Carbon MRV
December 12, 2023
Moss and explorer.land leverage Nadar's satellite-powered monitoring to offer transparent and reliable insights into the Seringueira REDD+ project in the Brazilian Amazon.
High-integrity nature-based carbon projects need to be promoted in a transparent manner that is backed by credible data.
We teamed up with Moss and explorer.land to monitor a high-quality REDD+ project effectively and transparently with reliable insights from satellite imagery.
The Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) and specifically carbon projects under the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) type have received increasing scrutiny from media and research. While there are questionable REDD+ projects out there, high-quality projects do exist that channel much-needed funding into some of the last remaining intact forests on Earth. These projects need visibility and should be promoted in a transparent and credible manner that is backed by high-quality data.
Therefore, Nadar, Moss, and explorer.land have joined forces to highlight a high-quality REDD+ project - the Seringueira Project in the Brazilian Amazon - transparently through high-quality satellite-powered monitoring.
Moss is a carbon project developer from Brazil committed to protecting the Amazon rainforest through end-to-end carbon solutions.
explorer.land is a mapping platform operated by OpenForests to discover, connect, and communicate impactful nature-based projects.
"Nadar's satellite technology and AI-driven data analysis provide essential tools for explorer.land clients to monitor, report, and showcase their nature-based projects with high accuracy. This synergy enhances their ability to make informed decisions, communicate their impact effectively, and engage with a broader audience." - Alexander Watson, Founder & CEO, explorer.land
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The Seringueira Project is implemented in the municipality of Ipixuna, Amazonas State, Brazil, under the Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Uses (AFOLU) sector within the REDD+ category. The project will conserve approximately 18,000 hectares of native Amazon rainforest, avoiding the emissions of around 1,209,088 tons of Greenhouse Gases (tCO2e) . The project is being developed following the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) guidelines and the Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standards (CCB).
The Seringueira Project is showcased in the explorer.land platform; you can check out the project here: https://explorer.land/x/project/seringueira
Nadar's satellite-powered MRV (Monitoring, Reporting and Verification) enables the reliable monitoring of aboveground biomass (AGB) and deforestation in any forest ecosystem at a high spatial detail.
Nadar's models combine multiple satellite data sources and sensor types (multispectral, radar, and LiDAR) with further data sources such as aerial images and field measurements e.g. on tree height to accurately measure and monitor changes in vegetation biomass and carbon storage over time. AI enables us to more accurately detect changes in vegetation cover and biomass storage in different ecoregions.
We derived AGB based on a modelling approach combining airborne lidar data and allometric models with multispectral, radar and LiDAR satellite imagery. To create a continuous aboveground biomass map for the project area, we adopted machine learning models using the best performing indices. Satellite imagery from Planet NICFI, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, GEDI, and ALOS-2/PALSAR-2 was applied to derive AGB at 10 meter spatial resolution.
We applied a regional land cover classification to detect the forested area in the project area in accordance with the FAO forest cover definition. Quarterly forest loss was detected through fusion of multispectral and radar time series analysis. Sensitivity and specificity metrics were applied to validate and derive the annual forest loss layer with high accuracy. Satellite imagery from Planet NICFI, Sentinel-1, and Sentinel-2 was applied to derive forest loss at 4.7 meter spatial resolution.
Nadar's project level monitoring that is adapted to the specific vegetative structure in the project area achieves higher accuracy than global data products. The high spatial and temporal detail of Nadar's satellite analysis enabled the detection of small-scale degradation encroaching into the project's borders. Frequent monitoring is needed to detect degradation that else would not be detected as the canopy quickly regrows in dense tropical forests. In this way, deforestation agents can be identified early on and mitigation measures can be derived to further protect the forest.
Benefits for developers of forest carbon projects and other nature-based solutions of nadar's highly accurate monitoring lie in the credibility with which they can communicate their project's success to clients and other stakeholders.
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