Since 1850, about 30% of all CO2 emissions have come from deforestation.

Forests stabilize our climate, provide clean water and shelter, and are home to 80% of terrestrial biodiversity. BCarbon’s Forest Carbon Protocol provides a measurement-based approach to quantifying and crediting increases in carbon while accommodating the other services forests provide. 

Read our Protocol here.

This document lays out the technical specifications for quantifying the accumulation of forest carbon content with adequate accuracy and reliability to support the certification of forest carbon credits by BCarbon. The Protocol defines a 7-step process, addressing site selection and stratification, measurement guidelines, quantification of the accrued carbon content, specifications on forest management plans, and project documentation. This is summarized in the graphic below. Standard procedures are provided defining the technical specifications for each step in the process.

Supplementary material

For projects that aim to measure both soil and forest carbon, please review our Soil & Forest Guidance Document.

Thanks to the BCarbon Forest Subcommittee for their support in the development of this Protocol.

Sources/further reading: MIT Climate Portal