Terms of Reference
Background1.

The UNFCCC Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) at its 33rd session held in December 2010 inCancun invited the IPCC to prepare additional methodological guidance on wetlands, focusing on the rewetting and restoration ofpeatland.

2.

The 2006 IPCC Guidelines themselves note that the guidance on wetlands is incomplete. When the Wetlands chapter in the2006 IPCC Guidelines was compiled there was insufficient scientific infor mation available to complete methodologies for all subcategories, and so methods are only available for some emissions from flooded lands and from peatlands being harvested.

3.

This was considered at the “IPCC expert meeting on Harvested Wood Products, Wetlands and N2O Emissions from Soils”, heldin Geneva, 19th-21st October 2010, that concluded,“Since the 2006 IPCC Guidelines were completed much new scientific information is now available about
various wetlands that enable emissions and removals to be estimated from wetland restoration andrewetting especially for peat lands. The meeting recommended that the IPCC provide additional
methodological guidelines for the rewetting and restoration of peat land; emissions from fires, ditches andwaterborne carbon; and constructed wetlands for waste water disposal, to fill gaps in the existingguidelines.”

4.

Finally this was considered by the UNFCCC SBSTA at its 33rd session that concluded (Document FCCC/SBSTA/2010/L.18,
paragraph 4):“The SBSTA took note of the summary of the co-chairs of the IPCC expert meeting on harvested wood
products, wetlands and N2O emissions from soils. Noting that science has developed in some areas withregard to wetlands, the SBSTA invited the IPCC to undertake further methodological work on wetlands,
focusing on the rewetting and restoration of peatland, with a view to filling in the gaps in the 2006 IPCC
Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (hereinafter referred to as the 2006 IPCC Guidelines)
in these areas and to complete this work for the thirty-ninth session of the SBSTA.”

5.

This task aims to fulfil this invitation by filling gaps in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.

Scope
6.

In response to the decision of IPCC XX and the invitation from the SBSTA at its 33rd session, the IPCC w ill provide a Supplementto the 2006 IPCC Guidelines as an IPCC Methodology Report, as outlined in the Table of Contents.

7.

The overall aim of this work is:
To develop additional national-level inventory methodological guidance, including default emission
factor values, on wetlands to address the gaps identified in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.

8.

This 2013 Supplement:•••does not revise or replace the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, but provides a reference that complements and is consistent w ith
these Guidelines.
will be completed before the 39th session of SBSTA in 2013, as noted in the work plan ( table 1).
will be consistent with the Revised 1996 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventor ies, the IPCC Good
Practice Guidance and Uncer tainty Management in National Greenhouse Gas Inventories (2000), and the IPCC Good
Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (2003) as well as the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National

Greenhouse Gas Inventories. Recent advances in science will be taken into account.
will contain the methodological guidance to fill the gaps identified in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines in the sub-categories ofpeatland rewetting and restoration as well as anthropogenic emissions and removals from additional coastal and freshwater
wetland types.
does not cover flooded lands (such as reservoirs).

••
Approach9.

The result of this work will be an IPCC Methodology Report “2013 Supplement to 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories: Wetlands.” (See the Table of Contents, below)

10. The authors will follow guidelines (see annex 1 “Instructions to Experts and Authors”) to ensure compatibility with the 2006 IPCC
Guidelines. Key elements of the work will be:•Structure: This 2013 Supplement will contain methodological guidance in a consistent structure with that for othercategories in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. Specific references or citation will be made to related chapters and guidance in the2006 IPCC Guidelines. As applicable, reporting tables for the new sub-categories will be provided.

•Content of guidance: This 2013 Supplement will include tiered methodological approaches; decision trees; new and/or
updated methods and default emission factors, where appropriate; cross-references as necessary to avoid double counting
or omissions of emissions and removals; and repor ting and documentation guidance. The elements for cross-cutting issues
will generally rely on the general guidance on Volume 1 of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines, and only additional guidance
specifically relevant to the issues contained in this 2013 Supplement will be provided.

•Coverage: The 2013 Supplement w ill cover the same greenhouse gases included in the 2006 IPCC Guidelines.

11. Literature will be considered up to a cut-off date at the star t of the Government/Expert Review.
12. Table 1 provide the time table for this task.
DateMay 2011
June – Aug 2011
Aug 2011

Table 1 Work Plan for 2013 Supplement
CommentPlenary approves ToR, Chapter outline and this work plan, guidance
IPCC 33
to authors
Call for Nomination ofIPCC invites nominations for author s and Review Editors fromAuthors
Governments and International Organisations.
Selection by TFB considering exper tise and geographical coverage,
TFB select Authors(The IPCC Bureau will be infor med.).
ActionNov 2011

1st Author Meeting

To develop zero order draft

Feb 2012

2nd Author Meeting

To develop fir st order draft for review

Apr – May 2012

1st Expert Review

8 weeks review by experts

July 2012

3rd Author Meeting

To consider comments and produce second order draft for review

Oct 2012Literature cut-off date

Only papers published before this date will be considered

Oct – Nov 2012

2nd Expert & Government
Review

8 weeks review by experts and governments

Feb 2013

4th Author Meeting

To consider comments and produce final draft

Government
Consideration
Adoption/acceptance by
IPCC 36

Distribute to governments for their consideration prior to approval (atleast 4 weeks prior to the Panel)

April – May 20132013 (tbc)
Oct 2013

Distribute Guidelines

Final draft submitted to IPCC Panel for adoption/acceptanceDistribute document to governments and Par ties to UNFCCC(before SBSTA39 in December 2013)