Development of Methods to Assess Carbon Stocks and Improve Climate Reporting of Agricultural Ecosystems in Central Asia (CARB-ASIA)

In close cooperation and coordination with national authorities, UNDP, GIZ Bischkek, as well as NGOs and universities in the target country Kyrgyzstan, a method for assessing the carbon storage of soils in various categories of land use will be developed that is scientifically sound and adapted to international standards. These results are an important milestone for the inventory of activity data for climate reporting and contribute to a functioning Monitoring Reporting and Verification (MRV) system.
Taking into account the project results, hot spots of carbon storage, such as pastures in the higher altitudes, pastures on floodplain soils and moors in the valleys, arable land in the fertile valley areas and forest soils, as well as their endangerment will be detected and adapted sustainable land use strategies can then be developed which contribute to the protection and increase of carbon stocks in soils. For two representative project areas in Kyrgyzstan, which well represent the hot spots mentioned above, the organisational and institutional framework conditions for transparent and comprehensible emission reporting and inventory will be proposed.
In order to increase awareness by land users and decision-makers in Kyrgyzstan, the project results will be presented at the local and national level and, together with experts and land users, the recommendations for the National Strategy for the Protection of Ecosystems with High Potential for Greenhouse Gas Storage in Kyrgyzstan will be discussed and elaborated.
Local experts will be trained on the use of the scientifically sound method and recommendations will be developed for the regulatory responsibilities anchored in administrative regulations so that emissions reporting can be updated. The project results will be published digitally and analogue in the form of a handbook in Russian, Kyrgyz and English.