The template for Existing ARR Projects is specifically designed for carbon projects that have been active for more than five years. It evaluates their impact and compliance with the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) VM0047 methodology.

This section provides a summary of the project, including:

Note: Projects with less than 1 hectare of contiguous forest may not be suitable for the "area-based" VM0047 methodology. This overview supports better planning and compliance by delivering a concise understanding of the project’s scope and suitability.

The total project area is calculated using a digital elevation model (DEM). This method accounts for terrain slopes to provide an accurate representation of real-world conditions, ensuring precise area calculations critical for reporting and assessments.

Using high-resolution Sentinel-2 imagery, this component visualizes land use distribution through a pie chart. It provides:

Provides the percentage breakdown of soil texture classes according to USDA classification. This insight aids in:

Provides the percentage breakdown of soil texture classes according to USDA classification. This insight aids in:

Assesses the likelihood of prior forest cover within the past 10 years.

This component ensures compliance with VM0047 methodology by evaluating historical land use.

This component identifies overlaps with protected areas or indigenous territories within or near the project area. Using multiple datasets, it flags regions requiring additional compliance steps to adhere to local laws and regulations.

Evaluates local afforestation, reforestation, and regeneration activities to determine whether project activities are additional or align with typical practices. This tool also:

Identifies registered carbon projects within a buffer zone of the project area. This feature:

Approximates the VM0047 dynamic baseline by:

Visualizes project performance over time by comparing sampled points within the project area to control points in the surrounding region. It assesses historical vegetation changes and provides:

This visualisation enables users to track project progress effectively, offering a clear comparison with control plots to evaluate performance and impact.

Notably, the chart includes an estimate of the performance benchmark, based on the historical matching period (t-10 to t0).

This tool estimates the project’s additionality by comparing the performance of project and control plots. It calculates a performance benchmark following the VM0047 methodology, using data from project points, control points, and trend lines after the project start date.

The benchmark provides insights into additionality, with values ranging from highly additional (0) to not additional (1). Lower benchmarks indicate significant differences between project activities and the surrounding region, while higher benchmarks suggest less distinction or alignment with local vegetation changes. A value of 1 indicates no additionality, showing no notable difference between project activities and local trends.

This assessment is vital for determining the project’s effectiveness and the distinctiveness of its activities. Projects with non-zero performance benchmarks may require further evaluation to ensure their activities are genuinely additional and impactful.

Details

Non permanence describes the risk a project fail and carbon will be re-released due to natural hazards like floods, fires, and droughts. These risk assessment components try to identify if there any major sources of risk which might threaten the projects ability to store sequestered carbon.

This insight provides users with a comprehensive understanding of which natural event has historically influenced the plot, allowing for informed decision-making to enhance project resilience against natural hazards in the future.

Types of Natural Hazards:

Risk categorisation:

Risk area percentage:

The percentage of the project area at risk of experiencing a category level of impact from the identified hazard.

For example, "70% of the project area is at Major risk of losing carbon stocks due to floods."

By leveraging this structured assessment and monitoring approach, the Orbify Platform empowers users to evaluate their ARR projects effectively, ensuring compliance, additionality, and resilience against risks.