28 August 2012: The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has released two outputs from its Thematic Programme on Trade and Market Transparency related to accounting for climate change mitigation projects, namely a report titled “Wood product accounting and climate change mitigation projects involving tropical timber,” and a work plan titled “Work plan for accounting methodology development for wood products in climate change mitigation projects involving tropical timber.”

The report and work plan focus on existing methods for accounting for harvested wood products (HWP) in mitigation projects, as well as possible new approaches that could improve the accuracy of HWP mitigation accounting. It is noted that although the issue of REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) is recognized, it is not addressed in the report or work plan.

The work plan establishes a methodology and process for developing a new accounting approach for HWP in mitigation projects involving tropical timber. It further outlines a plan for writing an accounting methodology based on: the steps required of users accounting wood product sequestration and emissions, the adoption of new approaches by existing standards, and the development of site-specific methodologies where necessary.

The report examines existing methodologies for accounting and possible future methods. Accounting measures are specifically explored for emissions from landfill, debris piles, burning and retirement (such as use of HWP for construction or paper production). Discussions on HWP export and linear decay are also included in the report. [ITTO Publications Webpage]