Plan

 Vivo  Guidance  Document:  Reducing  Locally-­‐Driven  Deforestation  

 
 
Plan  Vivo  Approved  Approach  
 
Additionality  
May  2015  

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Plan  Vivo  Guidance  Document:  Reducing  Locally-­‐Driven  Deforestation  

AA1  –  Demonstrating  Additionality  

This  approved  approach  will  help  projects  demonstrate  that  their  planned  activities  and  the  resulting  
emission  reductions  are  ‘additional’  in  nature  i.e.  that  they  would  not  happened  without  the  project.  
In  some  cases  this  may  require  supporting  evidence.      

Proving  the  concept  of  additionality  is  required  under  Principle  5  of  the  Plan  Vivo  Standard  (version  
2013)  which  states  that:  

Ecosystem  services  forming  the  basis  of  Plan  Vivo  projects  must  be  additional  i.e.  would  not  have  
been  generated  in  the  absence  of  the  project,  which  involves  as  a  minimum  demonstrating  that:  

5.4.1.  Project  interventions  are  not  required  by  existing  laws  or  regulations,  unless  it  can  be  shown  
that  those  laws  are  not  enforced  or  commonly  met  in  practice  and  the  support  of  the  project  is  
therefore  justified;    

5.4.2.  There  are  financial,  social,  cultural,  technical,  scientific  or  institutional  barriers  preventing  
project  interventions  from  taking  place.  

Plan  Vivo  Standard  (2013)  Principle  5.4  

 
In  order  to  satisfy  these  requirements  projects  should  clearly  demonstrate  2  things:  

a Regulatory  surplus:  that  the  activities  are  not  required  by  enforced  legislation  or  conducted  to  
fulfil  the  official  policies,  regulations,  or  industry  standards  or  any  organisation  or  institution.    
If  existing  legislation  or  regulations  do  exist,  projects  should  state  why  the  proposed  project  
activities  are  not  being  carried  out/will  not  be  carried  out.  This  might  be  the  case,  for  example,  
with  non-­‐existent  or  ineffective  enforcement  of  current  forest  protection  measures.  
 
Method:   Provide   a   written   statement   that   demonstrates   the   regulatory   surplus   e.g.   “although   the  
community   forest   has   been   registered   with   government   authorities   the   local   people   are   unable   to  
effectively   patrol   it   to   ensure   that   illegal   harvesting   activities   do   not   take   place   or   to   support  
alternative   livelihoods   activities   for   poorer   households   because   they   lack   an   effective   group  
organisation,   awareness   and   capacity,   and   financial   resources   to   initiate   new   livelihoods   activities.  
The   project   will   provide   support   for   all   these   to   strengthen   the   effectiveness   of   the   community  
forest”.    

Annexes  can  be  used  to  specify  the  relevant  legislation  that  is  applicable  and  if  possible,  by  quoting  
the  appropriate  passages.    

b Barrier  analysis:  that  the  project  must  enable  existing  barriers  to  be  overcome  that  otherwise  
would  prevent  the  desired  project  activities  from  taking  place.  Projects  should  demonstrate  how  
they  will  overcome  the  identified  barriers.    
 
Method:   Prepare   and   complete   a   barrier   analysis   table   similar   to   the   example   in   Table   AA1.1  
showing   the   types   of   barriers   and   indicating   how   these   will   be   overcome   by   the   project.   The  
information  provided  in  the  table  should  demonstrate  how  the  project   will  overcome  these  barriers,  

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Plan  Vivo  Guidance  Document:  Reducing  Locally-­‐Driven  Deforestation  

for   example   through   the   provision   of   financial   support,   materials,   training   and   technical/other  
support.    

Clear  statements  of  intent  to  address  each  identified  barrier  should  be  written  in  the  third  column.    
Additional  supporting  evidence  e.g.  letters,  funding  statements  can  also  be  attached  if  available  and  
relevant.    
 
TABLE  AA1:1  Example  of  Barrier  Analysis  
Type  of  barrier   Description  of  Specific  Barriers   How  barriers  will  be  overcome  by  
project  activities  
Financial/economic   • Insufficient  financial  resources   • Funding  is  secured  to  develop  
barriers   to  develop  project   initial  project,  ongoing  project  
• No  system  of  community   management  and  transaction  
payments  for  ecosystem   costs  and  payments  for  
services   ecosystem  services  
Technical  barriers   • Project  coordinator   • Recruitment  of  staff  and  skill  
organisation  does  not   strengthening  for  the  project  
currently  have  required  skill   coordinator  will  be  undertaken  
set  and  human  resources   • Training  will  be  undertaken  with  
necessary  to  implement  and   the  project  coordinator  staff,  
manage  the  project   site  coordinators  and  
• Communities  without   community  field  workers  include  
awareness  and  skills  to  initiate   mapping;  biomass  inventories;  
project  development   participatory  threat  assessment  
processes  and  activities.   and  derivation  of  baselines;  
carbon  quantification  
Institutional/political   • Lack  of  regulations  regarding   • Support  will  be  given  for  
barriers   forestry  and  land-­‐use,  or  poor   community  members  to  develop  
enforcement  of  such   their  own  bylaws  and  rules  for  a  
regulations.   community  forest  
Ecological  barriers   • Widespread  soil  degradation,    
recent  natural  events  such  as  
floods,  climatic  conditions,  
land-­‐pressures  such  as  
intensive  grazing  
Social  barriers   • Poor  organisation  and   • Capacity  development  for  
mobilisation  of  local   community  members  will  be  
communities  and  groups,   supported  
remoteness  of  communities,  
poor  infrastructure  
Cultural  barriers   • Traditional  knowledge,  laws    
and  customs,  market  
conditions  or  practices,  
traditional  equipment  and  
management  activities.  
 

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