Carbon Market Watch comments on proposed VCS REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea (ID: 2760)

Carbon Market Watch (CMW) argues that the proposed "REDD+ Project in Oro Province of Papua New Guinea" by Kanaka Management Services Private Limited should be rejected by Verra due to significant "red flags" in its Project Description Document (PDD). CMW highlights a lack of evidence for the project's baseline deforestation estimates, additionality assumptions, and stakeholder consultation processes. The project, which would be the second largest Verra VCS project if approved, aims to generate 8.1 million credits annually for 100 years, but CMW contends that the PDD fails to provide the necessary data, maps, and justifications to verify these claims. Furthermore, CMW notes that a moratorium issued by Papua New Guinea's Ministry for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change on March 2, 2022, likely renders the project ineligible.

• The proposed project is exceptionally large in scale, aiming to generate 8.1 million carbon credits annually over a 100-year period, which would make it the second largest Verra VCS project if approved.
• The project's baseline assumption of 85-95% deforestation over 100 years in the 418,000-hectare area lacks compelling justification, evidence, or the required driver variables and factor maps mandated by the VM0015 methodology.
• The project developer failed to provide sufficient evidence for additionality, offering only a one-paragraph section mentioning a cost investment analysis without disclosing the results or calculations.
• There is a lack of evidence regarding rigorous stakeholder consultation, with no provided dates or details for purported meetings and a failure to address the linguistic diversity of Papua New Guinea, as documents are only published in English.
• The project's reference area is poorly delineated and does not appear to be a realistic representation of the project area, as it includes divergent contexts such as the capital city, Port Moresby, and low-elevation coasts.
• The project developer's claims regarding social safeguards are unsubstantiated, including a blanket assertion of "no net harm" and a lack of concrete details on benefit-sharing agreements or grievance procedures.
• The project may already be ineligible due to a moratorium issued by Papua New Guinea's Ministry for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change on March 2, 2022, regarding new and proposed REDD+ voluntary carbon market projects.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2022). Carbon Market Watch comments on proposed VCS REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea (ID: 2760). https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CMW-comments-on-REDD-Project-in-Oro-Province-of-Papua-New-Guinea.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Carbon Market Watch comments on proposed VCS REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea (ID: 2760). 2022. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CMW-comments-on-REDD-Project-in-Oro-Province-of-Papua-New-Guinea.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Carbon Market Watch comments on proposed VCS REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea (ID: 2760) |date=3 November 2022 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CMW-comments-on-REDD-Project-in-Oro-Province-of-Papua-New-Guinea.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2022carbon, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Carbon Market Watch comments on proposed VCS REDD+ project in Papua New Guinea (ID: 2760)}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/CMW-comments-on-REDD-Project-in-Oro-Province-of-Papua-New-Guinea.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }