# Template VI: National Inventory Improvement Plan (NIIP)

## Instructions

The purpose of the National Inventory Improvement Plan (NIIP) is to help
countries identify and prioritize improvements to their national
systems. A completed plan will guide future efforts to increase the
transparency, consistency, comparability, completeness, and accuracy of
future inventories. This template draws upon information from other
report templates in this handbook to identify priority areas for
improvement. Therefore, this template should be completed after the
other templates are completed.

The CD-ROM accompanying this handbook contains two versions of the
templates. The first is the electronic version of this document with all
sample text and instructions included in light green. The second
version, without the light green text, is the one in which countries
should enter country-specific data, and which they should use for
preparing final reports. In the final plan, all green text should be
deleted.

Step-by-step instructions are listed to the right. Each step is
explained in detail in the corresponding section of the template.

## National Inventory Improvement Plan (NIIP)

### VI.1 Objective {#vi.1-objective .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS: List any additional ways in which you have identified
improvements. Describe any further objectives that your country may have
in developing this plan.\]*

This National Inventory Improvement Plan (NIIP) presents actions that
\[Country\] has identified to improve its national systems. The NIIP
will guide future efforts to increase the transparency, consistency,
comparability, completeness, and accuracy of future inventories. The
plan addresses many of the shortcomings of the previous inventory, and
will inform future inventory teams of needed improvements. These
improvements have been identified through an assessment of key sources
in \[Country\], methodologies and data used to estimate emissions, and
existing institutional arrangements. *\[List any additional ways that
improvements have been identified*.*\]*

### VI.2 Summary of Key Sources {#vi.2-summary-of-key-sources .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS: Complete Table VI.1 using the information in Table I.1
of the completed Key Source Category Analysis template. Include a short
paragraph summarizing the source categories listed in this table. See
additional instructions below. Be certain to note whether a trend
assessment was also conducted.\]*

The concept of \"Key Source Categories\" was created by the IPCC as a
tool to help countries prioritize resources for improving national
greenhouse gas inventories. Key source categories have the greatest
contribution to the overall level of national emissions. Key source
categories can also be those categories that have a large influence on
the trend of emissions over time.[^1]

To improve the national greenhouse gas inventory, it may be necessary to
consider more accurate methodologies, to develop country-specific
emission factors, or to collect more detailed activity data. These
activities all require additional resources, and it is not possible to
make improvements for every source category. Therefore, \[Country\] has
identified the source categories listed in Table VI.1 as the most
important source categories contributing to national emissions.
Assessing the methods and data used to estimate emissions from these key
source categories is integral to identifying priorities. These source
categories were identified through they Key Source Category Analysis,
using software provided by U.S. EPA. A level assessment was conducted,
identifying the largest sources constituting more than 95% of total
national emissions.

*\[Write a short paragraph to provide context on the key sources for
your country. Explain why certain sources represent a large portion of
national emissions. If possible, identify which sources have become
increasingly important in recent years, or which are likely to be
increasingly important in the future.\]*

Table VI.1: Key Sources for \[Country\]

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  **Source Category**

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

Note: Taken from Table x.x in Section x, above.

*\[In the note to the table above, fill in the appropriate Table and
Section numbers.\]*

###  {#section .unnumbered}

### VI.3 Potential Source Category Improvements {#vi.3-potential-source-category-improvements .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS**:** Review the completed Documentation and
Source-by-Source Description template for each key source, and identify
any improvements required to improve emission estimates. These actions
may include, but are not limited to, obtaining more complete activity
data, using a higher-tiered methodology (e.g., IPCC Tier 2 instead of
Tier 1), or using regional- or country-specific emission factors.
Describe the problem and the potential improvement. Also, identify any
other improvements required to improve emission estimates for other
source categories (e.g., estimating emissions for a source not included
in past inventories).\]*

Information for each key source category was reported in Section I,
which included a description of the source category, relevance to
\[Country\], methodology, activity data, and emission factors used.
Priority areas for improvement were identified using this documentation.
Table VI.2 lists the problems and potential improvements for each key
source category.

\[Include any additional information on process used to identify
improvements for each source category.\]

Table VI.2: Priority Areas of Improvement for Key Source Categories

  ------------ ------------ ---------------------- ------------------------------
  **Sector**   **Source     **Describe Problem**   **Potential Improvement**
               Category**                          

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

Improvements planned for additional source categories are identified in
Table VI.3, which also includes sources for which emissions have not
been estimated.

*\[INSTRUCTIONS**:** Table VI.3 is optional. If it is not used, it
should be deleted, as should the sentence above, and successive tables
should be renumbered.\]*

Table VI.3: Improvements Planned for Additional Source Categories

  ------------ ------------ ---------------------- ------------------------------
  **Sector**   **Source     **Describe Problem**   **Potential Improvement**
               Category**                          

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

###  {#section-1 .unnumbered}

### VI.4 Institutional Arrangement Priorities {#vi.4-institutional-arrangement-priorities .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS**:** Complete Table VI.4 using information from the
matching table, Table II.5, in the completed Institutional Arrangements
template. In the text that precedes the table, provide any additional
information on how institutional arrangement priorities were
identified.\]*

The National Inventory System involves all of the institutional, legal,
and procedural arrangements made by a country for estimating
anthropogenic emissions, as well as the reporting and archiving of
inventory information. Identified within a National Inventory System are
the government agency responsible for producing a national greenhouse
gas inventory, the key organizations that contribute data and methods,
and the end-users of the inventory.

Preparing a comprehensive inventory requires establishing, identifying,
and documenting all relevant contributors to the National Inventory
System. Assessing and documenting the status of existing institutional
arrangements for inventory development will ensure continuity and
integrity of the inventory, promote institutionalization of the
inventory process, and facilitate prioritization of future improvements.

*\[Provide additional comments that describe details on institutional
priorities in your country, such as how priority actions were
identified.\]*

Table VI.4 lists the priority actions identified in the chapter on
Institutional Arrangements.

Table VI.4: Priority Actions for \[Country\'s\] National System

  ---------- ---------------------------------------------------------------
  **Action   **Priority Action**
  Number**   

  1          

  2          
  ---------- ---------------------------------------------------------------

Note: Taken from Table x.x in Section x, above.

*\[In the note to the table above, fill in the appropriate Table and
Section numbers.\]*

### VI.5 Prioritized List of Potential Improvements {#vi.5-prioritized-list-of-potential-improvements .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS**:** List up to 10 of the most important improvements
identified in Steps 3 and 4, above. Classify these improvements
according to how critical they are: \"High,\" \"Medium,\" or \"Low.\"
For example, improvements to an agricultural source may be very
important (High), while developing outreach materials may be a lower
priority (Low). Insert a short paragraph discussing the highest priority
items (see additional instructions below).\]*

This section prioritizes the most critical improvements needed, based on
an assessment of the relative importance of improvements identified for
key sources, additional sources, and institutional arrangements
identified in Steps 3 and 4, above. By addressing these issues,
\[Country\] can move toward producing a more complete and higher-quality
inventory. Table VI.5 lists these potential improvements, and identifies
the level of priority associated with each (High, Medium, or Low).

*\[Insert a paragraph describing the highest priority items and the
areas of priority that are most applicable to your country (e.g.,
developing estimates for new sources, enhancing current methodologies,
obtaining more reliable activity data, or developing closer
relationships with other institutions.)\]*

Table VI.5: National Inventory Improvement Priorities

  ------------ ---------------------------------------------------------------
  **Priority   **Improvement Needed**
  Level**      

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

### VI.6 Communication, Outreach, and Training {#vi.6-communication-outreach-and-training .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS**:** This is an optional section that should be included
if there are current activities or future plans for raising awareness of
inventory efforts or for training staff on the inventory system or
practices. These plans and activities may include any of the following:*

> *● Scheduling stakeholder meetings*
>
> *● Raising awareness with government, academia, and the public*
>
> *● Providing feedback to government and associated institutions*
>
> *● Training or hiring inventory staff*
>
> *● Developing a transition plan to ensure a smooth transfer of
> inventory capacity when needed*
>
> *● Improving relationships with institutions*
>
> *● Improving methods for reporting and documentation*
>
> *● Developing an uncertainty analysis*
>
> *● Developing a quality assurance and quality control plan*
>
> *● Implementing comments from peer reviews*
>
> *● Archiving improvements*

*This section should be removed from this chapter if it is not
completed.\]*

### VI.7 Summary {#vi.7-summary .unnumbered}

*\[INSTRUCTIONS: Summarize the improvements and projects identified that
will strengthen the National Inventory System and improve the quality
and completeness of emission estimates. Use the text below as a general
guide.\]*

Through an assessment of key sources, current methods and data, and
institutional arrangements, we have identified *\[insert number\]*
national inventory improvement priorities. Some of these improvements
require additional personnel, capital, or other costs to implement them.
\[Country\] has identified specific projects that will improve the
quality and completeness of our national emission estimates.

*\[Provide one sentence on the objective of each project. For example,
\"Project 1 will enable us to estimate CO~2~ emissions from cement
production, which may be a significant source of emissions in
\[Country\].\"\]*

Table VI.6: Potential Projects for Improving the National Inventory
System

  -------- ------------------------------ ------------- ------------- -----------------
  **\#**   **Potential Project**          **Estimated   **Estimated   **Estimated
                                          Personnel     Cost (\$)**   Capital
                                          Needed**                    (equipment)
                                                                      Needed**

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

[^1]: The IPCC's *Good Practice Guidance* (IPCC 2000) defines a key
    source category as a "\[source category\] that is prioritized within
    the National Inventory System because its estimate has a significant
    influence on a country's total inventory of direct greenhouse gases
    in terms of the absolute level of emissions, the trend in emissions,
    or both. . ." See Chapter 7, "Methodological Choice and
    Recalculation," in IPCC 2000. \<
    http://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/gp/gpgaum.htm\>