These chapters provide an introduction to the methodology and an overview of objectives users may have in assessing the GHG impacts of forest policies. This section should be read to understand whether to use the methodology and to determine what objectives it will be used for.

These chapters provide an overview of the types of forest policy instruments, and mitigation practices and technologies, to which this guide can be applied. It also lays out an overview of the steps involved in assessing the GHG impacts of forest policies, and provides guidance on planning the assessment.

In this chapter, users will get guidance on the first step of the assessment process, describing the policy that will be assessed. Guidance is also provided on deciding whether to assess an individual policy or a package of related policies and choosing whether to carry out an ex-ante (forward-looking) or ex-post (backward-looking) assessment.

This chapter provides guidance for identifying the impacts of forest policies. The guidance helps users to develop a causal chain by considering how the policy will be implemented, who will be affected by the policy, what the potential intermediate effects of the policy will be, and how these effects cause GHG impacts.

The guidance in Chapter 7 can be used for determining the baseline scenario and estimating emissions ex-ante or ex-post. Estimating the baseline emissions is optional as the guidance provides two ways for users to estimate GHG impacts. The activity data approach allows users to estimate the GHG impacts without explicitly determining separate baseline and policy scenarios. Chapter 8 helps users estimate expected future GHG impacts of the policy. Users can estimate impacts based on the implementation potential of the policy using either the emissions approach or the activity data approach. Chapter 9 provides guidance for estimating impacts ex-post. Ex-post assessment involves evaluating performance of the policy based on monitored or observed data collected during the policy implementation period.

This section is relevant for all users. Chapter 10 identifies data and parameters to monitor over time and provides guidance on how to develop a monitoring plan. Chapter 11 provides a recommended list of information to be reported, which ensures the impact assessment is transparent and gives decision-makers and stakeholders the information they need to properly interpret the results.

These appendices provide additional guidance or information on involving stakeholders in the impact assessment and discount rates. The final section explains how the scope of this methodology was selected.