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Comment 7 for March 22, 2016 Cap-and Trade Workshop on Sector-Based Offsets (sectorbased1-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Jason
Last Name: Ko
Email Address: jmko@fs.fed.us
Affiliation: USFS
Subject: USFS Comments on Technical Paper
Comment:
Hello, Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on this process as it develops. We applaud CA and ARB for leading the world in this area, including potentially expanding the program to provide incentives towards sustainable forest management and reducing deforestation in tropical forests around the world. Comment 1) Firstly, we would like to direct you to tow programs that USFS participates in, in collaboration with other federal agencies: 1) Silvacarbon and 2) SWAMP, focused on 1) enhancing capacity worldwide for monitoring and managing forest and terrestrial carbon and 2)to generate knowledge that is relevant to policymakers and practitioners regarding the sustainable management of tropical wetlands and wetland carbon. http://egsc.usgs.gov/silvacarbon/sites/default/files/SilvaCarbon_Fact_Sheet_September2015_0.pdf http://www.cifor.org/swamp/ Both these initiatives represent cross USG agency collaborations that have developed many tools, research, and methodologies that California might want to consider as they move forward. Furthermore, SilvaCarbon and SWAMP might already be partnering with jurisdictional authorities in areas that California is looking at. Comment 2) Where to the freely associated islands fit into the ARB process. Territories, if I understand correctly could be incorporated under the domestic program, but freely associated states? USFS Region 5 supports forestry programs through both our domestic and international programs in Palau, Marshalls, and Micronesia for example. Comment 3) Leakage is a serious issue in tropical forest countries, that cannot necessarily be tracked in a compartmentalized way as it is in CA. China for instance imports raw materials and exports products around the world. Thus even robust jurisdictional integrity might have little affect on carbon at a global market where vertical integration is not contained in that same jurisdiction. Testing the globalization of the CA market is a worthwhile endeavor, but might not actually have the intended GHG reduction result desired in the near term. Comment 4) Many researchers are working with LiDAR in tropical forests including Dr Greg Asner and Dr Sassan Saatchi. Additionally, there is not consensus that wall to wall LiDAR is the "best" or most cost effective tool to use for remote monitoring of forests. Other combinations of remote sensing technologies and tools such as those developed by Dr Matt Hansen and WRI also have value in different ways. Of course there is Japan, France, and the EU as well. All with different methodologies, tools, and data. UNREDD vs FCPF. Thinking in the long term, developing countries often do not have the capacity to manage or analyze competing programs and tools. So setting specific technologies might significantly restrict which jurisdictions Ca is able to engage with. Comment 5) Trying to align any guidelines and parameters as much as possible with those coming out of Warsaw and Paris would be very practical. USFS looks forward to continuing to be involved with ARB as this process develops and is always available to provide support where appropriate.
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2016-04-08 15:30:51
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