Value for Nature’s Jan Fehse has led on or has materially contributed to over 50 consulting assignments with specific relevance to forests in climate markets and policy. He was also involved in several carbon credit purchase and sales deals from forestry projects. Below is a small selection of relevant experience to the specified topic.

Assistance with Forest Carbon Project Certification (CDM, VCS)

Project feasibility assessments and project portfolio screening (since 2000). Jan has lead on or been materially involved in carbon market feasibility studies for over 25 afforestation/reforestation, avoided deforestation/ degradation and improved forest management projects around the world. Such an assessment determines a project’s feasibility in terms of eligibility to carbon standards, applicability of baseline methodologies, preliminary analyses of the project’s baseline scenario, leakage threat and credit generation potential, marketability, an analysis of stakeholder views, potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, data availability and gaps, among others. Jan was also involved in 4 screening studies to identify feasible projects in larger project portfolios.

Project Design Document of a Jatropha biodiesel plantation project in the Kavango Province of Northern Namibia (2006-2011). After conducting a feasibility assessment of this project in 2006 Jan was tasked in 2010 with the writing of the Project Description for the project in order to achieve validation and registration under the Voluntary Carbon Standard. The project is planning to offer employment to thousands of very poor rural families and become a significant driver to the development of the region.

Development of Alternative Financing Mechanisms for Sustainable Forest Management and Community Livelihood Improvement in Colombia (2001-2003). In this ITTO-funded project near the city of Medellin, Colombia, Jan carried out a carbon offset quantification study of planned forestry and agro-forestry activities and developed a financial model and transaction structure for carbon credits and biodiversity shares. Activities included the modeling of carbon dynamics in 17 forestry and agroforestry land use systems, a baseline analysis for land use changes in the project region, capacity building courses to technical project staff and the financial modeling of costs and revenues of the project, including income streams from the sale of carbon credits. In addition, Jan worked with the partners on the design of the ‘Carbon-Plus Credit’, which incorporates an added value from the other environmental and developmental services that the project will provide, such as biodiversity conservation and enhancement, soil conservation and erosion control, scenic beauty, poverty alleviation and community strengthening. Looking back, this concept was an early version of the CCB-certification. This project has sold carbon credits to the World Bank’s BioCarbon Fund.