Advance unedited version

Decision -/CMP.7
Land use, land-use change and forestry
The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol,Affirming that the implementation of land use, land-use change and forestry
activities included under the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol shall be consistent with theobjectives and principles of, and any decisions taken under, the Convention and its
Kyoto Protocol,
Affirming that forests are systems of life that have multiple and integral functions
and consist of communities of diverse, interrelated and interdependent components,
Having considered decision 16/CMP.1,
Recalling decision 2/CMP.6,
1.
Affirms that the principles contained in paragraph 1 of decision 16/CMP.1 continue
to govern the treatment of land use, land-use change and forestry activities in the secondand subsequent commitment periods of the Kyoto Protocol;
2.
Decides that anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals bysinks shall be accounted for in accordance with the principles and definitions referred to inparagraphs 1 and 2 of decision 2/CMP.6 and in accordance with the annex to this decision;
3.
Also decides that the information referred to in paragraph 2 above shall be reviewed
in accordance with relevant decisions under Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol;
4.
Agrees to consider, at its eighth session, the need to revise decisions of theConference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol thatare relevant to the annex contained in this decision, including those related to reporting andreview under Articles 5, 7 and 8 of the Kyoto Protocol;
5.
Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to initiate awork programme to explore more comprehensive accounting of anthropogenic emissions
by sources and removals by sinks from land use, land-use change and forestry, including
through a more inclusive activity-based approach or a land-based approach, and to report to
the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol at
its ninth session on the outcomes of this work programme;
6.
Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to initiate awork programme to consider and, as appropriate, develop and recommend modalities andprocedures for possible additional land use, land-use change and forestry activities under
the clean development mechanism with a view to forwarding a draft decision on this matterto the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol
for adoption at its ninth session;
7.
Further requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice toinitiate a work programme to consider and, as appropriate, develop and recommend
modalities and procedures for alternative approaches to addressing the risk of nonpermanence under the clean development mechanism with a view to forwarding a draft

decision on this matter to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties
to the Kyoto Protocol for adoption at its ninth session;
8.
Invites the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to review and, if necessary,
update supplementary methodologies for estimating anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions by sources and removals by sinks resulting from land use, land-use change andforestry activities under Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4, of the Kyoto Protocol, related to theannex to this decision, on the basis of, inter alia, chapter 4 of its Good Practice Guidance
for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry;
9.
Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to consider,following the completion of methodological work by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change outlined in paragraph 8 above, any supplementary methodologies related
to the annex to this decision, with a view to forwarding a draft decision on this matter to theConference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol for
adoption at its tenth session;
10.
Requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to initiate awork programme to develop and recommend modalities and procedures for applying theconcept of additionality, with a view to forwarding a draft decision on this matter to theConference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol for
adoption at its ninth session;
11.
Adopts the definitions, modalities, rules and guidelines relating to land use, land-use
change and forestry activities under the Kyoto Protocol contained in the annex to thisdecision for application in the second commitment period.

2Annex I
Definitions, modalities, rules and guidelines relating to landuse, land-use change and forestry activities under the Kyoto
ProtocolA.

Definitions
1.
For land use, land-use change and forestry activities under Article 3, paragraphs 3
and 4, of the Kyoto Protocol, the following definitions, in addition to those contained indecision 16/CMP.1 and referred to in paragraph 2 of decision 2/CMP.6, shall apply:(a)“Natural Disturbances” are non-anthropogenic events or non-anthropogenic
circumstances. For the purposes of this decision, these events or circumstances are thosethat cause significant emissions in forests and are beyond the control of, and not materiallyinfluenced by, a Party. These may include wildfires, insect and disease infestations,extreme weather events and/or geological disturbances, beyond the control of, and notmaterially influenced by, a Party. These exclude harvesting and prescribed burning;(b)“Wetland drainage and rewetting” is a system of practices for draining andrewetting on land with organic soil that covers a minimum area of 1 hectare. The activity
applies to all lands that have been drained since 1990 and to all lands that have beenrewetted since 1990 and that are not accounted for under any other activity as defined inthis annex, where drainage is the direct human-induced lowering of the soil water table andrewetting is the direct human-induced partial or total reversal of drainage.

B.

Article 3, paragraph 3
2.
For the purposes of Article 3, paragraph 3, eligible activities are those direct humaninduced afforestation, reforestation and/or deforestation activities that meet therequirements set forth in this annex and that started on or after 1 January 1990 and before
31 December of the last year of the commitment period.
3.
For the purposes of determining the area of deforestation to come under theaccounting system under Article 3, paragraph 3, each Party shall determine the forest area
using the same spatial assessment unit as is used for the determination of afforestation andreforestation, but this must be not larger than 1 hectare.
4.
Each Party included in Annex I shall report, in accordance with Article 7, on how
harvesting or forest disturbance that is followed by the re-establishment of a forest is
distinguished from deforestation. This information will be subject to review in accordancewith Article 8.
5.
Each Party included in Annex I shall report and account for, in accordance with
Article 7, all emissions arising from the conversion of natural forests to planted forests.

C.

Article 3, paragraph 4
6.
A Party included in Annex I may choose to account for anthropogenic greenhousegas emissions by sources and removals by sinks resulting from any or all of the following
activities: revegetation, cropland management, grazing land management, and wetland
drainage and rewetting.
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7.
All Parties included in Annex I shall account for anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions by sources and removals by sinks resulting from the following: any activity
under Article 3, paragraph 4, elected in the first commitment period, and forest
management.
8.
A Party included in Annex I wishing to account for elected activities under
Article 3, paragraph 4, in the second commitment period shall identify, in its report toenable the establishment of its assigned amount pursuant to Article 3, paragraphs 7 and 8,
the activities under Article 3, paragraph 4, that it elects to include in its accounting for thesecond commitment period. Upon election, a decision by a Party will be fixed for thesecond commitment period.
9.
During the second commitment period, a Party included in Annex I shalldemonstrate that activities referred to in paragraph 6 above, in addition to those alreadyselected for the first commitment period, have occurred since 1990 and are human-induced.
A Party included in Annex I shall not account for emissions by sources and removals bysinks resulting from activities under Article 3, paragraph 4, if these are already accounted
for under Article 3, paragraph 3.
10.
For the second commitment period, accountable anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions by sources and removals by sinks resulting from revegetation, cropland
management, grazing land management, and wetland drainage and rewetting under
Article 3, paragraph 4, shall be equal to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions bysources and removals by sinks in the commitment period, less the duration of thecommitment period in years times the anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources
and removals by sinks resulting from these eligible activities in the base year of that Party,
while avoiding double accounting.
11.
Accounting for wetland drainage and rewetting shall be based on estimation
methodologies for wetlands, lands converted to wetlands and land use on drained organicsoils in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change guidelines most recently adopted
or encouraged by the Conference of the Parties, and any subsequent clarifications agreed by
the Conference of the Parties.
12.
For the second commitment period, accountable anthropogenic greenhouse gas
emissions by sources and removals by sinks resulting from forest management under
Article 3, paragraph 4, shall be equal to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions bysources and removals by sinks in the commitment period, less the duration of thecommitment period in years times the reference level inscribed in the appendix. 1
13.
For the second commitment period, additions to the assigned amount of a Party
resulting from forest management under Article 3, paragraph 4, and from forest
management project activities undertaken under Article 6, shall not exceed 3.5 per cent of
the base year greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF pursuant to Article 3,
paragraphs 7 and 8, times the duration of the commitment period in years.
14.
When accounting for forest management, Annex I Parties shall demonstrate
methodological consistency between the reference level and reporting for forest
management during the second commitment period, including in the area accounted for, in
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The forest management reference levels inscribed in the appendix to this annex were set transparently,
taking into account: (a) removals or emissions from forest management as shown in greenhouse gas
inventories and relevant historical data; (b) age-class structure; (c) forest management activities
already undertaken; (d) projected forest management activities under business as usual; (e) continuity
with the treatment of forest management in the first commitment period; (f) the need to exclude
removals from accounting in accordance with decision 16/CMP.1, paragraph 1.
Points (c), (d) and (e) above were applied where relevant. The forest management reference levels also
took into account the need for consistency with the inclusion of carbon pools and the provisions foraddressing natural disturbances contained in paragraphs 33 to 35 below.
4the treatment of harvested wood products, and in the accounting of any emissions fromnatural disturbances. Parties shall make technical corrections, if necessary, to ensure
consistency, including applying IPCC methods for ensuring time-series consistency (e.g.
overlap with historical data) and shall report on how these corrections were made.
Information on technical corrections and methodological consistency shall be reported aspart of the annual greenhouse gas inventories and inventory reports, in accordance with
relevant decisions under Articles 5 and 7 of the Kyoto Protocol, and reviewed as part of thereview of the annual greenhouse gas inventory review in accordance with relevant
decisions under Article 8 of the Kyoto Protocol.
15.
After adoption of the reference level for forest management, if the reported data on
forest management or forest land remaining forest land used to establish the reference levelare subject to recalculations, a technical correction shall be applied to include in theaccounting the impact of the recalculations on the reported data that have been used by the
Party to set the reference level.
16.
Emissions that occur during the second commitment period from harvested wood
products removed from forests prior to the start of the second commitment period shall also
be accounted for. In the case the forest management reference level is based on a
projection, a Party may choose not to account for the emissions from harvested wood
products originating from forests prior to the start of the second commitment period, andshall ensure consistency in the treatment of the harvested wood products pool in the second
commitment period in accordance with paragraph 14 above. Emissions from harvested
wood products already accounted for during the first commitment period on the basis of
instantaneous oxidation shall be excluded. The treatment of harvested wood products in theconstruction of a projected forest management reference level shall be on the basis ofprovisions outlined in paragraph 29 and shall not be on the basis of instantaneousoxidation. 2

A.

Article 12
17.
Afforestation and reforestation are eligible project activities under the clean
development mechanism in the second commitment period. Activities additional toafforestation and reforestation will be eligible if agreed by any future decision of theConference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
18.
The modalities and procedures contained in decision 5/CMP.1 for afforestation andreforestation project activities under the clean development mechanism, and in decision
6/CMP.1 for small-scale afforestation and reforestation project activities under the clean
development mechanism, shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to the second commitment period.
Alternative approaches to addressing the risk of non-permanence may apply in accordancewith any future decisions of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of theParties to the Kyoto Protocol.
19.
For the second commitment period, the total of additions to a Party’s assigned
amount resulting from afforestation and reforestation project activities under Article 12
shall not exceed one per cent of the base year emissions of that Party, times the duration of
the commitment period in years.

2

Taking in to account the provisions of paragraph 32.
5B.

General20.
Each Party included in Annex I shall, for the purpose of applying the definition of“forest” as contained in decision 16/CMP.1, apply the definition of forest selected in thefirst commitment period.
21.
Those Parties included in Annex I that did not select a definition of forest for the
first commitment period shall, for the purpose of applying the definition of “forest” ascontained in decision 16/CMP.1, select a single minimum tree crown cover value of
between 10 and 30 per cent, a single minimum land area value of between 0.05 and1 hectare and a single minimum tree height value of between 2 and 5 metres.
22.
For the second commitment period, and subject to other provisions in this annex, theadditions to and subtractions from the assigned amount of a Party pursuant to Article 3,
paragraphs 7 and 8, shall be equal to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources
and removals by sinks measured as verifiable changes in carbon stocks, and to non-carbon
dioxide greenhouse gas emissions during the commitment period resulting fromafforestation, reforestation and deforestation under Article 3, paragraph 3, that have takenplace since 1 January 1990. Where the result of this calculation is a net sink of greenhousegases, this value shall be added to the assigned amount of that Party. Where the result of
this calculation is a net source of greenhouse gas emissions, this value shall be subtracted
from the assigned amount of that Party.
23.
The accounting of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources and removals
by sinks resulting from land use, land-use change and forestry activities under Article 3,
paragraphs 3 and 4, shall begin with the onset of the activity or the beginning of thecommitment period, whichever comes later.
24.
Once land is accounted for under Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4, this land must be
accounted for throughout subsequent and contiguous commitment periods.
25.
National inventory systems established under Article 5, paragraph 1, shall ensurethat areas of land subject to land use, land-use change and forestry activities under Article
3, paragraphs 3 and 4, are identifiable, and information on these areas shall be provided byeach Party included in Annex I in their national inventories in accordance with Article 7.
Such information will be reviewed in accordance with Article 8.
26.
Each Party included in Annex I shall account for all changes in the following carbon
pools: above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, litter, dead wood, soil organic carbon
and harvested wood products. 3 With the exception of harvested wood products, a Party may
choose not to account for a given pool in a commitment period, if transparent and verifiable
information is provided that demonstrates that the pool is not a source.
27.
Emissions from harvested wood products removed from forests which are accounted
for by a Party under Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4, shall be accounted for by that Party only.
Imported harvested wood products, irrespective of their origin, shall not be accounted by
the importing Party.
28.

Accounting shall be on the basis of instantaneous oxidation.

29.
Notwithstanding paragraph 28 above, and provided that transparent and verifiable
activity data for the harvested wood product categories specified below are available,accounting shall be on the basis of the change in the harvested wood products pool during
the second and subsequent commitment periods, estimated using the first-order decay

3

The accounting of this pool may be on the basis of instantaneous oxidation.
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function 4 with default half-lives 5 of two years for paper, 25 years for wood panels and 35
years for sawn wood.
30.
A Party may use country-specific 6 data to replace the default half-lives specified
above, or to account for such products in accordance with the definitions and estimation
methodologies in the most recently adopted IPCC guidelines and any subsequentclarifications agreed by the Conference of the Parties, provided that verifiable andtransparent activity data are available and that the methodologies used are at least as
detailed or accurate as those prescribed above.
31.
Harvested wood products resulting from deforestation shall be accounted for on thebasis of instantaneous oxidation.
32.
Where carbon dioxide emissions from harvested wood products in solid waste
disposal sites are separately accounted, this shall be on the basis of instantaneous oxidation.
Carbon dioxide emissions from wood harvested for energy purposes shall be accounted foron the basis of instantaneous oxidation.
33.

With respect to the treatment of natural disturbances emissions:(a)
A Party shall indicate whether it intends to apply this provision to forest
management under Article 3, paragraph 4, during the second commitment period, in whichcase it shall provide country-specific information in its national greenhouse gas inventory
report for 2015 on a forest management background level 7 of emissions associated withannual natural disturbances that have been included in its forest management reference
level, how the background level has been estimated and information on how to avoid the
expectation of net credits or net debits during the commitment period, including through theuse of a margin, where a margin is needed. 8 When accounting for forest management under
Article 3, paragraph 4, and provided that requirements of paragraph 34 below are met, aParty may exclude from the accounting, either annually or at the end of the second
commitment period, emissions from natural disturbances that in any single year exceed theforest management background level. Any subsequent removals during the commitment
period on the lands affected shall also be excluded from the accounting. Parties may only
exclude emissions from disturbances in years where those emissions are above thebackground level plus the margin, where a margin is needed;(b)
A Party shall indicate whether it intends to apply this provision during thesecond commitment period to afforestation and reforestation under Article 3, paragraph 3,
in which case it shall provide country-specific information in its national greenhouse gas
4

Using equation 12.1 of the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories, as abasis for estimating changes in the harvested wood products pool during a commitment period.
5Half-lives are based on Table 3a.1.3 of the 2003 IPCC Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, LandUse Change and Forestry.
6
In the case of exported harvested wood products country-specific data refers to country-specific halflives and harvested wood products usage in the importing country
7
Background level can be defined as the average of a consistent and initially complete time series
containing 1990–2009 emissions associated with natural disturbances after application of an iterative
process to remove outliers, based on twice the standard deviation around the mean until no outliers
can be identified. Alternatively, Parties may apply a transparent and comparable country-specificapproach using consistent and initially complete time series of data including for the period
containing 1990–2009. All approaches shall avoid the expectation of net credits during thecommitment period. If a Party’s forest management reference level does not include a backgroundlevel of emissions, for the application of background level as referred to in paragraph 33 (a), a value
for the background level would be estimated by applying the first approach mentioned above.
8
In the case that the background level is defined using the first approach in footnote 7, the margin
would equal twice the standard deviation of the time series defining the background level. In the casethat the background level is defined using a country-specific approach or the Party’s reference level iszero, the Party must describe how a margin is established, where a margin is needed. All approaches
shall avoid the expectation of net credits during the commitment period.
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inventory report for 2015 on an afforestation and reforestation background level ofemissions associated with annual natural disturbances 9 , how the background level has been
estimated and information on how to avoid the expectation of net credits or net debits
during the commitment period, including through the use of a margin, where a margin isneeded. When accounting for afforestation and reforestation under Article 3, paragraph 3,
and provided that requirements of paragraph 34 below are met, a Party may exclude fromthe accounting, either annually or at the end of the second commitment period, emissions
from natural disturbances that in any single year exceed the afforestation and reforestation
background level. Any subsequent removals during the commitment period on the lands
affected shall also be excluded from the accounting. Parties may only exclude emissions
from disturbances in years where those emissions are above the background level plus themargin, where a margin is needed;(c)Parties shall account for emissions associated with salvage logging;(d)Parties shall not exclude from accounting emissions from natural
disturbances on those lands that are subject to land-use change following the disturbance.
34.
A Party included in Annex I that applies the provisions described in paragraph 33
above shall calculate the net emissions and removals subject to those provisions and shallprovide transparent information:(a)Showing that all lands subject to paragraphs 33(a) and 33(b) are identified,including their geo-referenced location, year and types of disturbances;(b)
Showing how annual emissions resulting from disturbances and thesubsequent removals in those areas are estimated;(c)Showing that no land-use change has occurred on lands for which theprovisions in paragraph 33 is applied and explaining the methods and criteria for
identifying any future land-use changes on those land areas during the commitment period;(d)That demonstrates that the occurrences were beyond the control of, and notmaterially influenced by, the Party in the commitment period, by demonstrating practicableefforts to prevent, manage or control the occurrences that led to the application of theprovisions contained in paragraph 33 above;(e)That demonstrates efforts taken to rehabilitate, where practicable, the land forwhich the provisions in paragraph 33 are applied;(f)Showing that emissions associated with salvage logging were not excluded
from accounting.
35.
The supplementary information described in paragraph 34 above shall be included in
the national greenhouse gas inventory reports of Parties that apply paragraph 33 above. All
information and estimates referred to in paragraphs 33 and 34 above shall be subject toreview as part of the periodical review of annual greenhouse gas inventory reports
submitted by Parties.
36.
The treatment of emissions and removals that occur on the lands referred to inparagraph 33 above in the subsequent commitment periods shall be reflected in LULUCF
accounting for those commitment periods.
37.
A Party included in Annex I may include in its accounting of forest management
under Article 3, paragraph 4, anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions by sources andremovals by sinks resulting from the harvest and conversion of forest plantations,9

The afforestation and reforestation background level of emissions associated with disturbances and amargin, where a margin is needed, shall be calculated using a methodology consistent with the oneused by the Party to calculate the forest management background level.
8

accounted for under forest management, to non-forest land, provided that all of therequirements below are met:(a)
The forest plantation was first established through direct human-induced
planting and/or seeding of non-forest land before 1 January 1990, and, if the forest
plantation was re-established, that this last occurred on forest land through direct humaninduced planting and/or seeding after 1 January 1960;(b)
A new forest of at least equivalent area as the harvested forest plantation isestablished through direct human-induced planting and/or seeding of non-forested land that
did not contain forest on 31 December 1989;(c)
This newly established forest will reach at least the equivalent carbon stockthat was contained in the harvested forest plantation at the time of harvest, within thenormal harvesting cycle of the harvested forest plantation, and, if not, a debit would be
generated under Article 3, paragraph 4.
38.
All lands and associated carbon pools subject to the provision described inparagraph 37 above shall be accounted for as forest management under Article 3,
paragraph 4, and not under Article 3, paragraph 3.
39.
All lands and associated carbon pools subject to paragraph 37 above shall beidentified, monitored and reported, including the georeferenced location and year of
conversion.

Appendix
PartyaReference level (Mt CO2 eq/year)bAustralia

Applying first-order decayfunction for HWP

4.700

Austria-2.121–6.516Belarus-30.020

Belgium-2.407–2.499Bulgaria-8.168–7.950

Canada-70.600–114.300

Croatia-6.289Cyprusd-0.164–0.157

Czech Republic-2.697–4.686

Denmark

0.334

0.409

Estonia-1.742–2.741

European Union (27)c-253.298–306.853

Finland-19.300–20.466

France-63.109–67.410

Germany-2.067–22.418

Greece-1.830–1.396

Hungary-0.892–1.000

Iceland-0.154

Ireland-0.008–0.142Italy-21.182–22.166

Japan

0.00

Latvia-14.255–16.3029

Reference level (Mt CO2 eq/year)b

Applying first-order decayfunction for HWP

Liechtenstein-0.00250.0001

Lithuania-4.139–4.552Luxembourg-0.418–0.418c-0.049–0.049

PartyaMaltadMonaco-Netherlands-1.464

New Zealand11.150

Norway-11.400

Poland-22.750–1.425–27.133

Portugal-6.480–6.830Romania-15.444–28.393

Russian Federation-116.300

Slovakia

0.358–1.084

Slovenia-3.033–3.171

Spain-20.810–23.100

Sweden-36.057–41.336

Switzerland
e

0.220

Ukraine-48.700

United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland-3.442–8.268aTechnical corrections will be made to include, if necessary, the treatment of natural
disturbances and harvested wood products, or any other relevant provisions included inthis annex.
bAssuming instantaneous oxidation.
c
The European Union total includes Cyprus and Malta. Cyprus and Malta are member
States of the European Union but are not Parties to the Convention that are also Parties tothe Kyoto Protocol with a commitment inscribed in Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol.
dMonaco did not propose a forest management reference level due to its lack of forest
land.
e
Ukraine’s revised forest management reference level is a preliminary or interim
estimate.
Note: Parties have made different assumptions in the construction of the reference levels
proposed in the appendix above. These assumptions are found in Parties’ submissions.
See: <http://unfccc.int/4907.php>.

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