PROJECT PROFILE · CERTIFICATE-BASED CLIMATE PROTECTION
Forest Conservation on the Luangwa
The Luangwa Community Forests Project combines community-led forest management with a REDD+ project framework. This page distinguishes between the actual project work, the modelled reference scenario, and the verified units resulting from it.
ZAMBIA · SYMBOLIC IMAGE
Note: The photo shows a road in Zambia with a signpost to the Luangwa Bridge. It is not proven to be from the VCS1775 project area and does not demonstrate the impact of the described project. Photo: McLean K / Pexels.
COUNTRY
Zambia
Verra ID
VCS1775
PROJECT TYPE
REDD+ · Forest Conservation
STATUS IN REGISTER
Verification approval requested
WHY THE BASELINE MATTERS
For the project balance sheet, the observed development in the project area is compared with a methodologically defined reference scenario. Only after monitoring, deductions, and independent verification can this difference become the basis for issued VCUs.
It is not the size of the forest alone that matters. Rather, it is about which development has been observed, modelled and independently verified.
CONTENT
01
Project Profile
02
Project approach
03
Calculation
04
Further posts
05
Assignment
06
Classification
07
Sources
01 · PROJECT AT A GLANCE
The data pass for VCS1775
The current registry entry displays the project area, methodology, crediting period and units separately. The values on this page correspond to the status as of 5 September 2026.
PROJECT NAME IN THE REGISTER
Luangwa Community Forests Project
LOCATION
Eastern and Lusaka Province, Zambia
Verra ID
VCS1775
PROJECT SPONSORS IN THE REGISTER
BioCarbon Partners
SECTOR
Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU)
AFOLU ACTIVITY
REDD · Avoiding unplanned deforestation
PROJECT AREA ACCORDING TO REGISTER
1,236,258 ha
TERRITORIAL STRUCTURE ACCORDING TO REGISTER
Communal land in 17 chiefdoms within Game Management Areas, as well as four private ranches
PROJECT STANDARD
Verified Carbon Standard (VCS)
REGISTER METHODOLOGY
VM0009 · Version 3
VALIDATOR IN THE REGISTER
AENOR CONFIA, S.A. (UNIPERSONAL)
PROJECT START ACCORDING TO REGISTER
01/05/2015
REGISTRATION DATE
30/10/2019
CREDITING PERIOD
01/05/2015–30/04/2045 · Term 1
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EMISSION REDUCTION
2,985,650 t CO₂e
ISSUED VCUs
12,067,435
ACTIVE VCUs
494,247
DECOMMISSIONED VCUs
11,398,188
CANCELLED VCUs
0
Why estimation, issuance, and retirement are not the same: 2,985,650 t CO₂e is the annual expected value stated in the registry. Issued VCUs are based on verified monitoring periods. Active and retired units describe their registry status – this does not yet imply a specific corporate allocation.
02 · WHAT THE PROJECT PROVIDES FOR
Forest protection becomes a shared responsibility.
The project description combines protective measures with local structures and incentives. What is crucial is not only that the forest exists, but how usage pressure is reduced and how the development of the area is documented.
01
Monitor and protect forest areas
Monitoring, measures against the encroachment of new land uses, and cooperation with state and local actors are intended to reduce unplanned deforestation.
02
Strengthening local institutions
The project is being implemented jointly with traditional authorities and the Government of Zambia. The registry description mentions capacity building and performance-related payments to local institutions.
03
Address pressure of use
Support for improved and more sustainable livelihoods is intended to create alternatives. The results achieved must be demonstrated using specific indicators and timeframes.
03 · HOW A UNIT IS CREATED
The VM0009 Version 3 methodology specified in the registry determines how the project area, baseline, carbon stocks and emission reductions are demarcated and calculated.
01
Define project area and baseline
The reference scenario describes the methodologically expected development of deforestation without the project. It is a model, not an observed second reality.
02
Record forest development
Remote sensing, GIS analyses, field data and project records document the actual development within specified monitoring periods.
03
Calculate difference and deductions
Emission reductions are calculated from the comparison. Methodological deductions for uncertainty, leakage and other relevant factors limit the eligible quantity.
04
Assess, verify and output risk
Contributions to the shared AFOLU buffer are determined for non-permanence risks. Following independent verification, VCUs can be issued in the registry.
04 · OTHER PROJECT REFERENCES
What can be described in addition to the VCU calculation
The VCS project framework quantifies greenhouse gas emissions. Community, social and biodiversity benefits require their own indicators and documentation; they do not automatically result from an issued VCU.
COMMUNITIES
Local participation and governance
The project description mentions cooperation with traditional authorities, local institutions, and government bodies. The form, scope, and results are to be classified on the basis of the respective project documents.
LIVELIHOODS
Incentives and alternative income
Performance-related payments and measures for more sustainable livelihoods are part of the project approach. However, a VCU does not show the level of individual payments or their social impact.
BIODIVERSITY
Habitats in a large forest landscape
Forest conservation can preserve habitats and their connectivity. Project-specific biodiversity claims must be verified separately using CCB-related or other suitable evidence.
TRANSPARENCY
Monitoring and Risk Documentation
Project, monitoring, calculation and non-permanence documents are stored in the registry. They make assumptions and audit trails accessible.
FOR COMMUNICATION
A link to forest conservation, local communities, or the Sustainable Development Goals does not constitute a comprehensive sustainability label. What matters is which specific statement is supported by which indicator, report, and time period.
05 · FOR SUPPORTING COMPANIES
The project profile explains the project. The decommissioning proves the assignment.
The registry shows 12,067,435 issued and 11,398,188 retired VCUs. Which of these are allocated to a company only becomes clear from the specific proof of retirement.
Project name and Verra ID VCS1775
specific quantity in t CO₂e
Vintage or monitoring period
Decommissioning date and register reference
full serial number range
Beneficiary and documented purpose of use
The pooled AFOLU buffer is a risk mechanism. It is not a guarantee that carbon reversals will never occur in an individual project.
06 · CLASSIFICATION AND COMMUNICATION
What the support means – and what it doesn't
A voluntary climate contribution is presented separately from emissions within one's own value chain.
CAN BE DOCUMENTED
IS NOT AUTOMATICALLY ASSIGNED
a registered REDD+ project on 1,236,258 ha according to the Verra registry
that every hectare is preserved exclusively through this project
an emission reduction modelled and verified in accordance with VM0009
a direct measurement of "avoided CO₂ molecules" or certainty about a scenario that did not occur
1,752,097 contributions to the shared AFOLU buffer according to the registry
project-specific insurance or guarantee of permanent carbon storage
Project measures on forest monitoring, local governance and livelihoods
a blanket social impact or a comprehensive sustainability status
a VCS registry entry with project and verification documents
automatically an Article 6 authorisation, a CCP label or an external rating
the retirement of specific VCUs for a beneficiary
a reduction of own emissions, climate neutrality, or a green product label
A forest motif provides the context. The contribution only becomes comprehensible through methodology, monitoring, auditing and clear allocation.
07 · SOURCES AND RELEVANCE
The basis openly accessible
Status and units are subject to change. The current register entry and the project and audit documents published therein remain authoritative.
PRIMARY SOURCE
Verra Registry
VCS1775 · Status, project data, documents, units and buffer contributions
RISK MECHANISM
AFOLU Non-Permanence Risk Tool
Classification of the risk assessment and the common buffer account
PROJECT OPERATOR
BioCarbon Partners
Project approach and separately documented community and biodiversity benefits
NATUREOFFICE
Documentation Framework
General rules for voluntary climate contributions
TEST BENCH
5 September 2026
We are happy to answer any specific questions regarding project allocation, vintage, or available documentation.