United States Agency for International Development

Cooperative Agreement No. EEM-A-00-06-00024-00

Global Climate Change:

Carbon Reporting Initiative

The AFOLU Carbon Calculator

User Manual
USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR
USER MANUAL

Winrock International

December, 2014
This publication was produced for review by the United States Agency for International Development.
Prepared by Winrock International under the Cooperative Agreement No. EEM-A-00-06-00024-00.
1 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

USAID AFOLU CARBON

CALCULATOR
USER MANUAL

DISCLAIMER Cite report as:

The author’s views expressed in this publication do Winrock International. 2014.The AFOLU Carbon
Calculator. User Manual. Prepared by Winrock
not necessarily reflect the views of the United
International under the Cooperative Agreement No.
States Agency for International Development or EEM-A-00-06-00024-00.
the United States Government.
2 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Background ............................................................................................................................................................ 3
2.0 Applicability of the AFOLU Carbon Calculator ........................................................................................... 3
3.0 Structure of the Calculator ............................................................................................................................... 5
User management structure ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Data and scale ................................................................................................................................................................ 5
4.0 Getting started ..................................................................................................................................................... 6
4.1 Register and log in .................................................................................................................................................. 6
First time users ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Registered users........................................................................................................................................................ 6
The Dashoard and User Interface ....................................................................................................................... 7
5.0 Create or Manage a Group ............................................................................................................................... 8
5.1 Create a group ........................................................................................................................................................ 8
5.2 Group administration ............................................................................................................................................ 8
Join a group ................................................................................................................................................................ 8
Edit groups and manage membership .................................................................................................................. 8
6.0 Create or Manage a Project and Activities .................................................................................................... 8
6.1 Create a project ..................................................................................................................................................... 8
Step 1: Name the project ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Step 2: Add project activities ................................................................................................................................. 9
Step 3: Select project activity location ................................................................................................................ 9
Step 4: Enter activity data ..................................................................................................................................... 10
Step 5: View results................................................................................................................................................ 11
6.2 Project administration ......................................................................................................................................... 12
Edit activities ............................................................................................................................................................ 12
Edit project information ........................................................................................................................................ 12
Generate And submit a project Report to USAID ........................................................................................ 12
7.0 Policy Tool ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
8.0 Planning Tool....................................................................................................................................................... 13
3 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

1.0 BACKGROUND
Throughout the world, USAID land use and land management activities are having direct, significant and
positive impacts on the climate. USAID’s sustainable landscape programs help mitigate climate change
worldwide by reducing emissions and promoting removals of greenhouse gases (GHG) from the
atmosphere.

In cooperation with the USAID Global Climate Change team, Winrock International has developed a set
of simple, user-friendly, web-based calculation tools titled the ‘Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land
Uses (AFOLU) Carbon Calculator’. This calculator is designed to give USAID Missions and implementing
partners an easy way to comply with USAID’s policy of mainstreaming carbon dioxide (CO2) as an
Agency-wide indicator. The Calculator uses sound and transparent science to produce yearly
estimates of avoided and/or sequestered greenhouse gas (GHGs)1emissions, reported in
tons of CO2 equivalent (tCO2e). It also projects these benefits forward through time to
assist in setting targets. The Calculator is not designed to provide the level of accuracy needed for
carbon financing, but may provide an early indication of areas which have potential for such financing.

This manual is intended as a short reference guide to assist users in navigating the AFOLU Carbon
Calculator (ACC). As the website undergoes changes and updates in design, functionality, and capability,
this manual serves as a guidance document for the interim version. The enhancements underway aim at
rendering the ACC more comprehensive and intuitive.

2.0 APPLICABILITY OF THE AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

The ACC is designed to estimate emissions reductions and removals from USAID project activities that
directly impact how land is used or managed. Table 1 identifies activity types that USAID supports
which the ACC currently covers. The table also provides examples of specific actions that might be
undertaken in the activities and lists the appropriate ACC tool for estimating CO2 impacts.

1
The majority of GHG emissions reported in this tool are CO2. Methane (CH4) emissions from fire and rice
management as well as nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from fertilizer use in the cropland management tool are also
estimated, but are converted to CO2 equivalent so that results are comparable.
4 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

Table 1. Examples USAID project activities covered by the ACC

Activity Types
Examples Tool
Covered in ACC

- Creating new protected areas

- Strengthening existing protected areas
- Reducing community timber harvesting inside
Forest conservation protected areas Forest Protection
- Managing forest fires
- Preventing/Reducing illegal logging activities
- Protecting mangrove wetlands

- Promoting reduced impact logging (RIL) and

Managing productive
reducing the volume of timber harvested. Forest Management
forests
- Stopping logging in uneven-aged forests

- Reforesting degraded lands

Afforestation/Reforestation
- Forest plantation (natives or exotics)
Planting forests
- Reforesting mangrove wetlands Agroforestry
- Implementing agroforestry systems

- Diversifying agricultural and forestry yields through

agroforestry
Managing agricultural Agroforestry
- Improving livelihoods through agroforestry
lands - Reducing or eliminating tillage Cropland Management
- Altering fertilizer input (type and amount) Modifying
the flood regime of rice paddies

- Improve management of grasslands

- Reducing the number of livestock per area
Managing grazing lands Grazing Land Management
- Altering the type of livestock managed
- Rewetting organic soils

Mitigating forest - Improved cookstove programs to reduce fuelwood Forest Degradation by

degradation demand Fuelwood

Policy actions to -
reduce AFOLU
emissions

Planning for future -

AFOLU emission
reductions
5 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

3.0 STRUCTURE OF THE CALCULATOR

USER MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE

The ACC user management structure is organized in a self-regulating system of projects, users, and
groups (figure 1). Users must create projects and add activities to the projects. CO2 impacts are
estimated per activity based on user inputs, and then aggregated at the project level. Users own any
project they create, and can choose to share the project by creating or joining a group.

Users may create a group at any time, and users own any group they create. Group owners can manage
group membership as well as projects and activities shared amongst group members. This structure was
developed to accommodate projects that necessitate collaboration between multiple users. The diagram
below illustrates the relationship between users, projects, activities and groups.

User 1 User 2 User 3

Project Project Project Group Project Project

Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 1 Activity 2

Activity 2
Activity 1 A/R Cropland Grazing Cropland Grazing Forest Protection
Agroforestry Forest Protection Agroforestry Management Management Management Management

Activity 3
Forest Activity 3 A/R
Management

Figure 1 Organization of Users, Projects, Activities, and Groups

This organizational structure allows users to manage and share projects, or limit access to their project
data. This system is managed by the users themselves without the need for regular active intervention
by administrators. While this system is meant to be largely self-regulating, some administrative
intervention may be required (e.g., in instances when group ownership must be transferred). The
AFOLU Carbon Calculator website administrators can help resolve issues by accommodating requests
for changes and assisting users where necessary. Users can seek help at: [email protected]

DATA AND SCALE

The ACC is designed to estimate emissions reductions or removals from certain AFOLU project
activities. The calculator uses a tiered approach where data requirements are minimal, but if local, more
detailed information is available, default data can be overridden.

Required Inputs are minimal, allowing users to estimate CO2 impacts using built-in default data.
Required inputs generally are the area of the project activity, its geographic location, and an estimate
about the activity’s effectiveness.
6 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

Advanced Inputs are specific to each tool and allow users to override defaults and enter project-
specific information.

The resolution of the default data within the ACC is at the subnational level, which could be states,
provinces, departments, prefectures, regions, etc. Within each tool, default values are derived based on
the unique profile of the local ecosystem within the subnational units. As such, the default values should
not be interpreted to represent a specific geographic location within subnational units.

By tying the ACC to geographical regions, an attempt has been made to reflect unique location-specific
variables (e.g. soil types, growth rates, deforestation rates) allowing for a great deal of granularity, while
using commonly recognized organizational units. These organizational units are generally small enough to
be meaningful but large enough to be practical for all ACC tools. This data resolution allows the carbon
benefits of AFOLU activities identical in size and scope to be different depending on the geography and
biophysical characteristics of their location.

4.0 GETTING STARTED

4.1 Register and log in

The ACC is located at www.afolucarbon.org

First-time users must register an account. Once registered, users may log in.

FIRST TIME USERS

To register, first-time users should click on the Register Now! button in the left side navigation menu.
Users will then be redirected to the registration page where first-time users are prompted to enter a
unique user name, first and last names, an email address, and a password for their ACC account. The
password can be any combination of letters, numbers and symbols but must be less than 16 characters
in total. Once this information is entered and saved, users may log in.

REGISTERED USERS
From the home page, registered users can log in by entering their username, password and clicking the
Login button.

If users forget their password, passwords can be reset by clicking the ‘I don’t remember my password…’
link underneath the login box. Users will then be directed to page where they can enter their email
address and click the Reset my password button. Users will be emailed instructions for resetting their
password.

After logging in, users will be directed to the Dashboard page which displays the user’s projects, groups,
and account information.

Throughout the ACC, the grey left side navigation menu provides guidance and tips for using the
calculator. On some pages, the Show Me Around feature provides a tour of elements on the page.
7 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

THE DASHOARD AND USER INTERFACE

Once users have logged in,
they land on the ACC’s
Dashboard (figure 2). The
Dashboard lists all projects
the user has created or
shared, the groups the user is
a member of, previously
reported projects, plans, and
is also where the Policy and
Planning Tools 2 are located.
Users can also edit their
account information on this
page.

Support features
The grey left side menu on Figure 2 The ACC Dashboard
every page provides basic
explanations and instructions. An additional Show Me Around button can be found in this menu on the
Dashboard and the Projects page, there, which launches a brief tour of the features on those pages.

The navigation bar at the top of every page also has a Support tab which contains a number of links to
pages and documents that provide user guidance including:

 User forum
 This user manual
 A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
 A set of video tutorials
 A set of presentations that provide more details on the ACC’s functions, tools, and a brief
introduction to GHG accounting.

Underlying documentation
Comprehensive documentation on the methods and data used by each of the ACC’s tools to generate
impacts can be found by clicking the ‘Methods and Sources’ link under Info tab located in the navigation
bar at the top of every page.

2
More about these Tools can be found on page 13
8 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

5.0 CREATE OR MANAGE A GROUP

5.1 Create a group

Creating or joining a group is optional, but may be useful in situations where multiple projects need to
be managed by a single group owner (see figure 1 for organization of users, projects, activities, and
groups). Users can create a group from the Dashboard by clicking the My Groups button, and then
from the Groups page, click the green Create New Group button.

5.2 Group administration

JOIN A GROUP
All registered groups in the ACC can be viewed by clicking Groups in the navigation bar at the top of
the page. Group names and owners are listed, and users can request to join a group by clicking the
group’s Join button.

EDIT GROUPS AND MANAGE MEMBERSHIP

Users can edit their Groups from the Dashboard by clicking the yellow pencil icon (see Figure 1) or by
clicking the Groups tab and finding the Edit button next to the group name.

Group owners can edit the group name, description, manage group membership, and invite new
members to the group.

All group members may add new members. This is done by clicking the Add New Member button and
selecting users from the dropdown list of registered users. Members can be deleted and/or approved by
checking the ‘Approve’ and ‘Delete’ boxes in the memberships table. Changes to settings and member
modifications must be saved by clicking the ‘Save’ button at the bottom of the membership table.

If a group is deleted, projects associated with the group will remain available to project owners. The
projects will not be deleted. To transfer group ownership, users must contact the ACC website
administrators at: [email protected].

6.0 CREATE OR MANAGE A PROJECT AND ACTIVITIES

The ACC allows users to create projects with multiple activities. Thus, CO2 impacts are based on
activities within projects. While the ACC calculates CO2 impacts from individual activities, it also
aggregates the CO2 impacts from all activities within a project to produce a total project CO2 impact.

6.1 Create a project

STEP 1: NAME THE PROJECT

From the Dashboard, users can create a new project, by clicking the +New Project button. Users will
then be prompted to name the project. There are no set rules for naming projects; it can be any
9 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

combination of letters, numbers and symbols. Users are then given the option to associate the project
with a group and to provide a brief description of the project.

STEP 2: ADD PROJECT ACTIVITIES

Once a project is saved, users
will be redirected to a project
page with a number of tabs:
Project Overview, Activities,
and Graphs. The project
overview tab displays the
project description as well as
a number of buttons relating
to project management. To
add an activity to the project,
users must select the
Activities tab and click the Figure 3 Selecting an activity type from the
+Add Activity button. dropdown menu.

On the +Add an Activity page, users must name the activity and select the activity type from the
dropdown menu (Figure 3).

Users can enter the total area of the activity (in hectares) before or after entering the project location.

STEP 3: SELECT PROJECT ACTIVITY LOCATION

ACC tools for estimating CO2 impacts of
activities work at the resolution of
subnational units, which could be
states, provinces, or regions. When
selecting the subnational unit an activity
1
takes place in, users have three options
(Figure 4) that are explained in detail
1
below.

(1) Zoom into the area of interest 3

on the interactive map and 1

click on the subnational unit.
2
While the map requires higher
bandwidth, it provides an
1
Figure 4 Options for selecting an activity
advantage for users who can location
identify the location of the
activity geographically, but may not know the specific name of the subnational unit. To locate an
subnational unit, users can either use their computer mouse to click and hold the map to move
10 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

it around and zoom in using the scroller on the mouse, or users can click the arrows in the top
left side of the menu to move the map and zoom in and out by clicking the plus and minus
symbols. Using a computer mouse, users should then hover the cursor or arrow over the
subnational unit of interest and click on it. While hovering the mouse over the map, subnational
units’ name will appear on the top right corner of the map. Once clicked on the desired
subnational unit, its border will then be highlighted in blue indicating that the subnational unit
has been successfully selected (figure 4). If a user has selected the incorrect/undesired
subnational unit, selecting another subnational unit will deselect the incorrect/undesired one.

(2) Select the subnational unit from the dropdown menu underneath the interactive map. The
dropdown menu lists countries in alphabetical order, followed by their subnational units (also
listed in alphabetical order). This option requires less bandwidth, and thus may be a better
option for users with slower internet connection (i.e. dialup). If a user starts typing in the box it
will start filtering the list, based on either the name of the country or subnational unit.

(3) Upload a shapefile by clicking the Create a Parcel button under the interactive map. The
Create New Parcel Page allows users to upload a shapefile or use the interactive map to draw a
parcel. Once a parcel or shapefile is uploaded, it is saved in your account and may be used
when creating additional activities. If multiple activities are occurring on a parcel that has
already been uploaded, it may be most efficient to click the ‘Add Using Parcel’ link from the
dropdown menu to the left of the +Add Activity button found on the Activities tab on the
Project Overview page (see figure 4).

For options (1) and (2), if activities occur in more than one subnational unit, users can click Add
Subnational Unit (figure 4) and make another selection following the process described above. The user
must then must divide the total area of the activity between the subnational units by altering the
‘Fraction of Area’ under each selected subnational unit, ensuring the total is 100%.

STEP 4: ENTER ACTIVITY DATA

All tools function on two levels: Required Inputs and Advanced Inputs. The ACC was designed to
derive a CO2 benefit using minimal user input, so under Required Inputs, users are only required to
enter the activity’s area and location, some basic some basic data about the activity like age, and answer
some basic questions to generate an effectiveness rating for the activity.

To generate an effectiveness rating, users click the Guide button and answer a series of simple multiple
choice questions about the management and implementation status of the activity. The ACC then
estimates the level of overall effectiveness the activity has for generating carbon benefits, as a
percentage. This effectiveness rating impacts the final amount of estimated carbon benefits. Users may
also choose to override the Effectiveness Rating’s outputs and enter their own perceived effectiveness,
but a justification must be provided. More about the effectiveness rating questions and concepts is
available in the documentation on the Effectiveness Tool, found under the Info tab.
11 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

Under Advanced Inputs, default values appear in many of the fields. The default values come from the
ACC’s underlying database and are specific to each subnational unit. However, if a user has access to
valid, scientifically sound local data that are relevant to the activity, the defaults can be overridden by
typing new values into the Advanced Inputs fields. For more information about the Calculator’s default
data for each of the Tools, click the ‘Methods and Sources’ link underneath the Info tab.

If users need to reset the Advanced Inputs original defaults at any point, users may click the Reset All
Inputs button at the bottom of the page.

After the Required Inputs fields are completed, yearly benefits can be calculated by clicking the Calculate
button. The calculated benefit will appear in a blue box on the left side of the page and users may
modify inputs and recalculate benefits if they wish. When satisfied, users can click the Save Activity
button. All data can still be edited after saving.

Adding Pre-calculated Activity Benefits

The ACC may be used for reporting
project benefits to USAID even in
cases where impacts have been
calculated without using the ACC’s
tools. If a user simply wants to enter
the pre-calculated estimated benefits
of an activity, they may by clicking the
‘Add Self-Calculated’ link from the
dropdown menu to the left of the
+Add Activity button (see figure 5).

Users then need to select the

geographic area and the activity takes Figure 5 Adding a self-calculated activity
place in and enter its total area using
the same features described in step 3. Users can then enter the calculated result directly in t CO2.
Users are then encouraged to upload any supporting materials by clicking the ‘Choose File’ button so
that reviewers will be able to understand the methods and data used to derive the activity impacts. If
multiple files need to be uploaded, they should be aggregated into a single zip archive before uploading.

STEP 5: VIEW RESULTS

Once inputs on the activity are saved, users are redirected to a summary page that displays the
breakdown of activity benefits annually as well as cumulatively for up to 30 years into the future.3

Users may edit any saved activity by clicking the Edit this Activity button. To return to the main project
page, click the Project Overview button.

3
This projection of benefits is not available for pre-calculated activity benefits entered by the user.
12 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

6.2 Project administration

From the Project Overview page (figure 6), users can choose to edit activities, view graphic summaries
of the project activities, and generate printable project reports. Users may also submit a project report
directly to USAID.

EDIT ACTIVITIES
Users may edit any activity by going to the Activities tab from the Project Overview page and clicking
the project name or the View button. From the activity summary page, users may simply click the Edit
this Activity button to modify inputs.

EDIT PROJECT INFORMATION

The Edit Project button on the Project Overview page allows users to edit project information. If a user
wishes to transfer project ownership to another user, they must contact the ACC website
administrators at: [email protected].

GENERATE AND SUBMIT A PROJECT REPORT TO USAID

Users can generate a report of
all project activities, inputs,
defaults, and benefits by
clicking the Preview Report
button on the right side of the
Project Overview page. A
comprehensive report will
appear in a new window that
can be downloaded as a pdf
document. This project
report can be saved to users’
computers, sent via email as
an attachment, and/or printed.

To submit a project report

Figure 6 Project Overview page
directly to USAID, users must
click the blue Submit Report button. A box will appear asking users to confirm the submission. Once
reports have been submitted, users may edit and resubmit a modified duplicate project report, if
necessary. To create a duplicate, users must click the Clone Project button. A new project identical to
the original will appear that users can edit and compare to the original project.

7.0 POLICY TOOL

The Policy Tool, accessible from the ACC’s Dashboard, was introduced to provide guidance on using
the ACC to estimate the GHG impacts of policies that have been implemented that affect land use
13 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

emissions. Specifically, it aims to help determine if the impacts of the policy are measurable using the
calculator, and provides guidance on whether users have the appropriate data to use one for the ACC’s
tools to estimate the impacts.

To use the Policy Tool, users must click on the Policy Tool button on the dashboard. From the Policy
Tool page, users must click the Launch Policy Tool button and answer a series of multiple choice
questions to determine whether the ACC can be used to estimate the GHG impacts of a policy
intervention.

8.0 PLANNING TOOL

The Planning Tool is accessible to both unregistered and registered users and is designed to help users
plan and anticipate potential GHG impacts of the land use activities the ACC offers tools for.

Unregistered users may access the Planning Tool by clicking the +Create a Plan button underneath the
Register Now! button on the ACC home page. Registered users may access the Planning Tool from the
Dashboard by clicking the +Create a Plan button in the ‘My Plans’ box.

Users will then be directed to a page where

they must name the plan and optionally
enter a short description. After saving the
Plan, users are directed to a page where
they are prompted to add a ‘Scenario
Group’. The Planning tool allows users to
account for multiple types of land use
activities (e.g. afforestation / reforestation
AND forest management) in a single Plan.
As such, a ‘Scenario Group’ is a set of one
type of land use activity (e.g. afforestation /
reforestation efforts). Additional types of
Figure 7 Diagram of an example Plan
land use activities (e.g. forest management)
can then be added as another Scenario Group (figure 6).

Users can begin adding Scenario Groups by clicking the Add Scenario Group button, which prompts
users to name the Scenario Group and select the Scenario Type (land use activity) from the dropdown
menu. Users must then define the area it takes place on and select the subnational unit in which the
Scenario takes place in by either (1) zooming into the area of interest on the interactive map and click
on the subnational unit, or (2) selecting the subnational unit from the dropdown menu underneath the
interactive map.

Once this initial information is saved, users are directed to a page where they enter more information
about the Scenario Group, depending on the Scenario Type (land use activity). To enter more than one
14 USAID AFOLU CARBON CALCULATOR

Scenario in the Scenario Group (e.g.

multiple afforestation / reforestation
activities), users must click the Save
and Continue button which will
prompt more Scenario fields to
appear. Once the Scenario Group
is completed, users should click the
Finish and View Results button.
This will direct users to a new page
with a graphical output and table of
the projected impacts of the
Scenario Group up to 30 years into
the future. To return to the Plan
to add more Scenario Groups, Click
Figure 8 Planning Tool Scenario Group Output
the Plan name in the breadcrumbs Page
bar (circled in red in Figure 7). Add or edit Scenarios by clicking the Edit or Add Scenarios button or
create a new plan by clicking the Create a New Plan button.

For questions and comments, contact [email protected]