November 2010: The Mitigation of Climate Change in Agriculture Project (MICCA) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) has released a paper titled “Agriculture, forestry and other land uses (AFOLU) mitigation project database: an assessment of the current status of land-based sectors in the carbon markets.”

The paper reports on an analysis of lessons from 297 ongoing AFOLU projects from 11 registries. These lessons will help develop pilot projects under the MICCA project. The report notes that market-based projects in the livestock sector in Latin America and Asia account for 76% of projects and that Africa and Central Asia have been excluded from these benefits. It highlights that North America has the largest diversity of projects, including soil carbon activities. The study underscores that greater participation in AFOLU projects is needed for all developing countries to obtain their full mitigation potential. It also stresses the need for financing mechanisms that are not driven solely by markets, particularly in Africa. [FAO AFOLU Report]