Overview
How this pathway works
Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Protection projects prevent the conversion, degradation, or fragmentation of intact or near-intact natural ecosystems that hold significant carbon stocks and biodiversity values. The fundamental mechanism is avoided emissions: the project establishes that a credible deforestation or conversion threat exists, quantifies the carbon that would be released if that threat materialised, and credits the avoided release as a carbon benefit so long as the ecosystem remains protected.
Annex E is the only Teravent pathway structured entirely around avoided emissions rather than new carbon removal. This reflects the ecological reality that protecting intact ecosystems prevents the release of carbon accumulated over centuries - often far more carbon per hectare than could be replaced by any restoration activity within a human lifetime. A tropical forest carbon stock of 300–500 tCO₂e/ha would require 50–150 years to re-accumulate after clearance. Every hectare protected is therefore a significant carbon benefit that cannot be easily replicated.
Four methodology codes are approved under Annex E. BDC-M01 covers tropical and subtropical moist forest conservation; BDC-M02 covers dryland forest and woodland conservation; BDC-M03 covers savanna and high-biodiversity grassland ecosystem protection; and BDC-M04 covers critical habitat corridor and fragmentation prevention. All four require a documented active threat, a satellite-based deforestation baseline using minimum 10 years of historical imagery, a Biodiversity Impact Assessment (BIA), and legally or community-backed protection mechanisms that address the identified threat.
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Class II - Ecological permanence. All credits under TNS Annex E carry Class II Ecological permanence, reflecting the multi-century carbon storage of the protected ecosystem and the contingent nature of avoided-emission credits on maintaining protection. Buffer pool contributions of 15–30% apply, with the specific rate determined by the NPRR at validation - which must include threat recurrence probability, governance quality, tenure security, and climate-driven disturbance risk as explicit inputs. Projects in areas with strong governance and low deforestation pressure carry lower buffer rates; projects with high conversion pressure and weak tenure carry higher rates.
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Active threat is mandatory. TNS v1.0 Annex E requires that every conservation project demonstrates a credible, documented active threat of ecosystem conversion or degradation that would occur in the project's absence. A threat that is speculative, historical only, or already fully addressed by existing legal protections cannot support an avoided-emission conservation project under Annex E. The threat assessment must be reviewed and reconfirmed at each verification event - a project whose threat has dissipated may not continue to issue avoided-emission credits.
Threat Assessment
Documenting the active threat
The quality and credibility of the threat evidence is the most important additionality input for any conservation project. TNS v1.0 Annex E requires threat evidence to be specific, proximate, and plausible - not a general argument about deforestation trends. Four categories of acceptable threat evidence are defined, each with minimum evidential requirements.
Threat Type 1
Historical Deforestation Rate
Documented deforestation or ecosystem loss within or adjacent to the project area using minimum 10 years of satellite time-series (Landsat, Sentinel-2, PRODES, Global Forest Watch, or equivalent). Annual loss rate must exceed 1% within the Reference Region (typically 50 km buffer or same administrative unit) to establish a credible threat rate. The Reference Region deforestation rate becomes the baseline against which avoided emissions are calculated.
Minimum 10-yr satellite time-series · Reference Region annual loss rate documented
Threat Type 2
Specific Conversion Intent
Documentary evidence of a specific planned or approved conversion - government concession, agricultural development permit, infrastructure development plan, or mining license - covering or immediately adjacent to the project area. This is the strongest form of threat evidence and can support a higher baseline deforestation rate than historical trends alone. All relevant documents must be included in the PDD and available for VVB review.
Development permits or concessions in PDD · Spatial overlap with project boundary confirmed
Threat Type 3
Proximity to Deforestation Frontier
The project area is located within a documented active deforestation frontier - a zone where clearing is actively advancing from adjacent agricultural or pastoral land. Fronts are identified from satellite time-series showing progressive clearing advance over the most recent 5 years. The project area must be within 20 km of active clearing and in the projected advance direction. Frontier proximity must be updated annually with fresh satellite analysis.
Frontier advance documented in 5-yr satellite record · Project area within 20 km
Threat Type 4
Market and Governance Risk
Demonstrated economic pressure from commodity markets (agricultural expansion, charcoal production, fuelwood harvesting) combined with weak governance or inadequate legal protection that makes conversion economically rational for individual actors. This threat type requires a socioeconomic vulnerability assessment - mapping land tenure, community dependence on forest resources, and documented cases of illegal clearing within the reference region - accepted by the VVB at validation.
Socioeconomic vulnerability assessment accepted by VVB · Illegal clearing cases documented
Governing Standard
TNS v1.0 - Annex E
This pathway is governed exclusively by the Teravent Nature-Based Carbon Standard (TNS v1.0). All requirements - threat-based additionality, deforestation baseline construction, carbon stock assessment, biodiversity monitoring, leakage, permanence risk, and credit issuance - are defined within TNS v1.0 and Annex E.
TCR›
TNS v1.0›
Annex E - Biodiversity Conservation & Ecosystem Protection›
BDC-M01 through BDC-M04
M02
Threat-based additionality - active deforestation threat documented via one of four accepted evidence categories · Financial additionality confirms protection would not occur without carbon revenue · Common practice test confirms voluntary protection is <20% of comparable areas
M03
Baseline deforestation rate from 10-yr satellite time-series of Reference Region · Carbon stock assessed at permanent plots by ecosystem pool (AGB, BGB, SOC, DOM) · Avoided emissions calculated as baseline rate × project area × carbon stock
M04
Class II Ecological permanence · Buffer 15–30% · NPRR includes threat recurrence probability, governance quality, tenure security, and climate-driven disturbance risk
M05
Biodiversity Impact Assessment mandatory · Biodiversity+ label available for projects with independently verified net positive biodiversity outcomes · FPIC mandatory on all indigenous and community lands
M06
30-year initial crediting period · Baseline must be updated every 10 years using fresh satellite time-series · Threat must be reconfirmed as active at every verification event
M07
TNC serial: TCR–TNS–BDC–[Country]–[ProjectID]–[Vintage]–[Unit] · Avoided-emission designation noted on credit record · Differentiated from removal credits in buyer disclosure
Teravent Nature Credit - Serial Number Format (TNS Annex E)
TCR
–
TNS
–
BDC
–
IN
–
00198
–
2025
–
000001
Methodologies Accepted
Four approved ecosystem variants
TNS v1.0 Annex E approves four conservation methodology codes, each targeting a distinct ecosystem type and threat profile. The methodology code determines the eligible carbon pools, biomass allometric requirements, Reference Region definition, and biodiversity monitoring protocols. Projects spanning multiple ecosystem types must stratify by type and apply the applicable BDC code per stratum.
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Avoided emissions are contingent credits. Conservation project credits are contingent on ongoing protection - if the ecosystem is deforested or severely degraded after credit issuance, the issued credits become invalid and must be replaced from the buffer pool. Buyers of BDC pathway credits are purchasing avoided emissions, not verified removals. Teravent requires all BDC credits to carry an explicit avoided-emission designation on the credit record, ensuring buyer transparency about the accounting type. Some markets and disclosure frameworks distinguish between avoided-emission and removal credits.
BDC-M01 covers the conservation of intact or near-intact tropical and subtropical moist forests facing active deforestation pressure. These forests hold the highest above-ground biomass carbon stocks of any terrestrial ecosystem - typically 150–400 tCO₂e/ha in aboveground biomass alone, with substantial additional stocks in belowground biomass, dead organic matter, and soil organic carbon. They also support the highest concentrations of biodiversity on Earth. Eligible forest types include tropical rainforest, tropical moist deciduous forest, subtropical broadleaf forest, and montane cloud forest. The Reference Region for baseline construction must encompass a sufficiently large area to include comparable forest under similar socioeconomic and biophysical conditions - typically a 50 km buffer around the project boundary or the relevant administrative district, whichever captures the operative deforestation dynamic.
Permanence
Class II · Ecological
Buffer Pool
20–30% (by NPRR)
Crediting Period
30 yr + renewals (baseline updated every 10 yr)
Reference Region
50 km buffer or admin district - 10-yr satellite record
Forest Canopy Threshold
≥10% canopy cover within project boundary
Leakage Deduction
10–20% (activity-shifting within jurisdiction)
Key Monitoring Indicators
- Forest cover and deforestation detection - annual satellite mapping (Sentinel-2, Landsat, or SAR) of project boundary and Reference Region; any clearing within project boundary triggers immediate notification
- Aboveground biomass at permanent plots - DBH and height by species using approved allometrics; every 5 years; confirms carbon stock maintained and no undetected degradation
- Canopy cover and canopy gap fraction - satellite NDVI composite and field hemispherical photography at permanent plots; annually
- Biodiversity indicators - bird point counts, large mammal camera traps, and selected indicator taxa surveys at permanent stations; annually for first 5 years, then every 3 years
- Threat status update - annual analysis of Reference Region satellite data confirming deforestation pressure remains active; submitted with annual monitoring report
- Forest degradation indicators - selective logging tracks, charcoal kilns, fire scars - detected via satellite and ground-truthed at VVB verification; any degradation event reported within 30 days
- Governance and protection effectiveness - community patrol records, enforcement logs, patrol coverage maps submitted annually
Dryland forests and woodlands - including tropical dry deciduous forests, miombo woodlands of Central and Southern Africa, caatinga, and chaco - cover vast areas of the tropical and subtropical regions but carry lower carbon densities per hectare than moist forests. Despite lower per-hectare carbon stocks, their combined extent makes their protection globally significant. The primary threats are charcoal production for urban fuel demand, subsistence agriculture expansion, and livestock grazing pressure - all driven by rural poverty and population growth in adjacent communities. Additionality in dryland woodland systems is strongly supported by financial barriers: community charcoal production and small-scale agriculture are economically rational for individual actors in the absence of alternative income sources, while the coordinated protection required to generate carbon credits requires external finance.
Permanence
Class II · Ecological
Buffer Pool
20–28% (elevated - charcoal pressure)
Carbon Density
Typically 50–200 tCO₂e/ha AGB
Allometrics
Dryland woodland allometrics required - IPCC Tier 2 fallback
Leakage Deduction
15–25% (charcoal market leakage)
Community Engagement
Alternative livelihood plan mandatory
Key Monitoring Indicators
- Woodland extent and loss - annual satellite mapping; woodland loss within project boundary triggers immediate notification and threat reassessment
- Basal area and stand density at permanent plots - every 5 years; dryland woodland recovery or stability confirmed
- Charcoal kiln density - satellite detection and ground survey of charcoal production activity within and adjacent to project boundary; annually
- Fire frequency and severity - MODIS/VIIRS fire detection; annual fire mapping; fire management plan implementation confirmed
- Community livelihoods indicators - alternative income participation rates, charcoal production reduction documented in annual community monitoring report
- Biodiversity spot checks - selected indicator taxa (birds, reptiles, large mammals) at permanent stations; every 3 years
Tropical and subtropical savannas and native grasslands are among the most threatened and least-protected biomes on Earth - losing area to agricultural conversion faster than tropical forests in many geographies, but receiving far less conservation attention. The Cerrado of Brazil, the African savannas of East and Southern Africa, the Chaco, and the grasslands of the Indo-Gangetic Plain collectively represent enormous carbon stocks in their soils and woody vegetation - and support extraordinary biodiversity found nowhere else. BDC-M03 protects these systems from ploughing, plantation conversion, or sustained fire suppression that converts savanna to closed-canopy bush. Soil carbon is the primary protected pool in many savanna systems - deep-rooted native grasses accumulate significant belowground carbon that is permanently released when soils are ploughed for cropland.
Permanence
Class II · Ecological
Buffer Pool
18–26% (by NPRR)
Primary Carbon Pool
SOC (belowground) + woody AGB
Conversion Threshold
Ploughing or plantation conversion triggers immediate reversal
Fire Management
Prescribed burn plan required - fire is ecologically necessary
Leakage Deduction
10–20% (commodity crop displacement)
Key Monitoring Indicators
- Vegetation conversion detection - annual satellite mapping for ploughing, plantation establishment, or major land use change within project boundary
- Native grassland and savanna vegetation cover at permanent transects - species composition and cover annually; confirms native habitat maintained
- Soil organic carbon at 0–30 cm and 30–60 cm at permanent plots - every 5 years; deep-rooted grass SOC confirmed as stable
- Woody cover dynamics - satellite tree cover monitoring annually; prevents both agricultural conversion and unwanted bush encroachment
- Fire regime - MODIS/VIIRS fire detection and prescribed burn records; confirms ecologically appropriate fire management rather than suppression or unmanaged burning
- Biodiversity - grassland and savanna specialist species surveys (birds, invertebrates, reptiles) at permanent stations; every 3 years
- Commodity market pressure update - annual assessment of soy, maize, and cattle price trends driving conversion pressure in project geography
BDC-M04 protects critical habitat corridors - the narrow strips and stepping-stone patches of natural vegetation that maintain ecological connectivity between larger intact ecosystems. Fragmentation of natural habitats is one of the leading drivers of biodiversity loss globally: even where total forest area is maintained, the isolation of patches reduces effective habitat area, eliminates migratory routes, and drives local extinction of species requiring large territories. Corridor conservation projects are often smaller in area than landscape-scale forest conservation, but their biodiversity protection value per hectare is disproportionately high because they maintain the viability of much larger surrounding ecosystems. The carbon benefit is typically a mix of avoided emissions from the corridor area itself and a connectivity premium - demonstrated maintenance of wildlife movement verified by camera traps or genetics.
Permanence
Class II · Ecological
Buffer Pool
18–25% (by NPRR)
Minimum Width
200 m continuous forest or vegetation for corridor eligibility
Connectivity Evidence
Wildlife movement confirmed at validation - camera traps or genetics
Adjacent Ecosystem Link
Must link two confirmed intact or protected areas
Leakage Deduction
8–15% (typically lower - corridor land less suitable for agriculture)
Key Monitoring Indicators
- Corridor width and vegetation continuity - annual satellite and drone mapping confirming no gap formation in the corridor structure
- Wildlife movement confirmation - camera trap array at corridor entry/exit points; minimum 6 cameras per km of corridor; annual trap-night assessment
- Forest cover and canopy integrity within corridor - annual NDVI satellite analysis; any gap >50 m triggers immediate site investigation
- Biomass carbon at permanent plots - every 5 years using species-specific allometrics; confirms no undetected degradation or selective logging
- Edge effect indicators - invasive species, nest predation rates, and forest interior species at transects placed at corridor edges and centre; every 3 years
- Fragmentation threat update - annual satellite analysis confirming no new clearing or infrastructure in the 5 km buffer around the corridor
- Species connectivity genetics - optional 10-yearly genetic sampling of focal species (where feasible) confirming maintained gene flow between connected populations
Governance & Legal Protection
Protection must address the threat
TNS v1.0 Annex E requires that the legal or community protection mechanism provided by the project is commensurate with the documented threat. A government-declared protected area is not automatically sufficient if the threat is from illegal clearing that the designation does not prevent in practice. Three tiers of protection are accepted under Annex E, each carrying different additionality implications and monitoring obligations.
Tier 1 - Strongest
New Legal Protection Secured by Project
The project directly establishes new legal protection - a government-declared reserve, private nature reserve, conservation servitude, or equivalent - that did not exist before project inception and that directly addresses the conversion threat. This is the strongest additionality scenario: the project is the mechanism of protection, not merely a financing vehicle for existing protection.
Strongest additionality · Lowest buffer rate typically applicable
Tier 2 - Conditional
Existing Protection Poorly Enforced
The project area is within an existing government protected area, but documented illegal clearing, inadequate enforcement budgets, or absence of on-ground patrols means the legal protection is insufficient to address the threat alone. Carbon finance adds enforcement capacity - funding ranger patrols, aerial surveillance, or community-based monitoring - that materially reduces actual clearing rates. Must be evidenced by documented clearing history within the protected area.
Documented clearing inside protected boundary required · Enforcement gap must be demonstrated
Tier 3 - Community-Based
Community Stewardship Agreement
Protection is provided by a formal community stewardship agreement - community-held land with a binding conservation commitment, FPIC from all relevant community members, and a governance structure for monitoring and enforcement. Common in customary land tenure systems across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Must include documented evidence that absent carbon finance the community would not maintain the agreement - typically through demonstration that conversion generates higher short-term income than the agreement provides without carbon revenue.
FPIC mandatory · Governance structure documented · Financial additionality test critical
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Well-managed protected areas: Government-declared protected areas with low historical deforestation rates (<0.5%/yr in Reference Region), adequate enforcement budgets, and active ranger presence may struggle to demonstrate additionality under Annex E. Where the protection is genuinely effective without carbon finance, there may be no material carbon benefit from the project. The TSA encourages project developers to assess additionality carefully before investing in project development for well-managed, legally secure protected areas in low-threat contexts.
Carbon Pool Accounting
What must be measured
Conservation project carbon accounting quantifies the stocks that are protected - not new carbon being added. The carbon pools assessed at validation establish the baseline stock that would be lost under the deforestation scenario. All material pools must be included. The avoided emissions per year equal the baseline deforestation rate multiplied by the carbon stock per hectare cleared.
Required - Primary
Aboveground Biomass (AGB)
Living tree and shrub biomass above the soil surface. The dominant carbon pool in moist forest (BDC-M01) and dryland woodland (BDC-M02) systems. Measured at permanent plots using DBH and height measurements with species-specific allometrics. Periodic remeasurement (every 5 years) confirms stocks are maintained and no undetected degradation is occurring.
Required
Belowground Biomass (BGB)
Live root systems estimated from AGB using IPCC root-to-shoot ratios by forest type and climate zone. Particularly important for BDC-M03 (savanna and grassland) where deep-rooted native grasses store substantial belowground carbon that is the primary pool lost upon ploughing - even where AGB is sparse.
Required where material
Soil Organic Carbon (SOC)
SOC at 0–30 cm minimum; 0–60 cm recommended for grassland systems. Required where conversion would physically disturb the soil - particularly for BDC-M03 savanna and BDC-M04 corridor projects on organic-rich soils. Dry combustion CHNS analysis at permanent plots every 5 years. Less material for aerial carbon stocks in closed-canopy tropical forests where AGB and DOM dominate.
Required where material
Dead Organic Matter (DOM)
Deadwood (standing and fallen) and litter accumulation in forest systems. Material in mature tropical moist forests (BDC-M01) where DOM represents 5–15% of total ecosystem carbon. Assessed by coarse woody debris line-intercept transects and litter mass measurement at permanent plots every 5 years. Less significant in dryland woodlands and savannas where deadwood rapidly decomposes.
Excluded
New Sequestration (Above Baseline)
Conservation projects under Annex E credit avoided emissions only - not new carbon removed from the atmosphere beyond what the baseline scenario would have retained. Where the project ecosystem demonstrates statistically significant carbon stock increases above validation levels (e.g. from forest recovery following past selective logging), these may be credited separately under TNS Annex D (Ecosystem Restoration), but cannot be combined with BDC avoided-emission credits in a single issuance.
Excluded
Non-CO₂ GHGs from Intact Ecosystems
Methane and N₂O from intact natural ecosystems are not included in conservation project accounting - the project claims that these emissions would have continued regardless of whether the forest was cleared or protected. Where degradation activities (drainage, burning) change CH₄ or N₂O fluxes significantly, a supplementary assessment is required. Peatland habitats within the project boundary require separate PTL methodology registration under Annex G.
Biodiversity Monitoring
Biodiversity is a co-primary objective
Unlike other Teravent pathways where biodiversity is a co-benefit, Annex E makes biodiversity protection a co-primary objective alongside carbon. The pathway title reflects this: Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Protection. A Biodiversity Impact Assessment is mandatory, and six ecological integrity indicators are monitored throughout the crediting period. Projects failing to maintain biodiversity integrity trigger a management review regardless of whether carbon stocks are maintained.
Species Richness
Native species per survey unit vs. reference site - annually
Indicator Taxa
Focal species abundance (birds, mammals, reptiles) - every 3 years
IUCN Red List Species
Threatened species presence documented at validation and each VVB verification
Invasive Species
% cover in project area - annual survey; >20% triggers management plan
Habitat Connectivity
Patch isolation index calculated from satellite landscape analysis - every 5 years (BDC-M04)
Forest Structural Integrity
Canopy height, canopy gap, and understory cover - field and satellite; annually
🦋
Biodiversity+ label pathway: BDC projects achieving verified net positive biodiversity outcomes - independently confirmed through systematic species surveys at validation and each 5-year verification showing stable or improving populations of indicator taxa, maintained species richness relative to baseline, and IUCN Red List species presence confirmed - are automatically eligible for the Biodiversity+ quality label without any additional documentation. Biodiversity conservation is the defining activity of Annex E, and the Biodiversity+ label is available by default for projects that meet the standard ecological integrity benchmarks.
MRV Confidence
Measurement, reporting
& verification
Conservation project MRV has a distinctive profile - satellite-based deforestation detection and forest carbon stock measurement are both highly mature, giving high confidence on both sides of the avoided-emission calculation. The principal uncertainty is the baseline construction: estimating the counterfactual deforestation rate that would have occurred without the project is inherently uncertain and subject to methodological judgements that materially affect credit volume.
Deforestation Detection - Remote SensingVery High
Forest Carbon Stock AssessmentHigh
Baseline Deforestation Rate AccuracyMedium–High
Permanence - Protection EffectivenessMedium–High
Biodiversity Monitoring QualityHigh
Leakage Assessment AccuracyMedium
🔬 Baseline Construction Standard - TNS Module 3 · Annex E
The Reference Region deforestation baseline is the most methodologically sensitive element of any conservation project. TNS v1.0 Annex E requires that the Reference Region be defined using a spatially and socioeconomically comparable area that represents what would have happened to the project area without the project. The Reference Region must include a minimum of 10,000 ha of forest land under similar conversion pressure, and the historical deforestation rate must be drawn from the most recent 10-year period of satellite data. Annual deforestation rates below 0.1% in the Reference Region indicate insufficient threat to support credit issuance for that year - credits may be paused where the baseline rate falls this low. All satellite data sources, processing scripts, and deforestation polygons must be archived and available for VVB audit. The baseline is updated every 10 years using fresh satellite time-series to capture changing deforestation dynamics in the Reference Region.
Additionality
Demonstrating additionality
TNS v1.0 Module 2 requires all conservation projects to satisfy three additionality tests adapted for the avoided-emission context. The threat-based additionality framework replaces the standard common practice investment barrier approach with a specific focus on why the ecosystem faces a credible threat and why carbon finance is the necessary mechanism to address it.
1
Threat Documentation
One of the four accepted threat evidence categories must be documented in the PDD - historical deforestation rate exceeding 1%/yr in the Reference Region, specific conversion permit or concession, documented proximity to an active deforestation frontier, or socioeconomic vulnerability assessment. The threat evidence must be specific and proximate to the project area, not a general argument about regional or national deforestation trends. The threat must be reconfirmed as active at every verification event - a project whose threat has materially dissipated (e.g. because the reference region has been substantially deforested and conversion pressure has shifted elsewhere) may not continue to issue credits at the same rate.
2
Financial Additionality Test
Carbon revenue must be the necessary mechanism enabling the protection to be effective. For community-based conservation, this typically means demonstrating that without carbon payments, the community's foregone income from clearing or charcoal production is not offset by alternative livelihoods or government conservation payments - making conversion economically rational without carbon finance. For institutional landowners, this means demonstrating that the conservation management costs - ranger patrols, enforcement, governance - are not covered by other funding sources. Where government funding covers the full cost of conservation, financial additionality may be weak and the project may not qualify.
3
Regulatory Surplus Test
The protection activity must not be mandated by any existing national conservation law, corporate deforestation commitment, or legally binding environmental condition. Where the project area is in a legally designated protected area, the regulatory surplus analysis must demonstrate that the legal protection alone is insufficient to prevent the documented threat - typically by showing ongoing or recent deforestation within or adjacent to the protected area under the existing regime. Corporate no-deforestation commitments covering the project area may create a regulatory surplus challenge that must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
⚠️
Sunset provision for low-threat baselines: Where the annual Reference Region deforestation rate falls below 0.1% in any monitoring year, credit issuance is suspended for that year pending a threat reassessment. If the rate remains below 0.1% for three consecutive years, the project enters a mandatory baseline review and may need to redefine the Reference Region or demonstrate an alternative threat pathway to resume credit issuance. This prevents continued credit generation in areas where the operative threat has moved on.
Leakage Assessment
Leakage types & deductions
Conservation project leakage - deforestation or degradation displaced from the project area to adjacent unprotected forests - is the most analytically complex leakage problem in the Teravent system. It requires both spatial analysis of landscape-level dynamics and market analysis of commodity displacement.
Activity-Shifting Leakage
Deforestation Displaced to Adjacent Areas
Where conservation prevents clearing within the project boundary, the actors who would have cleared may shift to adjacent unprotected forest. The spatial leakage analysis must map the landscape within a minimum 50 km buffer, identify unprotected comparable forests at risk of receiving displaced pressure, and quantify the expected leakage fraction. Where the project protects a large fraction of available forest in the landscape (>30%), leakage deductions are typically higher than for smaller projects within a broad forest landscape.
Default: 10–20% · Higher where project protects >30% of landscape forest
Market Leakage
Commodity Supply Displacement
Where the project prevents agricultural expansion that would have supplied a commodity market (soy, palm oil, beef, timber), that market demand does not disappear - it is supplied from elsewhere, potentially including other forested areas. A market leakage deduction of 5–15% applies where the project contributes more than 5% of regional supply for an affected commodity. For charcoal and fuelwood, market leakage reflects urban fuel demand met from other forested areas - a 10–20% deduction applies to dryland woodland conservation projects (BDC-M02) in major charcoal-producing regions.
Commodity deforestation: 5–15% · Charcoal market (BDC-M02): 10–20%
Ecological Boundary Leakage
Edge Effects on Adjacent Ecosystems
Conservation does not generate ecological leakage in the same sense as restoration (no drainage effects, no fire displacement) - but project protection boundaries can create edge gradients. Where the project boundary is defined near an active deforestation frontier, clearing concentrated along the boundary edge may generate higher emissions per hectare in adjacent cleared areas than would occur if clearing were distributed across a larger landscape. This edge effect is assessed qualitatively in the spatial leakage analysis and factored into the buffer pool rate rather than as a separate deduction.
Qualitative assessment · Factored into NPRR and buffer pool
Jurisdictional Leakage
Deforestation Shifting to Another Country
In some landscapes, deforestation pressure can shift across national borders in response to conservation projects that cover a substantial fraction of the available forest within a country. Jurisdictional leakage is assessed only where the project area exceeds 10,000 ha and the deforestation pressure is driven by international commodity markets. A qualitative assessment of cross-border leakage probability must be included in the PDD for large projects in border landscapes. Where quantified cross-border leakage exceeds 5% of gross credits, a deduction must be applied.
Required for projects >10,000 ha in border landscapes · >5% deducted where quantified
Permanence & Non-Permanence Risk
Buffer pool & reversal risk
Conservation project permanence is contingent on continued protection effectiveness. The buffer pool absorbs reversals from deforestation within the project boundary, fire damage, and any other carbon stock reduction events. The NPRR is the most complex risk assessment in the Teravent nature-based system - requiring explicit scoring of governance, tenure, threat recurrence probability, climate-driven disturbance, and community engagement.
| Methodology |
NPRR Rating |
Buffer Pool Rate |
Primary Reversal Risks |
| BDC-M01 Tropical Moist Forest |
Medium–High |
20–30% |
Political instability; governance change; land tenure dispute; wildfire in dry years; agricultural encroachment; illegal logging |
| BDC-M02 Dryland Forest & Woodland |
Medium–High |
20–28% |
Charcoal demand spike; governance failure; drought-driven fire; land tenure challenge; agricultural expansion |
| BDC-M03 Savanna & Grassland |
Medium |
18–25% |
Agricultural commodity price spike driving ploughing; illegal grazing; fire management failure; tenure dispute |
| BDC-M04 Habitat Corridor |
Medium |
18–25% |
Infrastructure development (road, powerline) through corridor; selective logging; gap formation from drought-induced mortality; land sale |
⚠️
Deforestation within project boundary: Any confirmed deforestation within the project boundary - detected by satellite or on-ground patrol - must be reported to the TSA within 30 days. The buffer pool absorbs the carbon loss (calculated as deforested area × carbon stock per hectare × project deforestation fraction). Where cumulative within-boundary deforestation exceeds 10% of total project area, the project enters a mandatory governance review. Projects unable to demonstrate reinstated protection and renewed threat address within 24 months may be suspended from further credit issuance.
Eligibility Requirements
Key registration criteria
All of the following must be satisfied for registration under TNS Annex E. Methodology-specific requirements (wildlife corridor minimum width, fire management obligations for dryland woodland, savanna fire regime documentation) are detailed in the individual BDC-M code specifications within Annex E.
✓
Active threat documented using one of the four accepted evidence categories - historical deforestation rate exceeding 1%/yr in Reference Region, specific conversion concession or permit, documented deforestation frontier proximity, or VVB-accepted socioeconomic vulnerability assessment
✓
Reference Region defined - minimum 10,000 ha of comparable forest under similar conversion pressure; historical deforestation rate from minimum 10-year satellite time-series; Reference Region definition justified and accepted by VVB at validation
✓
Baseline carbon stock assessed at permanent plots before project protection activities commence - minimum one plot per 20 ha, stratified by vegetation type; all material pools measured (AGB, BGB, DOM, SOC); CHNS or allometric data by accredited laboratory
✓
Legal or community protection mechanism confirmed as operational and commensurate with threat - Tier 1 new protection, Tier 2 enforcement-supplemented existing protection, or Tier 3 community stewardship agreement; all relevant legal documents or community agreements in PDD
✓
Three-test additionality satisfied - threat documentation (see above), financial additionality demonstrating carbon revenue necessity for effective protection, regulatory surplus confirming protection is not already legally mandated and effective
✓
Biodiversity Impact Assessment (BIA) completed by qualified ecologist - pre-project baseline survey of indicator taxa, IUCN Red List species, vegetation condition, and ecological integrity indicators; monitoring plan specifying post-project survey frequency submitted
✓
Spatial leakage analysis completed - minimum 50 km landscape buffer mapped; comparable unprotected forests identified; leakage deduction rate justified and approved by VVB; market leakage assessed for commodity-driven deforestation
✓
Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) obtained where the project involves indigenous or community-managed land - FPIC process documented, consent in local languages, community benefit-sharing arrangement described in PDD
✓
Governance and patrol plan submitted - ranger or community monitor deployment schedule, patrol coverage target, satellite monitoring protocol, and emergency response procedure for within-boundary clearing events
✓
Land and resource tenure confirmed secure for the full crediting period - title, concession, community ownership, or other tenure instrument of minimum 30 years accepted by the TSA; no unresolved tenure disputes affecting more than 5% of project area
Co-Benefits & SDGs
Sustainable Development
Goal alignment
Biodiversity conservation delivers the broadest co-benefit profile of all Teravent pathways because protecting intact ecosystems simultaneously preserves all the services those ecosystems provide - biodiversity, water regulation, climate regulation, cultural and spiritual values, and community livelihoods. Ten SDGs are tracked. The Biodiversity+ label is available by default for all BDC projects meeting ecological integrity benchmarks.
SDG 15 · Life on Land
SDG 13 · Climate Action
SDG 6 · Clean Water
SDG 1 · No Poverty
SDG 2 · Zero Hunger
SDG 3 · Good Health
SDG 8 · Decent Work
SDG 11 · Sustainable Cities
SDG 10 · Reduced Inequalities
SDG 17 · Partnerships
Biodiversity+
All BDC projects meeting Annex E ecological integrity benchmarks - maintained or improving species richness, confirmed IUCN Red List species presence, and structural integrity indices above 80% of reference - are eligible for Biodiversity+ by default. This is the strongest Biodiversity+ pathway in the Teravent system because the entire project mechanism is the protection of biodiversity-rich ecosystems.
Water+
Projects protecting intact forested catchments that demonstrably regulate downstream water supply - evidenced by stream flow monitoring data, community testimony, or hydrological modelling showing the project forest maintains dry-season baseflows or reduces flood peaks - are eligible for Water+. Particularly applicable to BDC-M01 projects protecting intact tropical forest in headwater catchments supplying downstream communities.
Indigenous Stewardship
Conservation projects led or co-designed by indigenous communities using traditional ecological knowledge - with FPIC documented throughout, community governance of the conservation programme, and traditional monitoring practices integrated into the monitoring plan - are eligible for the Indigenous Stewardship label. All BDC-M01 and BDC-M02 projects with indigenous community governance are strong candidates.
Livelihoods+
Projects generating verified alternative livelihood income for communities previously dependent on forest conversion - through community ranger employment, sustainable non-timber forest product harvesting, ecotourism, or carbon benefit-sharing with documented income data - are eligible for Livelihoods+. Projects distributing a direct share of carbon revenue to participating communities must document and independently verify the distribution annually.
Priority regions: India (Western Ghats - biodiversity hotspot with active agricultural encroachment; Northeast India - exceptionally biodiverse forests connecting to Southeast Asia; Central India - tiger corridor landscapes under intense deforestation pressure), Southeast Asia (Borneo - globally critical orangutan and pygmy elephant habitat under palm oil pressure; Sumatra; Mekong uplands), Sub-Saharan Africa (Congo Basin - world's second largest tropical forest; East African montane forests; miombo woodlands of Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique), Latin America (Atlantic Forest fragments - less than 12% remaining; Cerrado; Andean cloud forest corridors), and Pacific Islands (Papua New Guinea - extraordinary endemic biodiversity under logging pressure).
