ICRAF Releases Paper on MRV of Agricultural NAMAs
31 May 2011: The World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) has released a working paper titled "Agricultural Monitoring and Evaluation Systems: What can we learn for the MRV of agricultural NAMAs?" The paper describes an existing monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) system for a large scale grass cultivation programme in China and explores attributes of the MRV system that are consistent with the principles for credible MRV in existing UNFCCC mechanisms.
The paper examines the case study of a grass planting programme on the Tibetan Plateau in China, followed by a comparison of MRV for agricultural projects and climate projects. The study's examination of the existing MRV for an agriculture project provides a framework for assessing whether such forms of MRV are adequate for MRV of emission reductions. The paper suggests that MRV systems may be credible where: their approach provides explicit and transparent rules and communications; includes quality control and assurance; and are based on accountable institutional arrangements appropriate to the national context.
The paper concludes that design of agricultural Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) would benefit from considering existing agricultural MRV systems and assessing the extent to which they are able to provide an institutional basis for credible MRV in national and international climate policy contexts. ICRAF is a member of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). [Publication: Agricultural Monitoring and Evaluation Systems: What Can We Learn for the MRV of Agricultural NAMAs?]