PROGRESS REPORT

THE STUDY ON THE STRENGTHENING OF METHODOLOGICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL

APPROACHES FOR REDUCING DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION WITHIN

THE REDD IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

Application in Lao P.D.R

March 2011

Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

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PREFACE

This report describes the activities implemented from April 2010 to March 2011 in the fiscal 2010 Study on the Strengthening of Methodological and Technological Approaches for Reducing Deforestation and Forest Degradation within the REDD Implementation Framework, subsidized by the Forestry Agency, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and having the Forest Inventory and Planning Division (FIPD), Department of Forestry, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR as the counterpart agency.

Starting in fiscal 2009, the Study activities in Lao PDR have entailed support for various initiatives on the ground, technology development, technology transfer and human capacity development, etc. In the survey and research activities in fiscal 2010, continuing to target the pilot areas of Louangphabang Province in the north of the country and Khamkeut District in Bolikhamxai Province in the center, analysis of satellite images, development of a model for estimating forest carbon stocks, simulation analysis of future deforestation and examination of the MRV system, etc. were implemented in Japan, while field reconnaissance, village surveys, forest inventories and data collection, etc. were conducted five times in an effort to enhance the content of activities. In the course of these study activities, OJT was conducted jointly with the counterparts and effort was made to develop human capacity and transfer technology via exchange of opinions and learning in workshops and technical training including a course for the counterparts in Japan.

Additionally this fiscal year, as follow-up to the fiscal 2008 Program to Support Understanding of Tropical Forests, contribution towards capacity building, etc. was made through inviting officials of the Directorate of Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to workshops and training in Japan.

Furthermore, through presenting the achievements of the Study at the ISAP 2010 Conference of Experts (staged by IGES, July 2010) and the International Technical Seminar on REDD+ (staged by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, February 2011) in joint name with the counterpart, we had the opportunity to widely transmit information to the world.

I hope the results of activities described herein will contribute to the realization and promotion of the REDD+ system and aid the furtherance of friendship and goodwill between Japan, Lao PDR and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

In closing, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for the immeasurable guidance, cooperation and advice offered by members of the International Forestry Cooperation Office of the Planning Division, Private Forest Department of the Forestry Agency, the Department of Forestry of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Lao PDR Directorate of Forestry, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, other local agencies, the Japanese embassies in each country, JICA and the Advisory Committee (chaired by Haruo Sawada, Professor at the Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo).

March 2011 Mitsuru Nasu Project Manager Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

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ABBREVIATIONS

AAS Asia Air Survey Co., Ltd.

ADB Asian Development Bank

AFOLU Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use

ALOS Advanced Land Observing Satellite

ANSAB Asia Network for Sustainable Agriculture and Bioresources

AR-CDM Afforestation and Reforestation under CDM

AR4 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report:Climate Change 2077

ASTER Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer

ASTER/GDEM Global Digital Elevation Model

AVNIR2 Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer2

B/H Base to Height ratio

BAU Business-As-Usual

BIOTIK Biodiversity Informatics and Cooperation in Taxonomy for Interactive shared

Knowledge Base

C Carbon

CA Cellular Automata

CAD Computer Aided Design

C/P Counter Part

CDM Clean Development Mechanism

CH4 Methane

CIFOR Center for International Forestry Research

CF Current Forest

CGER Center for Global Environmental Research

CL Crop Land

CMP The Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto

Protocol

CO Carbon Monoxide

CO2 Carbon Dioxide

COP Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC

CUZ Controlled Used Zone

D.G. Director General

d.m. dry matter

DAFO District Agriculture and Forestry Office

DBH Diameter (at) Breast Height

DEM Digital Elevation Model

DNA Designated National Authorities

DFRC Division of Forest Resources Conservation

DOF Department of Forestry

DPFFR Division of Protection Forest Management and Forest Restoration

DSM Digital Surface Model

EGM96 Earth Gravitational Model 1996

EOS Earth-Observing-System

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FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FAOSTAT FAO Statistical Database

FCD-H Forest Canopy Density

FCPF Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

FECOFUN Federation of Community Forest Users Nepal

FFPRI Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute of Japan

FIPD Forest Inventory and Planning Division

FORCOM Forest Management and Community Support Project

FRA Global Forest Resources Assessment

FSC Forest Stewardship Council

FSIP Forest Strategy 2020 Implementation Promotion Project

GCP Ground Control Point

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GEOSS Global Earth Observation System of System

GHG Greenhouse Gas

GIO Greenhouse Gas Inventory Office of Japan

GIS Geographical Information System

GL Grassland

GOFC-GOLD Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics

GPG-LULUCF Good Practice Guidance for Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry

GPS Global Positioning System

GTOS Global Terrestrial Observing System

GTZ German Agency for Technical Cooperation

GWP Global Warming Potential

HAN Hanoi or Hanoi Noi Bai International Airport

HRG High Resolution Geometry

HRV High Resolution Visible Instrument

HRVIR High Resolution Visible and Infrared

IBAMA Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis

(Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources)

ICIMOD International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

IGES Institute for Global Environmental Strategies

IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

ISODATA Iterative Self-Organizing Data Analysis Technique

ITTO International Tropical Timber Organization

IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

JAXA Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JBIC Japan Bank for International Cooperation

JBON Japanese Biodiversity Observation Network

JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency

JIFPRO Japan International Forestry Promotion and Cooperation Center

JOFCA Japan Overseas Forestry Consultants Association

JOPP Japan Overseas Plantation Center for Pulpwood

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JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group

KFW Kreditanstalt Fuer Wiederaufbau

LAK Loa Kip

LDC Least Developed Countries

LPB Louangphabang

LPFL Oji Lao Plantation Forest Co.,LTD

LULUCF Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry

LUP / LA Land Use Planning and Land Allocation

LSFP 2001 Lao-Swedish Forestry Programme 2001

MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

M/P Master Plan

MARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

MCA Markov-cellular automata

METI Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

MODIS Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer

MOP The Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MRV Monitoring, reporting and verification or measuring, reporting and verification

N2O Nitrous Oxide

NAFRI National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute

NAMA National Mitigation Action Plan

NASA National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NBCA National Biodiversity Conservation Area

NDSI Normalized Difference Soil Index

NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index

NGD National Geographic Department

NGO Non-Governmental Organizations

NGPES The National Growth and Poverty Eradication Strategy

NIES National Institute for Environmental Studies

NIR Near Infrared

NMVOC Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NORAD Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation

NOx Nitrogen Oxide

NTFP Non-Timber Forest Products

o.b. over bark

OCHA Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affair

ODA Official Development Assistance

OJT On-the-Job Training

PAFO Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office

PALSAR Phased Array Type L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar

PAREDD Participatory Land and Forest Management Project for Reducing Deforestation in

Lao P.D.R.

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PCM Project Cycle Management

PDM Project Design Matrix

Ph D. Philosophic Doctor (Doctor of Philosophy)

PDR People's Democratic Republic

PRISM Panchromatic Remote-sensing Instrument for Stereo Mapping

PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

R-PIN Readiness Plan Idea Notes

RADAR Radio Detection and Ranging

RC Rate of Change

REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

REDD+ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing

Forest Carbon Stocks

RESTEC Remote Sensing Technology Center of Japan

RMSE Root Mean Square Error

RPC Rational Polynomial Coefficients

RS Remote Sensing

RSC Remote Sensing Center

SI Shadow Index

Sida Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency

SGN Tansonnhat International Airport

SO2 Sulfur Dioxide

SPOT Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre

SRTM Shuttle Radar Topography Mission

SSI Scaled Shadow Index

SUFORD Sustainable Forestry and Rural Development Project

SWIR Short-Wavelength Infrared

TM,ETM,ETM+ TM:Thematic Mapper, ETM:Enhanced Thematic Mapper, ETM+:Enhanced

Thematic Mapper Plus

TAr Tropical Rain Forest

TAWa Tropical Moist Deciduous Forest

TAWb Tropical Dry Forest

TBSh Tropical Shrubland

TBWh Tropical Desert

TM Tropical Mountain Systems

TPZ Total Protection Zones

UF Unstocked Forest

UN United Nations

UN-REDD The United Nations Collaborative Programme on REDD

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNEP United Nations Development Programme

UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNESCO United Nations Educational,Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization

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USD United States Dollar

USGS United States Geological Survey

UTM Universal Transverse Mercator

VD Vegetation Density

VNFOREST Viet Nam Administration of Forestry

WB World Bank

WFP World Food Programme

WERI Water Resources and Environment Research Institute

WREA Water Resources and Environment Administration

WWF World Wide Fund for Nature

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LOCATION MAP

LOCATION MAP OF THE PILOT STUDY AREAS

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PICTURES

< Louangphabang >

Louangphabang Airport Louangphabang City

Overview from airplane Overview

Main road closed after heavy rain Landslide by rain

Member of the forest survey the Mon tribe

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< Bolikhamxai >

Laksao Town Limestone land

The Vietnam border Forest

Forest sunk by the dam Closed the bridge of the main road

Illegal logging (just after logging) Member of the forest survey

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Plot with big natural trees of Mt.Phu

Chomvoy in Khamkeuth district of

Bolikhamxai province (1,810m attitude)

The acces road to Mt. Phu Chomvoy.

Going on the tough road by jeep

Big trees over 45m of the height and 1.5m of DBH in Mt. Phu Chomvoy

Checking the location of the big trees by GPS in Mt. Phu Chomvoy

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There were many Castanopsis sp. Local name:Ko, Mak Ko in Louangphabang province

There were many Schima sp. in Borikhamxai province

There were many Vatica astrotricha. Local name:Mai khenphai in Borikhamxai province

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Meeting before the survey Setting up the plot

Checking the tree species measuring the height of the tree

Measuring the DBH Writing on the field notebook

The pass to the plot

on Mt. Phu Chomvoy of Bolikhamxai

Measuring the big tree

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Measuring the height of the tree

by the C/P on Mt. Phu Chomvoy

Fokienia hodginsii sapling

on Mt. Phu Chomvoy

The house of the guide

to Mt. Phu Chomvoy in Bolikhamxai

The house of the chief of a village,

made of concrete blocks in Bolikhamxai

Deciduous trees and limestone mountain Cassava field and paddy field

in dry season in Bolikhamxai

Houaypho village Namai village

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Hearing in Houaypho village Measuring the consumption of firewood

in Namai village

Explanatory meeting in Vangphom village Hearing in Ngiou village

Measuring the fuelwood

and hearing Ngiou village

First technical training on simulating

future forest cover (28th June, 2010)

Second technical training on simulating

future forest cover (15th February, 2011)

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CONTENTS

Preface Abbreviations Location Map Pictures Contents 1. Outline of The Study........................................................................................................................ 1-1

1.1. Background of the Study ...................................................................................................... 1-1 1.2. Objectives and Basic Policy of the Study in Fiscal 2010 ...................................................... 1-2 1.3. Signing of MOU ................................................................................................................... 1-3 1.4. Establishment and Staging of the Advisory Committee ........................................................ 1-5 1.5. Outline of Pilot Survey Areas ............................................................................................... 1-5 1.6. Outline of the Study in Fiscal 2010 and Achievements So Far ............................................. 1-6

2. Development of a Forest Monitoring System Utilizing Remote Sensing Technology .................... 2-1

2.1. Outline of Technology Development Concerning Remote Sensing ..................................... 2-1 2.2. Land Use/Cover Map Preparation Method ........................................................................... 2-3 2.3. Accuracy Analysis of Land Use/Cover Maps ....................................................................... 2-11 2.4. Forest Biomass Classing ....................................................................................................... 2-25 2.5. Additional Preparation of Land Use/Cover Maps for Forecasting Future Changes

in Forest Cover ...................................................................................................................... 2-34 2.6. Summary of Remote Sensing Analysis ................................................................................. 2-40

3. Analysis and Simulation of Forest Cover Changes ......................................................................... 3-1

3.1. Introduction......................................................................................................................... 3-1 3.2. Forest Cover Changes Based on the Available Forest Cover Statistics .............................. 3-2 3.3. Forest Cover Changes Based on Remote Sensing Analyses ............................................... 3-5 3.4. Simulation of Future Forest Cover Changes ....................................................................... 3-7 3.5. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 3-34 Appendices ...................................................................................................................................... 3-36

4. Technology Development for Estimating Forest Carbon Stocks ..................................................... 4-1 4.1. Outline of Technology Development for Gauging Forest Carbon Stocks .......................... 4-1 4.2. Forest Survey ...................................................................................................................... 4-5 4.3. Relation between Forest Carbon Stock and Tree Height (CS-H Model) ............................ 4-11 4.4. Relationship between Medium Resolution Satellite Images and Forest Stand Factors ...... 4-13 4.5. Tree Height Measurement based on ALOS/PRISM ........................................................... 4-15 4.6. Preparation of Forest Carbon Stock Estimation Maps ........................................................ 4-32 4.7. Summary and Issues ........................................................................................................... 4-37

5. Analysis of MRV System for REDD+ ............................................................................................. 5-1

5.1. Objectives of the MRV System ........................................................................................... 5-1 5.2. Configuration of MRV System Conditions ......................................................................... 5-2 5.3. Conceptual Design of MRV System ................................................................................... 5-3 5.4. Designing of the Forest GIS Database for the MRV System .............................................. 5-7 5.5. How to Measure Forest Carbon Stock ................................................................................ 5-17 5.6. Design of the Deforestation and Forest Degradation Forecasting Simulation System ....... 5-17 5.7. Construction of the Forest Monitoring System ................................................................... 5-17 5.8. Construction of an Integrated System ................................................................................. 5-18 5.9. Construction of the Verification System ............................................................................. 5-18 5.10. Summary ............................................................................................................................. 5-18

6. Capacity Development Activities .................................................................................................... 6-1 6.1. Objectives of Capacity Development Activities ................................................................. 6-1 6.2. Capacity Development Programs and Results .................................................................... 6-1

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7. Study Achievements and Future Developments .............................................................................. 7-1 7.1. Study Achievements ........................................................................................................... 7-1 7.2. Future Developments .......................................................................................................... 7-2

Appendix

1. MOU .......................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Forest Survey Note .................................................................................................................. 10 3. List of Interviewers .................................................................................................................. 57 4. List of References .................................................................................................................... 59