Getting started with VM0047

Use Earth Blox to carry out a VM0047 assessment, to quantify carbon removal in afforestation, reforestation, and revegetation (ARR) projects. 

The VM0047 methodology, developed by Verra, ensures that an ARR project is ‘additional’, by showing that compared to similar control areas, a greater amount of carbon was removed than would have been without the project.

This guide takes you through each step of the Assess ARR project additionality using VM0047 package in Earth Blox:

Step 1: Check ARR project eligibility

Step 2: Delineate the donor pool

Step 3: Generate sample plots

Step 4: Match project and control plots

Before you get started, here’s some of the key VM0047 terminology to get familiar with:

Donor pool

The donor pool is an area with similar characteristics to the ARR project, but where no ARR activities have occurred. The donor pool is used to establish a reliable baseline for what would have happened naturally if the ARR project had not taken place. 

Control and project plots

Control plots are uniformly sized areas selected from within the bounds of the donor pool. These are compared with “Project plots” that are from within the bounds of the project area. Project and control plots are the same size, and are randomly selected.

Stocking index

This is the geospatial dataset that is used to compare the project and control plots. There isn’t a prescribed dataset, but it must have a proven correlation with biomass.

Continue to Step 1: Check ARR project eligibility