,
Mr Le Van Dong (WWF) and Patrick Rossier (ETSP, Helvetas) for their continuous
support and interest. At provincial level we would also like to thank Mr. Ho Hy
(Forest sub-Department) for his knowledge of native species. We would like to thank
Mr Bui Chinh Nghia (MARD/DOF) and Mr Nguyen Khac Hieu (CNA/MONRE) for their
interest in the progress of the experimental project from the national level. At SNV
we would like to particularly thank Harm Duiker, Felix ter Heegde, Lukas Wellen,
and our Collaborative Forest Management team colleagues for their support, various
contributions and coaching.

5
Finally we would like to thank Mitsubishi UFJ Securities’ Clean Energy Finance
Committee and in particular Mr Junji Hatano for providing the funding for this
proto-project and Adrian Stott for his vast CDM knowledge, both vital for its
realisation.
However modest the result of this Rung Vang project, we hope it can be the start of
a flourishing AR-CDM project pipeline in Vietnam.
Yours sincerely,
Claudia Doets1
Nguyen Van Son2
Le Viet Tam3
May 2006 - Hue City
Photo 1: Discussing slope an reforestation potential in

Hong Trung Commune
1 Advisor Collaborative Forest Management for SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

2 Director of the Office of Agriculture and Rural Development (OARD) in A Luoi District
3 Advisor Collaborative Forest Management for SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
5MHRP Five Million Hectare Reforestation Plan
ADB Asian Development Bank
AR-CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism
CDM Clean Development Mechanism
CER Certified Emission Reduction
CNA CDM National Authority (DNA of Vietnam)
CNECB National Executive and Consultative Board
DNA Designated National Authority under UNFCCC
DOF Department of Forestry
DPC District People’s Committee
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
ENCOFOR Environment and Community based framework for designing

afforestation, reforestation and revegetation projects in the CDM
ETSP Extension and Training Support Project
FIPI Forest Inventory and Planning Institute
FPU Forest Protection Unit
FSC Forest Stewardship Council
FSIV Forest Science Institute of Vietnam
GHG Green House Gases
GIS Geographical Information System
GPS Global Positioning System
ICD International Cooperation Department
JBIC Japanese Bank for International Cooperation
JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency
JIFPRO Japanese International Forestry Promotion Organisation
Lao PDR Lao People’s Democratic Republic
LUPLA Land Use Planning and Land Allocation Methodology

7
MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
MONRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
MUS Mitsubishi Securities
NGO Non Government Organisation
NTFP Non Timber Forest Product
OARD Office of Agriculture and Rural Development
OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
PDD Project Design Document
PES Payment for Environmental Services
PIN Project Idea Note
RCFEE Research Centre of Forest Ecology and Environment
SNV SNV Netherlands Development Organisation
TBI Tropenbos International
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
VUSTA Vietnam Union of Science Technology Associations
WWF World Wildlife Fund

LIST OF FIGURES, PHOTO’S AND TABLES
LIST OF FIGURES
1. Map showing North Central Vietnam, the Chinese Sea to the East, Lao PDR to
the West; Thua Thien Hue (in red) A Luoi District and Hong Trung Commune
(in green)
2. Map of Kyoto Land in Vietnam by ENCOFOR
3. Map showing forest and vegetation types in Hong Trung Commune

(1:10,000)
4. Map showing rivers and riverbanks within 25m vicinity of the river in Hong
Trung Commune (1:1,000)
5. Map showing contour and slope in Hong Trung Commune (1:1,000)
6. Map showing access to roads and vicinity to villages in Hong Trung Commune
(1:2,000)
7. Map showing the potential project area to use AR-CDM in Hong Trung Commune
(1:1,500)
8. Question from the household questionnaire depicting the 4 possible scenarios

and the percentage of farmers choosing the scenario (% on the right).
Models: A) combined forestry with agriculture, B) solely agriculture, C) pure
production forestry, D) close to nature-forestry
9. Map showing site suitability for Aquilaria crassna (1:500)
10. Fragment of hand-drawn land allocation map overlaid with plot GPS coordinates
from the proto-project; a large inconstancy is shown
11. Fragment of plantation design map of proto-project in Hong Trung Commune
12. Cash flow of household forestry plantation, compared in case the household
did not take a loan, did take a loan and engaged in carbon storage
13. Timeline of PIN AR-CDM PIN to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the CDM National Authority

9
LIST OF PHOTO’S (PHOTO CREDITS GIVEN OR OTHERWISE
TAKEN BY CLAUDIA DOETS)
1. Discussing slope and reforestation potential in Hong Trung Commune
2. Remnants of the American-Vietnam War are all around, a bomb crater in the
low-land (local name: American fishpond)
3. The Rung Vang project team of the DPC A Luoi at work
4. Training the project team in MapInfo
5. Discussing commune boundary maps with FIPI
6. Commune meeting about mixed species
7. Village meeting in A Nieng- Hong Trung Commune (photo Le Viet Tam)
8. Marking plots with poles and GPS coordinates
9. Offloading seedlings by farmers in Hong Trung Commune
10. Discussing plot design during theoretic part of farmer training course
11. Training course for farmers- going to the field for the practical part
12. Pa Co farmers in traditional dress on the occasion of issuance of land-right

certificates (photo Bengt van Loosdrecht)
13. Overview of area to be allocated, patchwork of different stages of rotational

extensive agricultural use
14. Picture of the vegetation baseline in the project area
15. Small holder plantation farmer explains about his mixed forestry system:
Model C
16. Discussing carbon potential of native species, from left to right: Claudia Doets,
Mr Le Viet Tam and Mr Ho Hy
17. Official speech by Mr Tru of the Forest Protection Unit A Luoi during land-right
certificate issuance (photo Bengt van Loosdrecht)
18. First tree to be planted in Rung Vang project during training course

LIST OF TABLES
1. Data included in baseline survey
2. Criteria and indicators for site quality and stratification by RCFEE/FSIV
3. Compulsory household criteria for participation in the proto-project
4. Priority household criteria for participation in the proto-project
5. Rights and responsibilities for participation in the proto-project
6. Fragment of table showing household scoring and selection
7. Table showing plots, households and hectares in the proto-project
8. Number of seedlings per hectare and price per seedling according to planning
and in reality
9. Planned budget and adapted realized costs for the proto-project regarding
labour, fertilizer and seedlings
10. Programme of training course for farmers participating in the proto-project
11. Explanation of Units in main carbon calculations
12. Application criteria for the Afforestation/ Reforestation Approved Methodology

0001 (AR-AM0001) and the conditions in Rung Vang project
13. Carbon pools included in AR-AM0001 methodology
14. Carbon content of baseline vegetation in project area
15. Carbon storage potential through reforestation expressed in Green House Gas
emission reduction
16. Example of carbon storage expressed in Green House Gas emission reduction
for Model B Pinus keysia mixed with Acacia mangium
17. Matrix of expected benefits of Rung Vang project
18. Requirements for intermediate body responsible for carbon sale of Rung Vang
project
19. Time requirements for different components AR-CDM project

11
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 OBJECTIVE
The objective of this booklet is to document the process and results of the first pilot
Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism (AR-CDM) project activity
in Vietnam. Apart from sole documentation, the aim of this booklet is to provide
guidelines and lessons learned for other practitioners wanting to use AR-CDM in their
reforestation projects. To this end, the authors try to be as explicit as possible about
methodologies used and barriers faced.
1.2 BACKGROUND AR-CDM
The Afforestation/Reforestation-Clean Development Mechanism, is one of the flexible

mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol that relates to the eligible project activities in
the forestry sector. The Kyoto Protocol itself is a binding agreement between signatory
countries to reduce Green House Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere and is a specific
follow-up on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Carbon is stored by forests from CO2 in the atmosphere. In simple terms AR-CDM is
the mechanism regulating the generation of stored carbon in forests in developing
countries and sale of this carbon (in the form of credits) to countries with a GHG
reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol. Rules for generation and sale of these credits
are developed by the UNFCCC and are therefore the subject of negotiations between
all signatories. AR-CDM is an example of Payment for Environmental Services (PES)
provided by forests; a lot is expected from these services in terms of financing the
future conservation and restoration of forests in the world. The current situation of
AR-CDM in Vietnam is explained in chapter 5. For a detailed understanding of the
mechanism and of other payments for environmental services we advise to turn to the
reference and suggestions for further reading section in Chapter 7.
1.3 SUMMARY OF RUNG VANG
“Rừng Vàng” means golden forest in Vietnamese. It is inspired by an old Vietnamese

saying about the country’s most important natural resources: “The sea is silver, the
forest is gold”. Of course it also refers to the commercialisation of the carbon credits
generated by the project.
The proto AR-CDM project activity was intended as a 100 hectare appetizer for the
full-scale 5000 hectare reforestation AR-CDM project in A Luoi- North Central Vietnam.
This project is currently being developed by the district and aims to coordinate and
combine all reforestation efforts in the region, including those of the ADB, JBIC and
the World Bank, in the district. In Chapter 4 this full-scale project will be discussed in
more detail.

13
The reforestation activities will improve the livelihoods of the rural poor in A Luoi,
who belong mostly to ethnic minorities Pa Co and Ta Oi and live in an area that is
heavily degraded. In particular, significant causes of the degradation are the effects
of the deployment of ‘Agent Orange’ and carpet-bombing during the American-
Vietnam War.
Photo 2: Remnants of the American-Vietnam War

are all around, a bomb crater in the low land
The project area of the proto project was Hong Trung Commune, and more specifically
A Nieng, Le Thieng 1 and Le Thieng 2 villages, in A Luoi district (see figure 1).
Figure 1: Map of North Central Vietnam, the Chinese Sea to the East, Lao PDR
to the West; Thua Thien Hue province (in red); A Luoi District and
Hong Trung Commune (in green)

Objectives of the proto-project were to:
1. Assist farmers previously not engaged in forestry to replant the CDM eligible
allocated land in Hong Trung commune.
2. Get hands-on experience of the requirements for AR-CDM in reforestation, to feed

into the full-scale AR-CDM project.
3. Publish guidelines and lessons learned to be of use for other AR-CDM project
developers in Vietnam.1 THE PROTO-PJET
1.4 PROCESS OF THE PROTO-PROJECT
At the start of the proto-project the allocation of forest land to households was
already finalised through the District successfully applying the Land Use Planning
and Allocation (LUPLA) method4. This methodology ensures participation of the local
stakeholders in the land use decision-making process. Land allocation results in the
issuance of so-called “red books”; giving legal entitlement to the land for 50 years to
the household head and spouse.
The project was managed by a project team supervised by the Office of Agriculture
and Rural Development (OARD) under the A Luoi DPC. SNV Vietnam, supported the
programme with technical assistance, thus combining experience and knowledge in
the land use and forestry sector of a local and international organization.
The project had six components. Four related to the actual reforestation and carbon
project activity and two related to the production of this book and the preparation
of the full-project. The four main components, corresponding with chapters in this
booklet are:
A: Mapping and impact assessment
B. Planting
C: Carbon calculations
D: Monitoring
1.5. SUMMARY OF RESULTS
The proto-project established 38 hectares of forestry and agro forestry plantations on

barren and degraded areas in the district from the end of 2005 to early 2006. During
the selection of the area and the information provision to farmers, the CDM criteria
were taken into account. Fifty plots, totalling 38 hectares were marked and mapped.
Forty five Households participating in the project were trained. Three (agro-) forestry
models were selected based on site-species matching. The participating farmers were
granted seedlings and were fully paid for their labour because of the experimental
stage of AR-CDM. In the full-scale project it is envisioned that loans matching the
cash flow of (agro)-forestry activities will be taken by the farmers. Forest farmer
groups were set-up to safeguard knowledge dissemination and strengthen market
access for the future. These forest farmer groups will also be responsible for the
carbon monitoring on the reforested plots.
4 See www.snvworld.org for LUPLA case description (forests/cases).

15
During the proto-project the CDM Project Idea Note (PIN) for the full-scale project
was written and submitted to the Department of Forestry of MARD, see Chapter
5 for further information. Carbon sequestration potential of the forest models was
calculated and the carbon storage of the current vegetation was quantified.
1.6. EXPECTATIONS
In this booklet we hope to provide hands-on guidelines for other AR-CDM project
developers. The main text discusses the initial design of the project, experiences
and lessons learned during implementation. The annexes give detailed information,
formats and practical manuals.
Chapter 2 explains the making of a Kyoto Land map and practical guidelines for
information gathering for Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact Assessments,
Chapter 3 explains the practical implementation of the reforestation project, Chapter
4 discusses all topics related to the use of AR-CDM, Chapter 5 presents an analysis
of the AR-CDM development in Vietnam, Chapter 6 gives an overview of all lessons
learnt and the time requirement per component and Chapter 7 gives suggestions for
further reading.
1.7. PARTNERS
This project was a joint initiative of the following organisations: Mitsubishi Securities
(donor and CDM expert), DPC/OARD A Luoi district (project implementer), RCFEE
(service provider) and SNV Vietnam (technical assistant).
Photo 3: The Rung Vang project team of the DPC A Luoi at work

2. MAPPING AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT
This chapter starts with the preparatory work of making the Kyoto Land map of the
A Luoi area, followed by the survey done to construct the environmental and socio-
economic baseline. Finally we present the methodology and results of the site-species
matching study done by RCFEE.
2.1. MAPPING KYOTO-LAND AND POTENTIAL PROJECT AREA
As the name Afforestation/ Reforestation CDM indicates, the two currently CDM
eligible project activities in the forestry sector are5:
- Afforestation: planting trees on land that is barren since 50 years
- Reforestation: planting trees on land that is barren since 31 December 1989
The land in A Luoi district is heavily affected by the deployment of ‘Agent Orange’
and carpet-bombing during the American-Vietnam War (1965-1975). After the war it
has been subject to uncontrolled burning and unsustainable agriculture, resulting in
continuously degraded land. Thus the land is mainly barren since the late 1970’s early
1980’s and is eligible for the CDM eligible project activity: reforestation. The definition
of barren land is: land that does not sustain a forest. The government of Vietnam has
set the CDM definition of a forest6 to be:
- An area of at least 0.5 hectare; with
- A minimum crown cover of 30%; and
- A minimum tree height at maturity of 3m
If we want to map the area where CDM can be used, in brief a “Kyoto land” map, the
fixed criteria are:
1. The land has been barren since 31 December 1989, meaning a canopy cover
of <30% (barren on existing maps in the interval 1989 - 2006).
2. The land has a forest use classification. (According to the three classifications
of forest use by MARD: protection, production or special-use).
3. The land is currently barren, meaning a canopy cover of <30% (Classified
according to MARD as 1a, 1b or 1c).
For the whole of Vietnam 14.2% of the country’s area is eligible for CDM. This means 4.6
million ha of land is potential Kyoto Land, see figure 2. This preliminary Kyoto land map
was downloaded from the ENCOFOR7 website. On their website you can generate a Kyoto
land map of any country which can be used easily for first screening of a project area.
5 See official definition of CDM eligible project activities at http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2003/sbsta/

10a03.pdf
6 See official CDM definition range of forests at http://cdm.unfccc.int/DNA/ARDNA.html?CID=233
7 See website CGIAR/ENCOFOR: http://www.csi.cgiar.org/encofor/forest/index_res.asp

17
Figure 2: Kyoto Land map of Vietnam by ENCOFOR
Apart from the project area being Kyoto land, additional criteria for land suitability
and access by road were used, as Rung Vang intended to support reforestation by
households. This resulted in the following additional criteria during the making of our
potential project area map in Hong Trung Commune:
4. Feasibility to reforest the land:
- Slope not more >25%;
- No bare rocks, roads, rivers, residential areas;
- Distance from riverbanks of rivers with a normal flow width of wider than
3 m >25 m
5. Access of the land:
- Road or motorbike track suitable for dry weather access not further away than
>1km;
- Elevation difference between village and eligible land not further <300m;
- Distance between village and land not further than 5km
During the screening of criteria for the potential project area map we also considered
including soil fertility rating, dioxin content of the soil, landmine risk and chance

of future allocation to households. Because of various reasons it was impossible to
obtain reliable data on these criteria and therefore they were left out.
To give more insight in the process, we hereby present various intermediate maps
showing single criteria, which are later overlaid and result in the final map.
Figure 3: Map showing forest and vegetation types in Hong Trung (scale 1:10,000)
Figure 4: Map showing rivers and riverbanks within 25m vicinity of the river in
Hong Trung commune (scale 1:1,000)

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Figure 5: Map showing contour and slope in Hong Trung (scale 1:1,000)
Figure 6: Map showing access to roads and vicinity to villages in Hong Trung
(scale 1:2,000)
For detailed instructions how to use GIS for this purpose and in particular the software
MapInfo, we like to refer you to the manual by Mr Bui Huu Manh8.
8 See reference list

Photo 4: Training the project team in MapInfo
The final potential project area map, resulting from overlaying the different maps is
presented below.
Figure 7: Map showing the potential project area to use AR-CDM; the Kyoto Land
in Hong Trung Commune (scale 1:1,500)
Time requirements including data gathering for the making of a Kyoto Land map with
additional criteria is 2 weeks for 1 person.
2.2. BASELINE FOR SOCIO-ECONOMICAL IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
The aim of this survey was to record the current environmental and socio- economic
situation in the future project area and to gauge the expectation of farmers when
engaging in forestry. The data is gathered through a simple questionnaire. 451
Households have been interviewed in the period from August to November 2005.
Interviews were held with individual households or during communal meetings with

21
roughly 20 people at a time. Interview farmers lived in the project area of the full-
scale ARCDM project. Interviewees were a balanced selection regarding age and sex
of the potential participants in the project. An average interview took 30 minutes. See
Annex 1 for a full questionnaire.
In order to assess the impact of the project on the livelihood situation of the participant
in the project several components are investigated:
• Current use and underlying factor
• Future use and underlying factors
The data included in the baseline survey are presented in table 1.
Table 1: Data included in baseline survey
Socio-Economic Impact Assessment data Environment Impact Assessment data
Ethnicity Timber collection (sort, use and volume)
Household situation NTFP (sort, use and volume)
Education level Other less tangible factors
Agricultural land (size) and Agricultural crops
Estimated income annual crops and off-farm

employment
Income stability
Outcome
The resulting database provides the baseline for a Socio-economic Impact Assessment
and an Environmental Impact Assessment and is structured in such a way that when
the survey is repeated it can show impacts of the future project intervention.
Together with these data for the baselines data was also gathered to identify household
expectations from forestry activities. This was done especially to identify possible
bottlenecks for future project success. The main focus was on the motivation of the
present households to participate in the project.
Photo 5: Discussing commune boundary maps with FIPI

Figure 8: Question from the household questionnaire depicting the 4 possible
scenarios and the percentage of farmers choosing the scenario (% on
the right). Models: A) combined forestry with agriculture, B) solely
agriculture, C) pure production forestry, D) close to nature-forestry
Above an intermediate result is presented, showing the vision farmers have about
their own plantations. 64% of the farmers are interested in the combination of
agriculture with forestry. 20% of the farmers are interested in pure forestry.
This complete survey is part of a master thesis for which 6 months fieldwork have
been done. Currently the data are analysed and the thesis will be presented later
this year.
2.3. DECISION ON TREE SPECIES
To make an informed decision on what trees to plant, the Research Centre for
Forest Ecology and Environment did a site-species matching study for Hong Trung
Commune9.
The land evaluation method developed by Forest Science Institute of Vietnam was
used to stratify the area. The criteria include: soil texture, slope degree, vegetation
cover, soil depth, elevation, and rainfall. Each criterion is given an indicator and score.
See table 2 with criteria and indicators for site quality and stratification.
9 See reference list and RCFEE website publications 2005: http://dtn.com.vn/prototype/rcfeeen

23
Table 2: Criteria and indicators for site quality and stratification by RCFEE/FSIV
Criteria Indicator
Soil with medium texture
Soil with heavy texture

1. Soil texture
Soil with light texture
Eroded and stony soil
< 15%
2. Slope
15 – 25%
More than 1,000 trees per ha regenerated trees with height more
than 1m (1c)
3. Vegetation status 300-1,000 regenerated trees per ha (1b1)
less than 300 regenerated trees per ha (1b2)
Grass, reed, wild banana plants (1a)
> 100cm
4. Soil depth 50 – 100cm
< 50cm
< 300m
300 – 700m
5. Elevation 700 – 1,000m
1,000 – 1,700m
> 1,700m
> 2,000mm
1,500 – 2,000mm
6. Rainfall
1,000 – 1,500mm
< 1,000mm
After site quality assessment, sites are matched tree species. The tree species
suitability assessment is based on the limiting factors method, in which the values on
the criteria of site quality are matched with the requirements of individual species10.
The suitability classes are divided in four classes: highly suitable (S1), moderately
suitable (S2), marginally suitable (S3) and not suitable (N). As an example of the
process of site-species matching, we show an intermediate result below.
10 Methodology stating values per species can be downloaded from RCFEE website: http://dtn.com.
vn/prototype/rcfeeen

Figure 9: Map showing site suitability for Aquilaria crassna (1:500)
After running site-species selection for several tree species, the final proposed species
selection was also made considering sociological and timber market conditions. As a
result three forest models were proposed to be most suitable:
Model A: Mixed system of Mangletia glauca and Acacia mangium
Model B: Mixed system of Pinus Keysia and Acacia mangium
Model C: Agro forestry system of Aquilaria crassna, Cinnamomum cassia and bamboo
(Lo o)
The models were discussed during a meeting at Hong Trung commune. During the
meeting a lot of questions were raised on the percentage of mixture of Acacia in
Model A and B. On basis of the proposed site-species matching by RCFEE individual
households were advised about which model was most suitable for their land. The
final decision on which model to plant however depended solely on the household, as
they are the owners of the plantation.
Time requirements for such a study is high, it took 10 days for 4 skilled persons to do
the site-species matching including the preliminary carbon sampling: 40 days in total.

25
Photo 6: Commune meeting about mixed species
Lesson learned
1. After the fieldwork and desk study on site-species selection was finished, a
commune meeting was organised to present and discussed the models at local
level. The initial models were adjusted according to the wishes of the farmers
to include more Acacia and adjusted again because the district gave priority to
different species. During the plantation design some of the models were adjusted
again because proposed spacing did not match local practises. In short, it is of
vital importance to pay a lot of attention to the acceptance of forestry models at
the local level.

3. PLANTING
As the name indicates, this chapter will discuss the actual planting of trees. But before
that, the selection of households, mapping and plantation design of individual plots
will be discussed. At the end of the chapter, we list ideas about forest clubs whose
purpose is to manage and market the forest.
3.1. SELECTION OF HOUSEHOLDS
Selection of households started with organising village meetings in the three villages.
The project team organised these meetings in close cooperation with Hong Trung
commune People’s Committee and the A Luoi district’s agriculture extension service.
These meetings were held to familiarize individual households with the project and
to present to them the possibility of participating. Forest models were explained at
length. Afterwards special attention was paid to rights and duties of future participants
and selection criteria.
Compulsory criteria for participation were formulated based on CDM see table 3.
Table 3: Compulsory household criteria for participation in the proto-project
No Criterion Explanation
Households must hold the official land use In order to ensure they are also entitled
1
right certificate to the carbon credits
The minimum area of barren fields Minimum project area unit according to
2
adjoining each other must be over 0.5 ha Vietnamese CDM “forest” definition
The household participates voluntarily In order to ensure commitment and

3 and implements the project activities as to ensure that CDM project scenario
described conditions are met
Labour force is available in the household In order to ensure enough capacity for
4
(> 2 workers) proper project implementation
In addition, priority selection criteria were defined to assist in cases where more
eligible households existed than could be involved (i.e.more than the equivalent of
100 ha). These priority selection criteria are given in Table 4.

27
Table 4: Priority household criteria for participation in the proto-project
Criteria Index Priority
Young < 35 ++
Poor 11 +
< 180,000 VND/month
Belonging to Pa Co, Ta Oi or to other

Minority group +
official VN ethnic minority
Women ++
Experienced Participated in forestry activities before +
The participants were asked to subscribe to the following rights and responsibilities,
Table 5.
Table 5: Rights and responsibilities for participation in the proto-project
Rights Duties
1. Participate in reforestation on the 1. The household possesses the red book

household’s allocated land certificate for the land to be reforested.
(The fee for making the red book
2. Be a member of a Forest Farmers club in certificate is covered by the household)
order to learn/share experience with other
members and participate in technical 2. The household is responsible for
training courses carrying out clearing, planting, tending
and harvesting in accordance with the
3. As Rung Vang project pilots the Clean suggested methods and planning
Development Mechanism, the selected
households will receive saplings/ seedlings 3. The household commits itself to monitor
and other materials (e.g. fertilizer) free its own plantation for fire and carbon
of charge sequestration according to the manuals
4. The selected households will be paid for 4. The household commits itself to
their labour reforesting the land after harvesting the
stands at maturity
5. Households will receive all timber, non-
timber and carbon benefits from their own 5. The household is willing to sign a binding
plantation commitment with the DPC stating these
rights and duties
During the village meetings application forms were distributed. The full application
form is given in Annex 2. People were given time (2 days) to discuss participation
with their household members before the application forms were expected to be
submitted to the village head. During the last day the project team was present at
the village house/house of the village head to answer additional questions and to
provide assistance with filling out the form.
An impression of the scoring table is given in Table 6.
11 Official poverty standard for rural Vietnam

Table 6: Fragment of table showing household scoring and selection
List of households participating in Rung Vang Project Hong Trung Commune
Level of Ethnic
Full name Relation to Young Experienced
Ethnic education Area Female group: Poor Total
No of head of Labour Participans household Age <35T; in
group (School (ha) (+2) Paco,Tà (+1) point
households head +2 forestry(+1)
Grade) Ôi, +1
1 Ho Van Nghiem Pa Co 2 Ho Thi Tho Wife 9 1 26 2 2 1 1 n.a 6
2 0.71 2 2 1 1 n.a 6
3 Ho Van Bay Pa Co 4 Ho Thi Linh Daughter 12 0.21 18 2 2 1 1 n.a 6
4 Le Dinh Thang Pa Co 2 Ho Thi Hel Wife 0 1.17 28 2 2 1 0 n.a 5
Ho Thi
5 Ho Thi Thu Hien Ka Tu 2 Wife 12 1.78 30 2 2 1 0 n.a 5
Thu Hien
6 Ho Van Ngoi Pa Co 2 Ho Thi Dan Wife 5 0.88 32 2 2 1 0 n.a 5
Tran Ngoc
7 Kan Et Pa Co 2 Son 9 0.25 22 2 0 1 0 n.a 3
Han
8 Tran Van Luc Pa Co 2 Tran Van Luc Husband 9 0.26 25 2 0 1 0 n.a 3
Tran Van
9 Tran Van Thang Pa Co 2 Son 5 0.37 20 2 0 1 0 n.a 3
Noan
10 Ho Van Kieu Pa Co 2 Ho Van Kieu Husband 0 0.32 31 2 0 1 0 n.a 3
11 Quynh Hoa Pa Co 2 Ho Van Huu Wife 5 0.115 26 2 0 1 0 n.a 3
12 Ho Duc Le Pa Co 2 Ho Duc Le Husband 9 0.165 32 2 0 1 0 n.a 3

29
Time requirements for this selection in the three villages were about 3 weeks, in
which village meetings, assessment of farmer interest, scoring of applicants and final
decision making was done.
Photo 7: Village meeting in A Nieng- Hong Trung

Commune (photo Le Viet Tam)
Lessons Learned
1. Fixed criterion 2, land being barren, appeared to be so exclusive that we did not
have to apply the additional priority criteria. A recommendation drawn from this
regards the Land Allocation process rather than reforestation projects: it would be
good to consider allocation of larger plots for CDM purposes.
2. We could have made more use of the village heads, who follow the whole process
as the first representative of the village. People have elected them and trust them.
When well informed in advance the village head can play a role in the follow-up of
village meetings and trouble shooting throughout the process.
3. Rights and duties should be explained with more practical examples. For instance
the delivery and storage of seedlings was problematic because in the early stages
local people didn’t feel responsible for the protection of the young trees.
3.2. MAPPING OF INDIVIDUAL PLOTS
After household selection, the individual plots of participating households were measured
with the Global Positioning System (GPS), making use of satellites to define exact
coordinates on the globe. The basis for measuring the plots was the land allocation map
(produced during the LUPLA process) approved of by the district people’s committee.
The mapping of individual plots in our project area consisted of the following steps:
1. Fieldwork to measure the plots
a) The fieldwork was done by three groups composed of a mix of staff of the Forestry
Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI), members of the LUPLA working group,
(mainly rangers of the Forest Protection Unit), the project team and at each plot
the local owner.

b) At each plot the coordinates of the corners were taken based on the boundaries
indicated by the local owner and the LUPLA working group. To enhance accuracy,
some intermediate points were taken and a rough sketch of the form of the plot
was made.
c) Each corner was marked with a gray plastic pipe with the coordinates marked on
it. One third of the pipes were underground.
2. Office work to map the plots
a) After the fieldwork the coordinates were downloaded from the GPS’s and imported
into the MapInfo software.
b) In MapInfo we plotted each household map, calculated the surface area and
overlaid the proposed most suitable forestry models. These maps were discussed
again with the households and the outcome of this formed the basis for the
plantation design (see Figure 11)
c) To complement the database, all the land right certificates of the corresponding
plots were scanned. All the data of the proto-project will be organised in an
Access database for carbon monitoring purposes. This was easy because the data
were not yet issued and stored at the district Office of Natural Resources and
Environment (ONRE).
Time requirements: for fieldwork; with

9 people (3 groups of 3 people) we
measured 57 (average plot size 0.76
ha) plots within 3 days. For office work:
3 days were required for 1 person to
download and structured the GPS data
and scan the red books.
Lessons Learned
1. During the GPS measurements, we

used the data and the knowledge
which had been gathered during
the land allocation (LUPLA) process.
Thus we expected our digital plots
to roughly match the hand-drawn Photo 8: Marking plots with poles and GPS coordinates
land allocation maps. However,

both maps showed unexplainable differences (see Figure 10). In order to prevent
land conflict after land allocation we strongly recommend using GPS measurements
and digital mapping already during the LUPLA process. We also suggested this
during a land allocation evaluation workshop in the district. Below a detailed map
1:150 of A Nieng village. The handmade land allocation map is overlaid by the GPS
coordinates of the plots.

31
Figure 10: Fragment of hand-drawn land allocation map overlaid with plot GPS
coordinates from the proto-project; a large inconstancy is shown
2. Plots can only be marked when the owner is present, otherwise the risk of
measuring the plot incorrectly or experiencing conflict afterwards is high.
3. Marking plots with plastic pipes is not ideal, they will not last for ever and they might
get stolen. It would be better to use paint on the pipe instead of permanent marker
as we found the latter is not permanent in all cases. However it is difficult to come
up with an alternative for the plastic pipes that is not prohibitively expensive.
4. A lot of data is gathered during the process of site-species mapping, household

selection and plot measuring. Therefore it is vital to have a structured archiving
system,to keep final versions of selections, and to map separately from the
intermediate version otherwise a lot of extra work is needed to short the data out
in the end when the final database is made.
3.3. SMALL HOLDER PLANTATION DESIGN
As discussed in 1.5 the basic site-species mapping was done by RCFEE including
analyzing the basic land and climate conditions. Later these models were discussed
during a commune meeting and adjusted to the wishes of the local people and the
district priorities. As a result, the following 3 models were used:
Model A: % of Acacia enlarged on basis of farmer wishes
Mixed system of Mangletia glauca 1,750 trees/ha (70%) spacing of 2m x 2m and

Acacia mangium 750 trees/ha (30%) spacing of 2m x 2m
Model B: only supported by the district in upland > 700m
Mixed system of Pinus Keysia 1,750 trees/ha (70%) spacing of 2m x 2m and Acacia
mangium 750 trees/ha (30%) spacing of 2m x 2m

Model C: Cinnamon replaced by Mangletia on request by district, spacing
bamboo adjusted on suggestion of FIPI
Agro forestry system of Aquilaria crassna 1250 trees/ha spacing 2m x 2m, Mangletia glauca
1250 trees/ha spacing 2m x 2m and bamboo (Lo o) 300 trees/ha spacing 2m x 3m.
For each household plot a detailed plantation design was made showing the area to
be planted, the required spacing, quantity of planting stock needed and the planting
orientation in relation to slope. See Figure 11 for an example.
Figure 11: Fragment of plantation design map of proto-project in Hong Trung Commune
The time requirement for plantation design of the 50 plots (38 ha) including printing
maps was 10 person days of a skilled person.
An overview of all households and their planted model in the proto-project is given
in the Table 7.
Table 7: Table showing plots, households and hectares in the proto-project
Total Plots Households Hectares
Model A 22 21 16.6
Model B 6 6 4.7
Model C 22 21 16.9
Total 50 45 38.2
The fact that there are more plots (50) than households (45) is due to the fact that 5
households own two instead of one plot. The average plot size is fairly small: 0.76 ha.

33
Lessons Learned
1. We worked closely together with the Forest Inventory and Planning institute FIPI,
normally they design plantations for vast areas together with the state forest
enterprises or the district. For them it was also the first time they had to work on such
a detailed level with individual household plots of minimum 0.5 hectare. During the
selection of households and forest models it should be taken into account that project
implementation is much easier if adjacent households select the same forest model.
Apart from other scale advantages, the plantation design is much easier.
3.4. SEEDLINGS AND BUDGET
A lot of work has gone into finding the right sources of tree species seedlings. This
has been done in close cooperation with the district office of agricultural and rural
development. Seedlings were delivered to the district and distributed to the local
farmers who were participating in the project.
The budget for planting in the proto-project was 195 USD/ha for an area of 100
hectares, including planting stock, labour and fertilizer input. As approximately only
40 hectares fitted the selection criteria, only this area was planted. The whole budget
for seedlings and labour was used, however, even
though the budget was for 100 hectares because of
some serious unexpected expenses. These were:
1. Wrong assumption that seedlings could be

purchased in the province, when it turned out
this was not the case this resulted in additional
transportation costs.
2. Alteration in spacing of seedlings, resulting in

higher densities and thus additional seedlings
purchase and higher costs.
3. Miscalculation of fertilizer price in the budget.
Model adoption is expressed in Table 8 as follows.

Photo 9: Offloading seedlings by farmers
Table 8: Number of seedlings per hectare and price per in Hong Trung Commune
seedling according to planning and in reality
Model Model A Model B Model C
Plan/
Mangletia Acacia Pinus Acacia Aquilaria Mangletia Bamboo
Actual
Plan 500 1,000 500 1,000 250 250 1,000

Number of
trees/ha
Actual 1,750 750 1,750 750 1,250 1,250 300
Plan 2,547 637 2,547 637 2,547 2,547 637

VND/trees
Actual 600 350 1,500 350 5,000 600 13,000
Plan 1.3 0.6 1.3 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6

mil. VND/ha
Actual 1.1 0.3 2.6 0.3 6.3 0.8 3.9

The number of trees planted, much higher then initially planned was in all tree
models. The amount paid per labour day by the project was lowered to solve the
financial constraints that arose due to the unexpected expenses. See adaptations
in budget in Table 9. The exchange rate that is used throughout the document is
1 USD = 16,000 VND.
Table 9: Planned budget and adapted realized costs for the proto-project
regarding labour, fertilizer and seedlings
Model Plan/Actual Model A Model B Model C
Plan 40 40 40
days
Actual 70 70 70
Labour
Plan 30,000 30,000 30,000

VND/day
Actual 20,000 20,000 20,000
Plan 1.2 1.2 1.2

mil.VND/ha
Actual 1.4 1.4 1.4
Plan 200 200 200

kg/ha
Actual 250 250 280
Fertilizer
Plan 61 61 61
VND/kg
Actual 3,000 3,000 3,000
Plan 0.01 0.01 0.01

mil.VND/ha
Actual 0.75 0.75 0.84
Plan 50 50 0
area
ha
Actual 16.6 4.7 16.9
Plan 0.0 0.0 1.9

Trees
VND/ha
Actual 0.0 0.0 10.9
Plan 1.2 1.2 3.1

mil.VND/ha/
Sub total
model
Actual 2.2 2.2 13.1
Plan 76 76 195
USD/ha/model
Actual 134 134 821
Plan 121.2 P 7,576

Total
Total
mil.VND/ USD /
project project
Actual 267.5 A 16,719

35
Lessons Learned
1. Delivery of seedlings was not optimal. Several farmers had not completed site
preparation so seedlings had to be stored for a period. As nobody was prepared for
this, or took responsibility for it, the death incidence of the seedlings was relatively
high. This can be avoided in future by fine-tuning the time of delivery with the
supplier, informing the village head and commune authorities well in advance and
including seedling care in the training course (see the following paragraph)
2. Budgets and plantation cost norms must be checked very carefully in advance.
Although the budget for seedlings, fertilizer and labour prices had been discussed
and approved by the district, it would have been good to also discuss it during
the commune meeting held to present the forest models. Through such measures,
miscalculations/discrepancies can be detected earlier. Another recommendation is
to post details on labour prices on large paper sheets in the commune hall for
everybody’s reference. The adjustment regarding payment for labour (from the
planned 30,000 dong per day to 20,000 dong per day) caused misunderstanding
and disappointment among the local people.
3.5. TRAINING OF FARMERS, SITE PREPARATION AND PLANTING
Then finally came the real work: the actual planting. All members of the participating
households were encouraged to come to the training on site preparation and planting.
In particular, women household members were encouraged to come and they did.
The idea was to hold separate trainings per model, but as there were few households
that had chosen model B, only two trainings were organised: one combining model A
and B, one for model C.
During the training special attention was

given to vegetation clearing, digging
planting holes and fertilizer application.
Traditionally local people clear-cut the

vegetation, let it dry and then burn it. In
our CDM proto-project we tried to introduce
a method of vegetation clearing which did
not include burning following an existing
methodology described by RCFEE, where
large cut vegetation is used as fuel wood
and smaller pieces are put in ridges along
the contour lines in between planting rows.
When planting traditionally local people
often use small hoes, resulting in small size
Photo 10: Discussing plot design during theoretic part of planting holes; fertilizer is hardly used.
farmer training course
During the training farmers experimented
with the bigger hoes and digging planting
holes of 40 cm x 40 cm x40 cm. Farmers were trained to apply fertilizer directly after
digging the planting holes and then to leave the land for 10 days before planting the
trees in order to create optimal soil conditions at the time of planting.

Trainings, organised by the project team and OARD extensionists took one whole day
and included a theory and practice, see detailed program below:
Table 10: Programme of training course for farmers participating in the proto-project
Time of Day Activity Result
Presentation and exercises

Good understanding of
on forest trees to be planted,
the forest model, its trees
Morning –Theory part vegetation clearing, planting
and how to establish the
hole digging, fertilizer
plantation
application and planting
Experience with vegetation

Field practise to implement the clearing, planting hole
Afternoon- Practical part
learned activities digging, fertilizer application
and planting of trees.
Time requirements of the preparation of the training and organising the training
itself was one week for 2 persons: 14 days in total.
Photo 11: Training course for farmers- going to the field for the practical part
The project team has put a lot of effort into the preparation of planting and the
training of farmers on how to clear vegetation and how to plant. The actual clearing
and planting itself, however, was the responsibility of each participating household.
The project team was available for assistance throughout the planting period and
advised households whenever possible. Payments for labour to individual households
were done via the village heads. In order for the project team to keep control of
progress, and to give farmers the possibility to invest in equipment (bigger hoes)
before digging planting holes, these payments were made in three instalments:
1. Upon completion of vegetation clearing (30%)
2. Upon completion of digging planting holes (35%)
3. Upon completion of planting (35%)

37
Payments were calculated by the project team, checked by the district accountant,
approved by the steering committee and paid by the village head. Before the last
instalment was paid, a full appraisal of each plantation was done. The appraisal form
is given in Annex 3.
Lessons Learned
1. Although the training paid attention to vegetation clearing by non-burning

measures many farmers had difficulties following these guidelines due to thick
vegetation and steep slopes. It might help to ask the village head to hold a
meeting before farmers start the clearing of vegetation to remind people of the
desired process and to offer an opportunity for additional questions. In addition,
realistic alternatives for burning need to be found for very steep areas.
2. Most of the planting holes were not dug following the design; some holes were
very small, shallow, and very close to each other. There were very few households
who kept to the standard. A recommendation is to pay even more attention to
the standard during the training including making people aware of the difference
in future yield between well dug and badly dug planting holes through visual
material. It could be readdressed during the suggested vegetation clearing village
meeting organised by the village head.
3.6. SET-UP FOREST CLUBS
To cater for the need for fire protection, carbon monitoring and future market access
the project plans to set-up forest clubs. The members of such a club, around 10
per club, can assist each other with the various aspects of forest management. The
organisational principle of these clubs will be their plantation model to ensure optimal
benefit in monitoring and marketing of products, resulting in three clubs one for each
model. Some characteristics:
a) Participants: All households participating in Rung Vang proto- project can become
member of the club
b) Initiators: Heads of villages, and inhabitants with good knowledge of the programme.
Brainstorm with them about the interest/ benefit of setting up the clubs and assist
in organising a village meeting to inform all other participants about the possibility
of the clubs and potential membership.
c) Approving the list of members per club and electing the club chairperson and
secretary by voting.
d) Discussing and writing up the rules and regulations for the official operation of
the club during a meeting by all members together. During the official inaugural
meeting, the commune leaders and guests can be invited to make speeches. After
this meeting, all the documents and minutes are to be put together as a file to
report to the local authority, so the club can be recognized and issued the permit
for the club operation.
e) Organising activities such as fire-prevention, carbon monitoring training and

weeding campaigns.

Photo 12: Pa Co farmers in traditional dress on the occasion of issuance of land-right certificates (photo Bengt van Loosdrecht)
4. CARBON CALCULATIONS
Throughout the set-up of this proto-project the aim has been to let the planted
hectares dissolve into a full-scale AR-CDM project in the district. For this full-scale
project a Project Idea Note (PIN) was made and the data have been gathered for the
next step: writing the Project Design Document (PDD). The process of submitting
these documents to the appropriate authorities will be discussed in detail in the next
chapter.
Calculating the GHG emission reduction potential of the reforestation in the project
is a difficult undertaking. In general, growth tables of indigenous species planted in
Vietnam are very scarce. In addition the data to calculate the carbon content of the
existing vegetation were gathered at the time of preparation of the proto-project,
now almost more than one year ago (May 2005). At that time no methodology had
been approved by UNFCCC to do the calculation.
In this chapter we will show as best as possible which methodology can be used, how
calculations can be made, what data needs to be collected and what major steps lie
ahead in the process of developing the full-scale AR-CDM project.
Special attention is also paid to the role of the farmer and the benefits to him/her
when engaging in a carbon project.
Photo 13: Overview of area to be allocated, patchwork of

different stages of rotational extensive agricultural use
4.1. SELECTION OF BASELINE METHODOLOGY
To quantify the amount of GHG emission reduced through the reforestation project,
a methodology approved by the UNFCCC needs to be used. Such a methodology
describes the way to calculate the carbon scenario without the project – the ‘baseline
scenario’- and the carbon scenario with the project – the ‘project scenario’.
In essence each methodology will provide detailed instructions how to calculate:

CAR-CDM = CActual - CBaseline - Leakage See table 11 for explanation.

41
Table 11: Explanation of Units in main carbon calculations
Net GHG removals by forest of

CAR-CDM In tonnes CO2 equivalent/ year
an AR-CDM project activity
Actual net GHG removals by

CACTUAL In tonnes CO2 equivalent/ year
forest
Baseline net GHG removals

CBASELINE In tonnes CO2 equivalent/ year
by current vegetation
Direct or indirect GHG emissions

LEAKAGE In tonnes CO2 equivalent/ year
through the reforestation activity
As there is, as of date only one baseline methodology approved, we only screened
our project to the application criteria of this methodology: AR-AM0001 Reforestation
of degraded land12. In the meantime several AR-CDM methodologies have been
submitted to the UNFCCC, it is expected more will be approved soon. If no
methodology is considered fit to your specific project conditions, a new methodology
will need to be written and submitted to the UNFCCC for approval.
The AR-AM0001 methodology is applicable to project activities with nine conditions

see table 12 (simplified, check official text for reference)13:
Table 12: Application criteria for the Afforestation/ Reforestation Approved

Methodology 0001 (AR-AM0001) and the conditions in Rung Vang project
Applicability Criterion
No Condition Rung Vang
AR-AM0001
True, through reforestation the heavily

degraded hills will deliver more goods
Reforested land can provide the same
1 and services from agro-forestry and
amounts of goods & services as before.
mixed forestry systems than the
marginal current agriculture yields.
True, lands are heavily degraded; trees

never reach maturity because of the
Lands to be reforested are severely cyclical burning. Thus crown cover <
2 degraded and the vegetation indicators 30% and tree height is generally less
are below thresholds for defining forests. then 3 m14. Only some scattered trees
are present, for the rest the existing
vegetation consists of grasses and shrubs.
12 http://cdm.unfccc.int/UserManagement/FileStorage/CDMWF_AM_
XDGPPW00IY89H1O2TTXPL6LXKTH7UM
13 See web link to document above.
14 See official CDM definition range of forests at http://cdm.unfccc.int/DNA/ARDNA. html?CID=233

True, through initial heavy disturbance
by spraying and carpet bombing in
Environmental conditions and human- the war and subsequent decades of
caused degradation do not permit rotational burning and unsustainable
3
the encroachment of natural forest use, the area is heavily degraded. The
vegetation. seed bank and soil structure has been
destroyed and unsustainable land use is
continuing.
Lands will be reforested by direct True, farmers will reforest their own
4
planting and/or seeding. plantation through direct planting.
Site preparation does not cause True, as discussed the project seeks to
5 significant longer term net emissions introduce vegetation clearing methods
from soil carbon. that are the least carbon emitting.
True, farmers will harvest their trees,

Plantation may be harvested with
the exotic fast-growing species on short
either short or long rotation and will be
6 term and the indigenous species on the
regenerated either by direct planting or
long term. Plantations will be replanted
natural sprouting.
through direct planting.
True, soil carbon content is expected

to increase because of reforestation,
Soil carbon content does not decrease
7 as currently the heavily degraded and
through the project.
eroded soils with little vegetation do not
store a lot of carbon.
True, cattle is grazed in the lowlands and

Grazing will not occur within the project not in the uplands were the project is
8
boundary. implemented. Plantations will be fenced
if grazing occurs in a particular area.
True, without land allocation, technical

The assumption that the area would knowledge on reforestation and access
remain degraded in the absence of the to credit, these lands would not be
9
project is the most appropriate choice for reforested by local people. Being heavily
determination of the baseline scenario. degraded these lands are not attractive
for commercial investors.
As our project seems to fulfil the AR-AM0001 application requirements, we use this
methodology. The list of data required to use this baseline is extensive and given
in Annex 5. The district office of agriculture and rural development assisted by the
project team is responsible for gathering these data for the full-scale project.
When calculating the baseline and project carbon scenario two concepts are extremely
important:
Transparency: Meaning that all sources of data and methodologies that are used are clearly
stated and can be traced and used for re-calculation by others.

43
Conservativeness: Meaning that all calculations result in a correct estimate or
underestimate of the emission reduction claimed and in no case in an overestimation.
Another relevant specific aspect of the AR-AM0001 methodology is that all non-
tree species in the existing vegetation are not included in the baseline or project
scenario:
Table 13: Carbon pools included in AR-AM0001 methodology
Carbon Pool Included in AR-AM0001
Above ground biomass Yes
Below ground biomass Yes
Dead wood No
Litter No
Soil organic carbon No
This results in baseline and project scenario calculations that can leave soil, herbs,
grasses, shrubs, litter and soil organic carbon out. Carbon content of grasses, herbs,
shrubs and even soil carbon are put at zero. As the methodology is only applicable to
heavily degraded land, carbon in these pools is expected to be relatively little in the
baseline scenario compared to the project scenario. It is regarded as conservative and
simplifies the calculation considerably.
Leakage in the AR-AM0001 methodology is calculated through adding the GHG

emissions caused by vehicle fossil fuel combustion due to the transportation of
seedlings, labour, staff and harvest products to and/or from project sites. Other
sources of leakage are not taken into account on basis of the assumptions that:
- Agricultural or pastoral activities will not be displaced from the project sites to
other locations.
- Similarly, the AR-CDM project activity will not result in any reduction of
reforestation activities or increasing of deforestation activities outside of the
project boundary.
In the project agricultural land is converted to (agro-) forestry land thus: to prove
that leakage would not occur, the remaining agricultural + forestry land has to offer
the same or more agricultural production. In our project area, intensification of
agriculture coincides with reforestation.
4.2. FIRST CARBON DATA GATHERED
In preparation of the proto-project, during the site-species matching study RCFEE

has also done preliminary carbon quantification of the existing vegetation. The results
show that the current vegetation has an average emission reduction potential of
39 tCO2 equivalent/ ha, see table 14.

Table 14: Carbon content of baseline vegetation in project area
Carbon content (tC/ha) Annual GHG

Carbon emission
Stems/ conten reduction
Shrub
woody Grasses Roots (tC/ha) (tCo2eq./
leafs
parts ha/)
e=
No Vegetation type a b c d
(a+b+c+d)
Burned Erianthus and

1 0 0 1.62 7.43 9.05 33.49
arunarundinaceus
2 Imperata cylindrica 0.54 0 1.84 4.15 6.53 24.16
3 Erianthus arundinaceus 0 0 1.95 11.48 13.43 49.69
4 Asarum spp. 0.6 0 3.25 5.44 9.29 34.37
Shrubs, prodominantly
Melastoma candidum
5 6.02 0.89 0.48 6.48 13.87 51.32
and Rhodomyrtus
tomentosa
Average 38.61
Photo 14: Picture of the vegetation baseline in the project area
In the same study the first estimates of GHG emission reduction through
reforestation are given based on representative yield data from the region of the
project area. Annual carbon sequestration or GHG emission reduction potential
through reforestation currently happening in the region, ranges from 7 to 18 tCO2
equivalent per ha per year, see Table 15.

45
Table 15: Carbon storage potential through reforestation expressed in Green
House Gas emission reduction
Annual Annual GHG

Density carbon emission
Age
(tree/ Carbon content (kgC/tree) content per reduction
(yr)
ha) hectare (tC/ (tCO2eq./ha/
ha/yr) năm)
h= g*3.7 (3.7
g=(c+d+e+f)
Tree species a b c d e f = C->CO2
*b/a/1,000
conversion factor)
Stem Branch Leaf Root
8 2,000 5.68 1.64 0.88 2.34 2.63 9.75

Cinamomum
cassia 17 2,000 7.26 34.48 3.06 3.82 5.72 21.16
17 2,000 6.67 1.61 1.18 3.04 1.47 5.44
Average 14 2,000 6.5 12.6 1.7 3.1 3.3 12.1
12 600 7.55 1.60 1.59 2.06 0.64 2.37

Pinus kesvia
15 1,200 51.55 4.36 3.39 5.01 5.14 19.03
18 1,200 62.16 5.15 3.55 4.20 5.00 18.51
Average 15 1,000 40.4 3.7 2.8 3.8 3.6 13.3
7 950 10.40 1.74 0.69 1.40 1.93 7.15

Acacia
mangium
(when mixed 12 850 13.29 6.75 4.00 1.63 1.82 6.73
with honea
odorata)
17 700 57.00 35.56 4.57 18.83 4.77 17.67
Average 12 833 26.9 14.7 3.1 7.3 2.8 10.5
Acacia 4 600 8.45 3.64 4.55 4.40 3.16 11.68

mangium
(when mixed 4 620 4.60 0.99 1.48 1.35 1.30 4.83
with honea
odorata) 4 640 3.60 0.86 1.83 1.21 1.20 4.44
Average 4 620 5.5 1.8 2.6 2.3 1.9 7.0
3 1,450 7.04 1.32 1.73 2.29 5.96 22.13
Acacia hybrid 3 1,500 2.59 0.64 0.74 0.93 2.45 9.07
3 1,500 6.37 1.36 1.75 1.83 5.56 20.92
Average 3 1,483 5.3 1.1 1.4 1.7 4.7 17.4

With progressive insight we can say that this carbon study was only just the
beginning. For various reasons the forestry models chosen have changed as the
project was implemented. Only with the AR-AM0001 approved data requirements for
the baseline scenario did they become definitely clear. Calculations of GHG emission
reduction based on these data are thus inaccurate. Extra difficulties arise through the
fact that:
a) The baseline data do not include individual scattered trees, but only carbon
quantification of the grass and shrub layer which can be put at zero in AR-
AM001.
b) There are no growth models or carbon data on Aquilaria crassna, Mangletia glauca
or bamboo available.
c) Detailed stratification of the project area will presumably show a correlation between
baseline vegetation type and the best suitable reforestation model. Although the
choice of model will not depend solely on suitability but mainly on farmer’s wishes,
this correlation can be used to predict the carbon project scenario.
d) We have no data on leakage. In future this will be done by measuring fuel

consumption of transport during the activities of the project.
Taking all these serious limitations into account we would still like to present the
calculations for educational purposes. Based on the data, GHG emission reduction
through planting Model B Pinus keysia mixed with Acacia mangium would be 30 tCO2
equivalent per hectare per year, see table 16.
Table 16: Example of carbon storage expressed in Green House Gas emission
reduction for Model B Pinus keysia mixed with Acacia mangium
Baseline Net annual
Best estimates Annual GHG
GHG GHG
based on emission Project
Density emission emission
existing data reduction duration
(tree/ha) reduction reduction
(only for (tCo2eq./ha/ (yr)
(tCo2eq./ (tCo2eq./
Model B) vr)
ha) RCFEE ha/yr)
Rung Rung Rung
RCFEE REFEE REFEE Rung Vang
Vang Vang Vang
d= c*
a b c f g h=e-(g/f)
(b/a)
Pinus kesyia 1,000 1,750 13 23
Acacia mangium 620 750 7 8
Total for
31 30 38.6 30
Model B
4.3. NEXT STEPS IN FULL-SCALE AR-CDM PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

A Luoi district wants to merge reforestation efforts of different organisations (ADB,
JBIC, World Bank, etc.) into one 5000 ha reforestation programme. This will make a
big contribution to the sustainable development of the district, as the forestry sector
potential is underutilized. The intention of making use of the CDM in this 5000 ha
programme makes it innovative in Vietnam and the region.

47
In order to design a sound reforestation project, the detailed design of the following
components should be a priority:
- Financial basis of the project and loan structure to farmers
- Available land and allocation process
- Decision on forest models
- Planting stock and nurseries
The next step in the process for the CDM component would be to write a Project Design
Document (PDD)15 using the AR-AM0001 methodology for the GHG reduction calculations.
The major activities at district level that remain to be done for this PDD are:
a) Define the rough project boundary of the 5000 hectares; take GPS coordinates
of the zones in which land allocation will take place and upload all data in a
Geographical Information System (GIS).
b) Check eligibility of the land within the project boundary; updating the Kyoto Land
map of the whole area with maps of 2005.
c) Stratify the area following AR-AM0001; Previously used criteria for site-suitability
(slope, vegetation status, soil depth, soil texture, elevation and rainfall) can be the
basis for this stratification.
d) Sample the current vegetation following AR-AM0001; measure carbon content

focussing on standing trees in different stages in the current rotational land use
and establishing control plots.
e) Establish the baseline scenario following AR-AM0001; combine stratification and

carbon sampling in a GIS.
f) Decide upon the legal entity submitting the project.
4.4. ADDITIONALITY
One of the most difficult aspects of the CDM is often said to be the additionality
criterion. This means that only emission reductions resulting from the project activity,
that are additional to any that would occur in the absence of the certified project
activity16 can be claimed. An example of not meeting the additionality criterion would
be to claim carbon credits for a reforestation activity that has long been planned
and has sufficient budget to be implemented. Rigid interpretation of this criterion is
that for each project activity proof should be given that the project activity could not
happen without the use of the CDM. Luckily the UNFCCC provides an approved tool
to assess additionality17.
In the case of the full-scale AR-CDM project in A Luoi, argumentation of additionality

can be based on:
15 ARCDM PDD Format downloadable at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/Reference/Documents/cdm_ar_pdd/

English/CDM_AR_PDD.doc Guidelines for AR CDM PDD downloadable at: http://cdm.unfccc.int/
Reference/Documents/Guidel_Pdd_AR/English/Guidlines_CDM-AR-PDD_AR-NM.pdf
16 See Article 12 paragraph 5c of the Kyoto Protocol.
17 Link to additionality tool: http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/PAmethodologies/AdditionalityTools/
Additionality_tool.pdf

a) Lack of matching credit available; currently loans have to be paid back in two
years and are geared to agricultural activities. Without clear land entitlement
small-holders also have no collateral to take a loan. CDM levers land allocation.
Investment comparison analysis shows an IRR operating cashflow without CDM =
12% and IRR operation cash flow with CDM = 22%.
b) Knowledge on indigenous species and capacity of local forestry extension needs to

be enhanced to implement the project.
c) Supporting individual poor ethnic farmers in mountainous areas to start an

economically viable plantation in forestry is the “first of its kind” in Hue province.
Indigenous species are hardly ever planted. The whole sector focuses on fast-
growing species for the pulp and paper industry.
One of the recurring issues in Vietnam is the question of whether the national Five
Million Hectare Reforestation Plan (5MHRP) is jeopardizing CDM additionality, because
in theory most barren land in Vietnam is planned to be reforested. Some serious
arguments against this are that the 5MHRP:
- Has insufficient budget to be implemented
- Has no localisation, no specifically assigned areas
- Is shown in a recent evaluation to need drastic revision18
4.5. BENEFITS OF CDM
The key of this whole effort is of course the final benefit of the CDM. In the following
matrix an overview is given of the expected benefits:
Table 17: Matrix of expected benefits of Rung Vang project < = less, > = more
Meso (district and Marco (national and

Micro (farmer level)
provincial) global)
< vulnerability < risk of land-slides and > vital forestry sector
Informal
erosion
> women empowerment > biodiversity
< pressure on natural
> knowledge level forests and illegal logging > local governance
> grass-root democracy > enhanced scenic beauty
> family income > wood-production > forest coverage (MDG 7)
> land ownership and > employment opportunities > carbon credit generation
Formal
credit
> water retension capacity < dependency of ethinical
> fuelwood, construction of the soil and less poor people on
wood and agricultural damage through erosion government schemes
produce
> environmental awareness < risk of global warming
18 Report submitted to the national assembly: implementation progress of five million hectare
afforestation program in 2005 and objective, solution for the period of 2006 – 2010

49
In the case of Rung Vang the benefits to the farmers that engage in reforestation
of their land are especially interesting. As stated before, through CDM requires land
rights are clearly allocated. The official land-right certificate provides the farmers with
collateral to take a loan. Through CDM the farmer has an extra product to sell: the
certified emission reduction (CER). In fact they “grow” carbon. Through the revenues
the farmer can repay his/her loan more quickly and through the timing of CER sales in
between timber harvest his/her cash flow will be more even (which is more favourable
for loan repayment). As GHG emission reductions can’t be calculated exactly with
the current data, it is also not possible to calculate detailed cash flow. However an
example of potential differences in cash flow through CDM is given in Figure 12. Here
we see the difference in cash flow between a farmer that engages in reforestation
without a loan, with a loan, with a loan and making use of the CDM.
Figure 12: Cash flow of household forestry plantation, compared in case the household
did not take a loan, did take a loan and engaged in carbon storage
35.0
No Loan
30.0
25.0 With Loan
20.0 Loan & CDM
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
-5.0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
-10.0
25.0
4.6. FIRE CONTROL, CARBON ACCOUNTING AND MODALITY FOR CARBON SALE
In the previous chapter we have explained the intention to set up forest clubs. These
clubs would form a suitable body for the efficient provision of training in forest fire
prevention. Currently such trainings are organised in A Luoi district with the help of
WWF.
The forest club can also conduct the grass-roots level monitoring of the carbon in
their plantations. The AR-AM0001 baseline methodology comes with a monitoring
methodology, extensive fieldwork could be done by the forest clubs verified
through a sample check by an independent local research institute. Extensive
experience with local communities monitoring their emission reductions in a way
that promotes sustainable livelihoods is gained through the Plan Vivo System in
Mexico, Uganda and Mozambique19. It is intended to look whether these concepts
can be useful in A Luoi.
19 http://www.planvivo.org/index.html

Although each household grows its
own carbon, the sale of CERs will have
to be done with all farmers in A Luoi
combined with the assistance of the
forest club. For this to be successful, it
is necessary that the farmers in the AR-
CDM project activity are represented by
a body that can negotiate on their behalf.
Requirements for such a body, individuals
and the process are:
Photo 15: Small holder plantation farmer explains

about his mixed forestry system: Model C
Table 18: Requirements for intermediate body responsible for carbon sale of
Rung Vang project
Necessary skills for

Criteria for institution Process requirements
individuals
Represent the farmers in the

Understand market principle Farmer information meeting
AR-CDM project activity
Long-term commitment (now Understand basics UNFCCC- Farmers decide moment of

– 30 years) Kyoto Protocol-CDM selling
Hire independent consultant

Incentive to sell CER for the High acceptance level at for up to date market
highest price farmers information regarding price
and potential buyers
Good communication,
Legal entity; able to sign on Negotiate with potential
networking and negotiation
behalf of the farmers buyers
skills
Knowledge of English Farmers decide which offer

Holder of bank account
advantageous to accept
Able to coordinate decision

Transaction set into motion
process with the farmer
Distribution of revenues to
Able to keep contact with the
individual farmers or loan
bank
institution

51
5. AR-CDM IN VIETNAM
In this chapter there is firstly a brief description of the theoretical CDM project
procedures Vietnam, followed by a description of the experiences of Rung Vang
project so far. After that specific bottlenecks in development of AR-CDM in Vietnam
will be discussed.
In Vietnam all CDM projects should be approved by the CDM National Authority
(CNA) under the Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment (MONRE). In order
to get approval the project developer submits first a Project Idea Note (PIN)20 and
subsequently a Project Design Document (PDD) to CNA. These are screened by
the National Executive and Consultative Board (CNECB) with representatives of 8
ministries and VUSTA21. If all is found to be in line with Vietnamese policy and it fulfils
the sustainability criteria, the project process cycle ends with the issuance of a host
country approval letter. With that letter the project can enter the international CDM
project pipeline of the UNFCCC. For all this information, please visit the CNA office or
their website22.
Photo 16: Discussing carbon potential of native species, from left to right:
Claudia Doets, Mr Le Viet Tam and Mr Ho Hy
20 A regular used format for a PIN is that of the BioCarbon Fund of the WorldBank. It can be
downloaded at: http://carbonfinance.org/Router.?Page=DocLib&CatalogID=7110
21 Vietnam Union of Science an Technology Association, the umbrella organisation for many (N)GO’s
22 57, Nguyen Du - Hanoi, Telephone: ++84(0)48228974 www.noccop.org.vn

53
Figure 13: Timeline of PIN AR-CDM PIN to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development and the CDM National Authority
Figure 13 shows the process cycle of the Rung Vang PIN. The project first submitted
their PIN in March 2005; recently, in March 2006, the project obtained a supporting
letter from MARD. The PIN was then submitted to the CNA and we received
endorsement on the 5th of June 2006. Now we can prepare the PDD and submit it
for detailed screening.
Regular CDM projects (not AR-CDM) seem to be screened continuously with fewer
problems than AR-CDM projects. In Vietnam, as in most countries, the forestry sector
lags behind regarding CDM procedures.
As stated in the beginning of this document the hypothetical potential of AR-CDM in

Vietnam is quite large (14% of the country area: 45,700 km2 ≈ 4.6 mil. ha). Many
potential foreign investors, like JIFPRO23 and POSCO24 have shown interest in funding
AR-CDM projects in Vietnam.
Our analysis of the bottlenecks in AR-CDM development in Vietnam is:
a) Persistent myths at the Vietnamese side of revenue from CER. Many people
expect lots of money from CDM, much more than the realistic covering of 10 -20
% of the project investment in forestry. This results in few realistic expectations,
planning and project ideas.
b) Lack of clarity at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The

CNA has officially requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to
do a pre-screening of AR-CDM projects before the CNA takes PIN’s or PDD’s into
their process cycle. Through the heavy workload of the Department of Forestry
their staff cannot devote much attention to this issue and no screening process
is in place. In addition there is confusion about what the role of the Government
is in AR-CDM and what the division of responsibilities should be between the
23 http://www.jifpro.or.jp/
24 http://www.posco.co.kr/homepage/docs/en/s91a0010001i.jsp

Department of Forestry and the International Cooperation Department in this
relatively new area. The intention is to install an AR-CDM National Working
Group that can work out these issues, however the set-up of this group has been
delayed.
c) Lack of access to information for project developers. The spatial data

and land-use data necessary to develop AR-CDM project activities is not easily
accessible in Vietnam. Data that can be obtained is of often of variable quality.
d) The process of issuing Land-right certificates for forestry land is relatively

new. Thus in many potential AR-CDM areas land rights are not clear. As clear land
rights are vital to use the CDM, project design is much more tedious and lengthy
when this has to be first established.
Photo 17: Official speech by Mr Tru of the Forest Protection Unit A Luoi
during land-right certificate issuance (photo Bengt van Loosdrecht)

55
6. LESSONS LEARNED & TIME
REQUIREMENTS
In this chapter we would like to give an overview of all the discussed lessons learned
and time requirements.
Lessons learned in summary:
Tree species selection and vegetation clearing
• It is of vital importance to pay a lot of attention to the acceptance of forestry

models at local level. There is interest at District and local level in experimenting
with mixed plantations, alternatives however should be very financially
attractive.
• Realistic alternatives for burning need to be found for very steep areas.
Allocation and mapping of forest plots
• Allocation of larger plots and land consolidation should be considered more

seriously, it would be beneficial for households and it would facilitate more
efficient mapping and plantation design.
• To prevent land conflict after land allocation we strongly recommend using

GPS measurements and digital mapping from the very beginning during land
allocation (the LUPLA process) and not only during reforestation and plantation
design.
• Plots can only be marked when the owner is present, otherwise the risk of
measuring the plot incorrectly or experiencing conflict afterwards is high.
• Alternatives for plastic pipe markers need to be considered. It is difficult,

however, to come up with an alternative for plastic pipes that is not prohibitively
expensive.
Training of farmers in reforestation
• Village heads can be play an important role in reforestation along with

households. When well informed in advance they can guide follow-up of village
meetings and can provide trouble shooting advice throughout the process.
• Rights and duties should be explained with more practical examples to

local households. For instance the off-loading and storage of seedlings was
problematic because in the early stage local people didn’t feel responsible for
the protection of the young trees.
• Although the training paid attention to vegetation clearing by non-burning

measures many farmers had difficulties following these guidelines due to thick

57
vegetation and steep slopes. Ask the village head to hold a meeting before
farmers starts the clearing of vegetation to remind people of the desired
process and to offer an opportunity for additional questions.
• Most of the planting holes were not dug following the standard design. A
possible solution is to pay even more attention to it during the training, using
visual material, in order to make people aware of the difference in future yield
between well dug and badly dug planting holes. It could be readdressed during
the suggested vegetation clearing village meeting organised by the village head
for extra reinforcement.
Data management
• A lot of data is gathered during the process of site-species mapping, household

selection and plot measuring, it is vital to have a structured archiving system, to
keep final versions of selections, and to map separately from the intermediate
version otherwise a lot of extra work is needed to sort out the data at the end
when the final database is made.
Budget
• Budgets and plantation cost norms must be checked very carefully in advance.
Discuss budgets during the commune meetings held to present the forest
models and post details on labour prices on large paper sheets in the commune
hall for everybody’s reference.
Photo 18: First tree to be planted in Rung Vang project during training course

Time requirements
An overview of discussed time requirements is given in Table 19. We also added expected
time requirements for finalising the CDM component of the full-scale project.
Table 19: Time requirements for different components AR-CDM project
Activity Time Requirement Skills/ Experience
Making a Kyoto land map of an

10 person days MapInfo knowledge
area
40 person days (expected

Site-species matching (inclusive
to be shorter for future Scientific methods
first carbon calculations)
projects)
Experience with
Household selection 15 days for process
participative processes
GPS and MapInfo

Marking plots 30 person days (for 50 plots)
knowledge
Plantation design 10 person days (for 50 plots) MapInfo knowledge
14 person days (for 2

Training Extension skills
trainings)
Experience with
Setting up of forest farmer clubs 10 person days (estimate)
participative processes
Submitting PIN to CNA for 1 year (expected to be

Patience
approval shorter for future projects)
Gathering data for PDD 40 days for process Scientific methods
Writing PDD 20 person days Expert CDM knowledge
Submitting PDD for approval to

2 months for process
CNA/ Verification
Registration UNFCCC 3 months

59
7. REFERENCES - FURTHER READING
7.1. INTERNET LINKS
http://www.unfccc.int/2860.php The official UNFCCC website offering all the formats,

regulations, methodologies, etc.
http://www.cd4cdm.org Capacity Development for CDM by UNEP is a 4-year project

on capacity development for the CDM with funding from the government of the
Netherlands. In particular, the CDM pipeline overview and the guidebooks are very
useful.
http://www.pointcarbon.com Point Carbon is the news site about Carbon Market

developments with the latest price information and analyses.
http://www.iges.or.jp/en/cp/index.html Institute for Global Environmental Studies:

Climate Policy with the mission to evaluate and recommend pragmatic climate policies
for sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region in an era of evolving global
climate regime.
http://www.greenpowerconferences.com/index.htm Green Power Conferences

provides information on many carbon market meetings.
http://www.carbonfinance.org The World Bank Carbon Finance Unit (CFU) uses

money contributed by governments and companies in OECD countries to purchase
project-based greenhouse gas emission reductions.
http://www.csi.cgiar.org/encofor/forest/index_res.asp “Kyoto Land” analysis tool by

Encofor showing implications of Forest Definition on Land Area Eligible for CDM-AR.
http://dtn.com.vn/prototype/rcfeeen/ Research Centre for Forest Environment

and Ecology, an independent research organization under Forest Science Institute
of Vietnam (FSIV). It addresses the need for creating and transforming scientific
research into ecologically and ecolonomically sound solutions for forest conservation
and development.
http://www.noccop.org.vn CDM National Authority of Vietnam under the Ministry of

Natural Resources and Environment
http://www.planvivo.org.index.html Plan Vivo System where local communities

engage in emission reduction in a way that promotes sustainable livelihoods.
http://www.tiempocyberclimate.org/newswatch/index.htm “Tiempo Climate Newswatch”

is a weekly magazine covering Climate and Development, including a wealth of
resources
http://www.sinkswatch.org Sinkswatch is an international NGO initiative to track and

scrutinize carbon sink projects. The focus of SinksWatch is on tree plantation sinks projects,
particularly in areas where land tenure and land use rights are not well settled.

61
7.2. REFERENCES OF BOOKS
Bui Huu, M. 2006. Huong Dan Su Dung MapInfo Professional version 7.0. Hanoi,
Vietnam, Nha Xuat Ban Khoa Hoc Va Ky Thuat, 393p.
Doets, C. and Le Viet Tam. Case Study Land Use Planning and Land Allocation. 2005.
SNV. Downloadable at www.snvworld.org
Hanh, D.; Michaelowa, A.; de Jong, F. 2005. From GHGs Abatement Potential To
Viable CDM Projects – The Cases Of Cambodia, Lao PDR And Vietnam.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Good Practice Guidance for Land Use,
Land-Use Change and Forestry, 2004. IGES.
Jaakko Poyry. 2002. Vietnam CDM Green Fund Feasibility Study Part 1A Prepared for
Nissho Iwai Research Institute.
Robertson, N.; Wunder, S. 2005. Fresh tracks in the forest: assessing incipient
payments for environmental services initiatives in Bolivia. Bogor, Indonesia, CIFOR.
xii, 137p.
Van der Meulen, F. 2005. Timber market study of Thua Thien Hue province and Da
Nang. SNV Vietnam. Downloadable at www.snv.org.vn
Vu Tan, Phuong; Ngo Dinh, Que. 2005. Report on Site – Species Selection and Baseline
Carbon Quantification for Pilot Area of Rung Vang Reforestation and Carbon Project in
A Luoi district – Thua Thien Hue, Hanoi, RCFEE.

ANNEX A
Full questionnaire for baseline survey of Environmental and Socio-Economic Impact
Assessment
QUESTIONNAIRE
SNV Netherlands
A Luoi Rung Vang Reforestation Project
HOUSEHOLD SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
A Luoi District
Survey Identification Number: ____________ Interviewer: ________________

___________________________________________________________________
Respondent Identification Information:
Name of Respondent: _______Commune: ________Hamlet________________
Name of Husband/Wife: ________________Date of Interview: ___/___/____
Introduction: [Surveyor please begin by introducing yourself.]
As you might know, currently SNV Netherlands and the District People’s Committee of A
Luoi are setting up the “Rừng Vàng” (Golden Forest) project. The “Rừng Vàng” project
is a reforestation project in A Luoi district with the aim both to improve livelihood
conditions and to improve sustainable forest related opportunities.
On behalf of the SNV Netherlands we are conducting a first assessment on the

environmental and economical conditions. The focus will be on motivating your
households to participate in the project, your current economic situation and the
possible impact on the environment.
We would like to request your participation today in the “Rừng Vàng” project by
completing the following questionnaire. The survey should take no more than half an
hour to complete.
Thank you for participating in this survey.
Instructions on Completing the Survey:
Respondents are requested to answer the questions by selecting the appropriate

answer to the questions the interviewer will enter the answer into the box on the
right side of the page.

63
Section One: Basic Information
1.0 What is your ethnicity?
1 = Pa Co 3 = Kinh (Viet) 5 = Cham □

2 = Ta Oi 4 = Khmer 6 = Other, ………
2.0 When did your household settle in this commune/area?
1 = First generation 3 = parents of parents 99 =Don’t know □

2 = Parents 4 = older generations
3.0 Has Land been allocated to your household?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
(If yes, continue with version A) (If no, continue with version B)
VERSION B (NOT YET ALLOCATED)
Section One: Basic Information
6.0 How many persons are there in your household? Number of persons:
Adults – 16 years of age or older □

Children – 15 years of age or younger □
7.0 What is your education level?
1= have never attended school
2 = have completed some years of primary school
3 = have completed primary school
4 = have completed some years of secondary school training or university education
5 = have completed secondary school
6 = have attended some years of high school
7 = have completed high school
8 = have completed some years of vocational
Adult education level Children education level

1. 1.
2. 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.

Section Two: Socio-economic baseline
8.0 How many persons in your household do earn an income?

Number of persons: □
9.0 How much agricultural land do you have?
1 = 1 ha or less 4 = > 2 – 3 ha 0 = none (go to 10.0) □

2 = > 1 – 2 ha 5 = > 3 ha
10.0 What crops do you grow on the agricultural land?
10.1 Do you sell any of these products (which?) and is it is difficult to sell
them?
Grow Sell Diff
10.01 cassava □ □ □
10.02 bananas □ □ □
10.03 bamboo □ □ □
10.04 fruit trees
Grow Sell Diff
10.05 rice □ □ □
10.06 cardamom □ □ □
Grow Sell Diff
10.07 coffee □ □ □
10.08 □ □ □
11.0 Where do you sell your products?
1 = at a market 3 = at home 0 = none (go to 10.0) □

2 = to a salesman 4 = other …..
12.0 What is the yearly estimated income of the household for annual
crops?
1 = 100.000 VND or less □

2 = > 100.000 – 250.000 VND
3 = > 250.000 – 500.000 VND
4 = > 500.000 – 750.000 VND
5 = > 750.000 – 1.000.000 VND
6 = > 1.000.000 – 1.500.000 VND

65
7 = > 1.500,000 VND
99 = don’t know
13.0 Do you have other income sources apart from the annual crop income?
1 = Yes 0 = No
(If yes, go to 13.1) (If no, go to 14.0)
13.1 If yes, What do you estimate the yearly income of off-farm employment?
1 = 3.000.000 VND or less
2 = > 3.000.000 – 6.000.000 VNĐ
3 = > 6.000.000 – 9.000.000 VND
4 = > 9.000.000 – 12.000. 000 VND
5 = > 12.000.000 VND
99 = don’t know
14.0 Do you have a stable income the whole year long?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
(If yes, continue q. 14.2) (If no, continue q. 14.1)
14.1 What could be the reason of the unstable income?
1. Loss of annual production, due to bad harvest/climate □

2. Dependence only on agricultural and forestry production □
3. No market place, or only able to sell products at a low price □
4. Lack of capital to invest in fertilizers, technology etc. □
5. Family circumstances: Disease, children etc. □
14.2 Do you feel there are circumstances which have influenced your income
level negatively?
1. Loss of annual production, due to bad harvest/climate □
2. Dependence only on agricultural and forestry production □
3. No market place, or only able to sell products at a low price □
4. Lack of capital to invest in fertilizers, technology etc. □
5. Family circumstances: Disease, children etc. □

Section Three: environmental baseline
“What use is the natural forest to your household?”
15.0 Do you collect timber?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
(If Yes, continue q.15.1)
15.1 For what use do you collect timber?
15.2 Can you estimate how much timber you collect from the natural forest monthly?
Usage Amount
15.01 firewood □ … M³ / … baskets a day
15.02 for house □ … M³
15.03 for furniture □ … M³
15.04 sellable timber □ … M³ / … baskets a day
15.05 □ … M³ / … baskets a day
15.99 don’t know □

16.0 Do you collect other products, except the timber, from the forest?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
16.1 Which NTFPs do you collect?
16.2 Can you estimate how much NTFPs you collect from the natural forest monthly?
16.3 Do you know a market place for NTFPs, where you can sell these products?
16.4 Who sells these products?
Market
Collection Details Amount Sold by
Place
16.01 fruits □ □
16.02 mushrooms □ □
16.03 bamboo & rattan □ □
16.04 herbs □ □
16.05 other □ □
16.06 none □ □
16.99 don’t know □ □

67
Section Four: Expectations
17.0 Is there time available among household members in order to manage

a forest and its resources?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
18.0 By participating in the Rung Vang project it is possible to receive forest
land for personal/household use. Would you be interested in an allocation of
forest land to your household which would give you the possibility to and the
responsibility of managing a part of the forest for 50 years?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
23.0 What plans or ideas do you have about how you will use the land you
may receive?
Open question with Selection of the desired distribution

24.0 What kind of trees would you like to grow on the new land?
Yes Comment
24.1 = acacia auriculiformus

(keo bong vang/ keo tai tuong) □
24.2 = aquilaria crassna (tram huong/ gio do bau) □
24.3 = cinnamomum cassia (que) □
24.4 = melia azedarach (xoan, sau dong) □
24.5 = melaleuca leucadendra (tram) □
24.6 = pinus keysia (thong ba la) □
24.7 = homalium hiananense (sen trung) □
24.8 = other □
24.9 = none □
24.99 = don’t know □
25.0 What kind of crops will you grow on the new/allocated land?
Yes Amount
25.1 = cassava □
25.2 = bananas □
25.3 = bamboo □
25.4 = fruit trees □
25.5 = rice □
25.6 = cardamom □
25.7 = nut trees □
25.8 = coffee □
25.9 = none □
25.99 = don’t know

69
26.0 Which is the first crop you want to plant? When? When do you want to
grow the second crop?
Which When
Crop/tree 1
Crop/tree 2
Crop/tree 3
Section Five: knowledge/motivation assessment
27.0 Why do you want to grow the selected tree species?
Good
Species Previous Commercial
Knowledge experience
Name Experience interesting
by others
□ □ □ □
□ □ □ □
□ □ □ □
□ □ □ □
29.0 What other functions do you think the forest can provide, apart from
supplying timber and edible forest products?
Open question
30.0 What do you think will happen to a slope if trees are no longer
present?
Open question
31.0 Do you use litter from the forest/ forest soil for manure on your crop
land?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
32.0 How far do you have to walk in order to find forest resources?
32.1 How often do you look for forest resources in order to supply your
demand?

Distance Frequency
Animals
Fruit
35.0 Would it be a problem if forest disappeared from the surrounding area?
Open question
Section six: Training and education
36.0 Beside this SNV project have you ever participated in other projects?
No Name Main activities Time
37.0 Did you learn anything during possible projects?
1 = Yes 0 = No □
(If yes, on which subject),
38.0 Do you feel there are subjects were you current knowledge is insufficient
to benefit from possibilities?
39.0 In order to use farm land effectively, which activities do you think are
good to improve on agricultural use management?
1. Study participation.......................................................................................
2. Training workshops.......................................................................................
40.0 In order to use farm land effectively, which activities do you think are
good to improve forestry use management?
3. Study participation.......................................................................................
4. Training workshops......................................................................................

71
41.0 Which training would benefit you most?
Yes Comments
41.1 Training on Forest resources
41.2 Finding valuable plants to grow
41.3 Training on afforestation
41.4 Training on integrated Agro-Forestry
41.5 Setting up a hill garden
41.6 Setting up a forest plantation
41.7 Training on Financial aspects
41.8 Training on livestock
41.9 Training on Fish nursery
41.10 None
41.99 Don’t know
*Field coding: as an open question or not?
Any suggestions or Comments?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
Thank you for your participation!
SNV ‘Rung Vang’ project team

ANNEX B
PRELIMINARY DATA REQUIREMENTS AND INFORMATION IN REGARDS TO THE
RUNG VANG REFORESTATION AND CARBON PROJECT
A) First it is necessary to establish whether the new accepted methodology

AR-AM0001 is applicable to the Project:
1) Does the Project lead to a shift of pre-project activities outside the project
boundary?
2) Will there be any encroachment of natural forest?
3) Will carbon stocks in soil organic matter, litter and deadwood decrease more
due to soil erosion and human interference in the absence of the project,
compared to that of the project?
4) Will grazing occur within the project boundary? If yes, please explain.
B) Next we need information in order to satisfy the definition of lands for

reforestation:
1) Information which demonstrates that the land (within the project boundary)
was below the forest national threshold (as reported by the Vietnamese DNA)
for crown cover, tree height and minimum land area before Dec 31 1990 and
just before the project starts. Please supply one of the following verifiable
forms of information:
i) Aerial photographs or satellite imagery complemented by ground

reference data; or
ii) Ground based surveys (land use permits, land use plans or information
from local registers such as cadastre, owners register, land use or land
management register); or
C) Data for determining the Project boundary:
1) Discrete parcels of land need to be identified based on unique geographical

features. The discrete parcels of land may be defined by polygons, and to make
the boundary geographically verifiable and transparent, the GPS coordinate
for all corners of each polygon shall be measured, recorded and archived.
D) Data for ex ante stratification (pre-project) and ex post stratification

(after project implementation):
1) See method on page 22 of the below document and complete for both ex ante
and ex post:
http://cdm.unfccc.int/UserManagement/FileStorage/CDMWF_AM_
2) Prepare stratification maps for both pre-project and after project scenarios
(use GIS system)

73
E) Data for baseline determination:
Demonstrate that there will be no natural encroachment of trees by supplying

information on:
• Lack of on-site seed pool
• Lack of external seed sources
• Lack of possibility of seed sprouting and growth of young trees
• Any other information to support this
F) Data for demonstrating additionality:
List of applicable laws and regulations for forestry projects in Vietnam. Please indicate
if the project may not be in compliance with any of them.
Please include all revenues and relevant costs (investment cost, O&M costs), excluding
any specific revenues/costs related to the CDM.
G) Data for estimation of baseline net removals by sinks:
For each stratum with growing trees the following data is needed (when using the
“Carbon gain-loss method”):
• Area of growing trees from each species (ha)
• Mean age of growing trees from each species (yrs)
• Mean DHB of growing trees from each species (cm)
• Mean height of growing trees from each species (m)
• Mean number of growing trees from each species
• National/local growth curve/table for annual increment in volume of growing

trees from each species (formula) – can be obtained from national/local forest
inventory. Items iii), iv) and v may be required for the formula. If not, these
items may not be needed.
• Using species specific data (local or national i.e. national GHG inventory or
global data), obtain data for:
a. Carbon fraction for species (tonnes C/tonnes d.m.)
b. Root-shoot ratio
c. Basic wood density (tonnes d.m./m3)
d. Biomass expansion factor
If the above data is not available, please look at the alternative equation (stock
change method) on page 7 of the following document:
http://cdm.unfccc.int/UserManagement/FileStorage/CDMWF_AM_

Additional sampling will be needed for baseline stratification, and determination of
baseline data under i) – iv) for each stratum with growing trees. Please see page 67
of the following document for an example of baseline data collection:
http://cdm.unfccc.int/UserManagement/FileStorage/FS_600735066
H) Ex ante actual net GHG removal by sinks:
If choosing to use the Carbon gain-loss method, please provide predicted data for i),
ii) and v) (see G above) for each species grown as part of the Project. Also provide
data for vi and vii.
Data also required for estimated changes in carbon stocks in the carbon pool for each
stratum:
• Annually extracted volume for each species (m3/yr)
• Basic wood density for each species (tonnes d.m./m3)
• BEF for each species
• Carbon fraction for each species (tonnes C/tonnes d.m.)
• Annual volume of fuel wood harvesting of living tress for each species (m3/yr)
• Areas affected by disturbance for each species (ha/yr)
• The fraction of biomass in living tress for each species affected by disturbance
• Average biomass stock of living trees for each species (tonnes d.m./ha)
I) GHG (project) emissions by source:
1) To determine GHG emissions from burning fossil fuels for machinery, etc.:
• Volume of diesel consumption (liters/yr)
• Volume of gasoline consumption (liters/yr)
2) To determine the predicted decrease in carbon stock in living biomass of

existing non-tree vegetation:
• Total area of each stratum (ha)
• Average non-tree biomass stock on land to be planted before the start of the
Project in each stratum (d.m./ha)
• Carbon fraction of dry biomass in non-tree vegetation (tonnes C/ tonnes

d.m.)
3) If slash and burn occurs during site preparation or at anytime after Project
implementation, predicted emissions from CH4 and N2O must be determined
using the following data:
• Area of slash and burn for each stratum (ha/yr)
• Average stock in aboveground living biomass before burning for each stratum
(tonnes d.m./ha)

75
4) To determine N2O emissions from nitrogen fertilization practices:
• Mass of synthetic fertilizer nitrogen applied (tonnes/yr)
• Mass of organic fertilizer nitrogen applied (tonnes/yr)
5) To determine leakage due to vehicle emissions for transport to and from the
project site:
• Number and type of vehicles (including fuel type)
• Distance travelled by each vehicle (km)
J) Other data needed for PDD production:
• Provide a list of project participants
• Provide a map of the location of the project i.e. towns and villages (with lat.
and long. readings)
• Document each parcel of land including long. and lat. readings
• Details on the present environmental conditions of the area including climate,

hydrology, soils, ecosystems, and presence of rare and endangered species
• Vietnamese definition of forest (min. area, tree crown and tree height)
• Legal title of land and land tenure
• Technology and techniques to be employed (for planting, etc.)
• Starting date of project
• Vegetation maps of the land to be planted for the Project
• Species and reforestation model (project scenario)
• Documentation on the analysis of environmental impacts including hydrology,

soils, risk of fires, pests and diseases. Need to attach relevant documents to
the PDD
• Does the Vietnamese government require an EIA for the project?
• Documentation is needed on the socio-economic impacts of the Project which

includes local communities, indigenous people, land tenure, local employment,
food production, cultural and religious sites, and access to fuelwood and other
forest products
Before validation can be completed you will need to do the following:
1) Hold a local stakeholders meeting (MUS can provide information and advice
on how to do this)
2) Obtain host government approval (MUS can provide information and advice
on how to do this)


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“The golden Forest”

Practical Guidelines for AR-CDM project activities in Vietnam

6th Floor, Building B, La Thanh Hotel

218 Doi Can Street, Ba Dinh Dist.,

T: (84 4) 846 3791

“The Golden Forest”

List of Figures, Photo’s and Tables ........................................... 9

Summary of rung vang ................................................. 13

Process of the proto-project .......................................... 15

Summary of results ...................................................... 15

2. MAPPING AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT.................... 17

Mapping Kyoto-land and potential project area ................. 17

Baseline for socio-economical impact assessments ........... 21

Decision on tree species................................................ 23

Selection of households ................................................ 27

Mapping of individual plots ............................................ 30

Small holder plantation design ....................................... 32

Seedlings and budget ................................................... 34

Training of farmers, site preparation and planting ............. 36

Set-up forest clubs ....................................................... 38

4. CARBON CALCULATIONS ....................................... 41

Selection of Baseline Methodology .................................. 41

First carbon data gathered ............................................ 44

Next steps in full-scale ARCDM project development ......... 47

“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

5. AR-CDM IN VIETNAM ............................................ 53

6. LESSONS LEARNED ............................................... 57

7. REFERENCES - FURTHER READING ........................ 61

Internet links .............................................................. 61

References of books ..................................................... 62

“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

Nguyen Van Son2

May 2006 - Hue City

Photo 1: Discussing slope an reforestation potential in

1 Advisor Collaborative Forest Management for SNV Netherlands Development Organisation

“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

ADB Asian Development Bank

AR-CDM Afforestation/Reforestation Clean Development Mechanism

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CER Certified Emission Reduction

CNA CDM National Authority (DNA of Vietnam)

CNECB National Executive and Consultative Board

DNA Designated National Authority under UNFCCC

DOF Department of Forestry

DPC District People’s Committee

EIA Environmental Impact Assessment

ENCOFOR Environment and Community based framework for designing

ETSP Extension and Training Support Project

FIPI Forest Inventory and Planning Institute

FPU Forest Protection Unit

FSC Forest Stewardship Council

FSIV Forest Science Institute of Vietnam

GHG Green House Gases

GIS Geographical Information System

GPS Global Positioning System

ICD International Cooperation Department

JBIC Japanese Bank for International Cooperation

JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency

JIFPRO Japanese International Forestry Promotion Organisation

Lao PDR Lao People’s Democratic Republic

LUPLA Land Use Planning and Land Allocation Methodology

“The Golden Forest” - Practical Guidelines

MONRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment