Orbify Review - The Envira Amazonia Project

In the Orbify Review, we pick an NbS project related to the Voluntary Carbon Market from one of the credible registries and review it using our Geospatial Data Platform (GDP) to show how can you use and take advantage of our platform to analyse a VCM project or even to monitor and use the data to include in your PDD on the project development.

PROJECT INFORMATION

For this review, we have chosen The Envira Amazonia Project, located in Acre State, Brazil, which is registered with the Verra Registry.

The project was selected to be analysed by the recent concerning news about deforestation occurring in its area. We aim to verify these claims and assess the situation firsthand. This review will delve deeper than simply examining geospatial data; we will also investigate whether all instances of deforestation have been accurately reported in the monitoring reports, and if the issuance of final carbon credits aligns correctly with the satellite data.

• VCS Project Type: Agriculture Forestry and Other Land Use
• AFOLU Activity: REDD
• VCS Methodology: VM0007
• Hectares: 39,301 Hectares
• Project Crediting Period Term: 02/08/2012 - 01/08/2042
• Description: The Envira Amazonia Project seeks to help protect and conserve tropical forests by providing payments for ecosystem services. This type of project is known as a Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation project (REDD project) by using an Avoided Planned Deforestation approach. Project development involved engaging a large landowner willing to forgo conversion of forest land to a ranching operation, working with the local communities surrounding the project area, engaging Acre state officials working on reducing deforestation pressures on the regional/state level, and putting into operation the REDD project implementation plan with the help of local partners.

• Benefits to climate: Avoid the emission of 1,281,822 tons of CO2e per year.

ORBIFY REVIEW

The Envira Amazonia Project, located near Feijó in Acre, Brazil, covers an area of 200,000 hectares. Feijó, the closest town to the project, is situated between Sena Madureira and Cruzeiro do Sul along Highway BR-364. The recent paving of BR-364 in 2011, the main east-west highway in Acre, has significantly increased market access in the region and led to an increase in property values, especially as cattle ranching expands along this corridor. The project property is connected to BR-364 by a secondary road and is accessible via 4-wheeler paths that run throughout the property.

This REDD APD (Avoided Planned Deforestation) Project will generate GHG emission reductions by foregoing forest conversion to grassland in favour of conservation of the tropical forest (i.e., maintaining existing carbon stocks). The project will also mitigate deforestation pressures in the wider region using a combination of environmental programs and social programs intended to improve the livelihoods of community members living in the vicinity of the project area. Social projects and programs for the local communities will not only generate sustainable economic opportunities, but will also result in a reduction in deforestation in the region and the preservation of biodiversity.

A signed Tri-Party Agreement between JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos LTDA, Carbon Securities and CarbonCo, LLC lays out the roles and responsibilities for each project proponent, and documents the transfer of some portion of the carbon rights from JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos to Carbon Securities and CarbonCo. At the time of signing the initial Tri-Party Agreement (August 2, 2012), there were three investors in JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos LTDA.

A Tri-Party Agreement signed between JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos LTDA, Carbon Securities, and CarbonCo, LLC, outlines the roles and responsibilities of each project proponent. It also documents the transfer of a portion of the carbon rights from JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos to Carbon Securities and CarbonCo. As of August 2, 2012, the date when the initial agreement was signed, there were three investors in JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos LTDA.

JR Agropecuária e Empreendimentos LTDA, which translates to JR Agriculture-Livestock and Ventures LTDA, was established by Duarte on July 13, 2009. The company initially planned to log 20% of their property before converting the land into pasture. To facilitate this, Milva Vasquez M.E., a logging company owned by Rubens, was contracted to harvest all commercially valuable wood and clear-cut the area, paving the way for a large ranch. Bento was then tasked with converting the cleared land into pasture, which included planting grass and installing fencing. However, after learning about REDD and carbon projects, the landowners decided to avoid the planned deforestation and instead start a REDD project.

In our review, we will only access the Project Area as provided on the VERRA website. Since this project is an APD (Avoided Planned Deforestation), it does not have a Reference Area, but rather proxy areas. However, these were not provided, and the available maps are of poor quality, making data extraction challenging. Similarly, the project includes a leakage area, but we face the same issue here: the lack of provided data from the project developers and the even poorer quality of maps prevent us from applying our tool effectively.

It's important to note that our aim is not to rate the projects or guide buyers on whether to invest in them. We simply demonstrate how our platform can be used to analyze a project of interest. For those seeking project investment consultancy, please feel free to contact us.

GEOSPATIAL DATA PLATFORM

We then uploaded the project area onto our Geospatial Data Platform (GDP) and selected the dates for our analysis. This allows us to view the dashboard and map with the relevant indicators. For this specific example, we chose a date range covering data from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. Let's take a look at the change analysis derived from the GDP:

• Total area = 39,473.48 ha
• Forest ratio = 99.16%
• Maintained forest = 39,114.6 ha
  • Forest loss = 80.57 ha (0.21%)
  • Forest gain = 28.35 ha (​​0.08%)
• Above ground biomass = 10,974,741 Mg
  • Average AGB Concentration = 278.03 Mg/ha

By analyzing the data, we can observe both the extent of maintained forest and the instances of deforestation/degradation within the area. Interestingly, this area is situated in a region with a high threat of deforestation. Yet, it has been quite successful in preventing clear-cutting within its boundaries. The Hansen chart below reveals some deforestation occurring in the area, but it is relatively minimal in intensity.

When compared with the deforestation reported by the Project Developer we can see that there's a consistency presented with the data observed by Orbify Platform, see chart below:

When compared to the Project Design Document (PDD) data, we can evaluate what was expected and what the developers reported. By comparing this with what our tool actually observed, we can discern the differences in the carbon credits issued for each vintage. The discrepancy is not significant, which aligns with our expectations, given that the deforestation observed by satellite was also reported by the project developers. See below:

A crucial point to note is that we were unable to analyze the Leakage Area, and the project developer has treated it as non-existent (considering it as zero). They argue that the Leakage Area encompasses lands they own, and potential leakage would occur only if they compensated for conserving forests, initially slated for deforestation, by deforesting other areas they own. However, they maintain that this is not the case, thereby assuming a leakage value of zero. In our analysis, we have adhered to this same assumption.

This demonstrates that although some deforestation occurred within the project area, it was reported, and appropriate adjustments were made. Consequently, the news and media claims suggesting that this project is ineffective and involved in unreported deforestation are not accurate. While it's true that not all projects are flawless, we recognize the necessity of REDD+ projects. Therefore, we are committed to promoting transparency and sharing knowledge with the community.

We openly invite all media channels to contact us and explore our platform and consultancy services. Our goal is to aid in creating accurate stories about the carbon market.

In conclusion, we observed that there is some deforestation, but on a small scale. The project appears to be effective in avoiding some deforestation within its area. Additionally, we have illustrated some aspects of the VM0007 APD methodology from VERRA for REDD projects, emphasizing the importance of using accurate data for proper reporting of emissions avoidance.

In this review, we demonstrated how our geospatial data platform can be utilized to quickly and easily assess an NbS project. This provides valuable insights, aiding decision-making for developers, investors, and government bodies.