gREDD gREDD is a Google sponsored project, which analyses the carbon dynamics and land-use changes in one single part of Vietnam. The experiences here serve as an important source of support for the UN-REDD programme on a national level.

The forest are in the Central Highlands region of Vietnam. Like many developing countries Vietnam still has natural forest that contains large amounts of carbon in the trees, vegetation and soil. Deforestation and degradation of these forests accounts for a large proportion of the global output of carbon dioxide. The aim of REDD is to find mechanisms that can protect these forests such that atmospheric carbon production is reduced.

Protecting forests can be most effective when the people who live in the forest can profit from timber and other products in a sustainable way and have a stake in preserving a carbon sink. This project pilots just such as scheme where a Sustainable Forest Management Plan is used to preserve or even increase the forest integrity while the local people can benefit.

A further challenge in preserving the forest is monitoring the carbon content. We have shown that the people living around our pilot forests are capable of performing the technical task of assessing the forest. Performing the forest inventories is a multi-step process that can be learnt about on the inventory page.

Using a statistical model for carbon projection it is possible to show that with a carbon market the local people would benefit in terms of income from the forest by being paid to preserve forest that cannot be harvested sustainably.

The results of the forest inventory, the satellite image processing and model for carbon projection have been summarized in maps than can be viewed online in Google Earth.

The objectives of the project can be summarized as follows:

• Elaboration of a Participatory Carbon Stock Assessment (PCSA) guideline
• Piloting of this guideline and improvement
• Ongoing capacity development of local forest owners and provincial staff
• Integration of lessons learnt into ongoing national programs and projects, e.g. UN-REDD program: Output 2.2. PCSA concept / guideline

This is a joint project implemented by GFA on behalf of the GTZ (German Development Cooperation) and CartONG. The project was supported by a grant from Google.org and in-kind donations such as Satellite Images and image classification software of the Planet Action Group. Additionally, GISCorps was assisting with the image interpretation through identifying a volunteer ready to work on this particular aspect.