Background
The project “Enabling the Implementation of Georgia’s Forest Sector Reform – ECO.Georgia” funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) with GIZ being the project’s accredited entity, supports the Government of Georgia to adapt to a new forest code and to implement its transformational Forest Sector Reform to reduce GHG emissions from forest degradation and enhancing carbon stock. The Project aims to establish sustainable forest management (SFM) in Georgia, to introduce energy efficient and climate-friendly technologies and to improve forest management.
A key component of this project is the development and implementation of a Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) system tailored for the forest sector. This system is instrumental in tracking and reporting on the forest sector reform’s progress and impacts, monitoring GHG emission reductions in line with Georgia’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and providing necessary information for all forestry-related reporting under the UNFCCC.
Activities
The assignment directly supported the Government of Georgia in operationalizing its transformational Forest Sector Reform and establishing a robust forest sector Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system aligned with Georgia’s new Forest Code and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Type of services provided
HEAT, in consortium with Aether Limited, provided a variety of services:
- Inception and Stakeholder Alignment: Implementation of an inception workshop involving all relevant stakeholders to build a shared understanding of the project objectives, the strategic importance of a forest sector MRV system, and its alignment with Georgia’s climate commitments.
- Stocktaking for MRV System Design: Conduction of a detailed stocktaking assessment of existing forest monitoring systems, datasets, institutional capacities and legal frameworks to inform the design of Georgia’s forest sector MRV system. Development of a Stocktaking Report, that maps current forest data flows, benchmarks Georgia’s system against national and international policies and obligations and provides a structured foundation for designing a coherent national forest MRV structure.
- Methodology Development for Forest Sector Reporting: Preparation of a Methodology Report, identifying reporting requirements under the UNFCCC and Georgia’s NDC and defining key indicators and calculation approaches for monitoring carbon stock changes in line with the 2006 IPCC Guidelines. Formulation of Terms of Reference (ToRs) for targeted research to fill data and methodological gaps. Development of a dedicated methodology for monitoring forest degradation.
- Institutionalisation and Capacity Development: Development of draft Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) defining roles, responsibilities, and workflows for data collection, processing, and reporting across key institutions. The SOP report provides a clear procedural framework to guide the eventual implementation and operationalization of the MRV system once institutional conditions are favourable.
- Technical Review: Provision of targeted input to support data analysis and the development of carbon stock calculation tools for future use. Conduction of a comprehensive technical review of the GIZ-developed carbon calculation tool for estimating living biomass and dead wood in Georgia’s forests.
Contact