Disclaimer:
Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.
Learnings on your challenge
What are the top key insights you generated about your learning challenge during this Action Learning Plan? (Please list a maximum of 5 key insights)
Urban forests in the Kuala Lumpur region have demonstrated a stable carbon sequestration capacity. The fragmented forest patches can be consolidated into one carbon offset and forest
conservation project. Gaps identified to enable strong case for carbon sequestration includes better data collection on forest cover, forest boundaries, land use classes, carbon stock baselines and transparency of carbon stock monitoring. A dashboard for carbon monitoring utilising GIS data, LiDAR etc and ownership from government ministries on the data would support a whole-of-nation approach in conserving urban green spaces. A combination of data analytics, data
visualisation, technology adoption and governance improvement will enhance the carbon market ecosystem.
Considering the outcomes of this learning challenge, which of the following best describe the handover process? (Please select all that apply)
Our work has not yet scaled
Can you provide more detail on your handover process?
The project’s aim was to study the potential for carbon offset and financing of Kuala Lumpur’s urban forests for the advocacy of forest conservation. So far there has been no handover process but engagement with government entities including Malaysia Forest Fund and Bursa Exchange have been initiated to scale the learnings on the ongoing voluntary carbon market
initiatives.
Please paste any link(s) to blog(s) or publication(s) that articulate the learnings on your frontier challenge.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FVRxwVuan7aKHVfh3wJ9aqRim2cV36IC/view
https://sayan-undp.everimpact.io/
Data and Methods
Relating to your types of data, why did you chose these? What gaps in available data were these addressing?
Data from open-source platforms were used. This included remote sensing, satellite data from LANDSAT 5, 7 or 8, and environmental data. Data from a subset of forest patches was also
collected on site for ground truthing purposes. Information on the ownership of certain forest patches and the use of certain forest patches by Orang Asli communities is a data gap. Challenges include getting official data from government agencies who often have fragmented data on forest and land ownerships. Request for data needs to be done through official channels and often require long period of time.
Why was it necessary to apply the above innovation method on your frontier challenge? How did these help you to unpack the system?
Different analyses involving remote sensed, environmental and field collected data were conducted. This analysis allowed for modelling the current and future carbon sequestration
of forest patches. With this information, the project recommended that these forest
patches might be good candidates to receive carbon financing (via the voluntary carbon market). The exercise also showed the lack of data harmonization and availability on different aspects for carbon sequestration and offsets, which impedes fair and transparent implementation of the carbon market. The project demonstrated a proof of concept on how a dashboard as shown here https://sayan-undp.everimpact.io/ can support the monitoring of carbon sequestration
and encourage better cooperation between the government and NGOs in conserving
green spaces, while ensuring better carbon integrity for the market.
Partners
Please indicate what partners you have actually worked with for this learning challenge.
Please state the name of the partner:
Everimpact- partner listed in Digital X Solution (Primary partner)
FRIM- Forest Research Institute Malaysia
Malaysia Nature Society (MNS)
Friends of Bukit Kiara (FOBK)
GEF- Small Grants Project Team
What sector does your partner belong to?
Private Sector
Please provide a brief description of the partnership.
The consultant conducted the data collection, data analysis and reporting. They also developed a dashboard for carbon monitoring as proof of concept.
MNS and GEF-SGP connected us to the communities in the urban forest patches in Klang Valley under their Rangkaian Urban Green Space- RUGS project. FOBK and FRIM helped to conduct ground truthing to substantiate findings from the GIS.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
End
Bonus question: How did the interplay of innovation methods, new forms of data and unusual partners enable you to learn & generate insights, that otherwise you would have not been able to achieve?
It helped generate insight on the data, process and capacity that is required for carbon sequestration in an urban setting with fragmented forests. It demonstrated the data gap and
expertise that UNDP can support in, and provided a proof of concept of the dashboard that can inform the government on resources required to build a trustworthy data for national utilisation. It also mapped out the type of data required and key stakeholders that is required in the ecosystem for better carbon integrity and carbon market implementation.
Please upload any further supporting evidence / documents / data you have produced on your frontier challenge that showcase your learnings.
The closing form saves automatically or via the blue "save changes" button the top left. Thank you
11Sustainable cities and communities
13Climate action
15Life on land
Comments
Log in to add a comment or reply.