8. Reporting Guidelines for the Relevant Articles of the Kyoto Protocol

83. Under Article 5.2 of the Kyoto Protocol, the Revised 1996 Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories provide the basis for the accounting and reporting of anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of all greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol. These Guidelines were developed to estimate and report national greenhouse gas inventories under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), not for the particular needs of the Kyoto Protocol. However, the Guidelines do provide a framework for addressing the accounting and reporting needs of the Kyoto Protocol. Elaboration of the Land-Use Change and Forestry Sector of the Guidelines may be needed, reflecting possible decisions by the Parties for accounting and reporting LULUCF under the Kyoto Protocol, taking into account, inter alia:
• Any decisions made by Parties on ARD under Article 3.3 and on additional activities under Article 3.4. [6.3.1, 6.3.2]
• The need to ensure transparency, completeness, consistency, comparability, accuracy, and verifiability. [6.2.2, 6.2.3, 6.4.1]
• Consistent treatment of Land-Use Change and Forestry as other Sectors, with respect to uncertainty management and other aspects of good practice. [6.4.1]
• Any decisions adopted by Parties to address other accounting issues (e.g., permanence, the meaning of "human induced" and "direct human induced," wood products, and project based activities). [6.4.1]

9. Potential for Sustainable Development

84. Consideration would need to be given to synergies and tradeoffs related to LULUCF activities under the UNFCCC and its Kyoto Protocol in the context of sustainable development including a broad range of environmental, social, and economic impacts, such as: (i) biodiversity; (ii) the quantity and quality of forests, grazing lands, soils, fisheries, and water resources; (iii) the ability to provide food, fiber, fuel, and shelter; and (iv) employment, human health, poverty, and equity. [2.5.1, 3.6]

85. For example, converting non-forest land to forest will typically increase the diversity of flora and fauna, except in situations where biologically diverse non-forest ecosystems, such as native grasslands, are replaced by forests consisting of single or a few species. Afforestation can also have highly varied impacts on groundwater supplies, river flows, and water quality. [3.6.1]

86. A system of criteria and indicators could be used to assess and compare sustainable development impacts across LULUCF alternatives. While there are no agreed upon set of criteria and indicators, several sets are being developed for closely related purposes, for example assessment of contributions to sustainable development by the UN Commission on Sustainable Development. [2.5.2]

87. For activities within countries or projects between countries, if sustainable development criteria vary significantly across countries or regions, there may be incentives to locate activities and projects in areas with less stringent environmental or socioeconomic criteria. [2.5.2]

88. Several sustainable development principles are incorporated in other multilateral environmental agreements, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. Consideration may be given to the development of synergies between LULUCF activities and projects that contribute to the mitigation or adaptation to climate change with the goals and the objectives of these and other relevant multilateral environmental agreements. [2.5.2]

89. Some of the more formal approaches to sustainable development assessment that could be applied at the project level are, for example, environmental and socioeconomic impact assessments. These methods have been applied across a wide range of countries and site-specific activities to date and could be modified to be applicable to LULUCF projects. [2.5.2.2]

90. Some critical factors affecting the sustainable development contributions of LULUCF activities and projects to mitigate and adapt to climate change include: institutional and technical capacity to develop and implement guidelines and procedures; extent and effectiveness of local community participation in development, implementation, and distribution of benefits; and transfer and adoption of technology. [5.5, 5.6]

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