Development of an implementation plan for the adoption of the Philippines’ Readiness for Forest Carbon Market Roadmap 7 views

The Collaborative Instrument for Ambitious Climate Action (CiACA) initiative

Carbon pricing is a widely recognized approach for addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by placing a price on carbon and creating incentives for investment in climate-friendly solutions. A growing number of Parties are considering carbon pricing instruments as a means of implementing their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement. The Paris Agreement explicitly recognizes the important role of incentives for emissions-reduction activities, including tools such as domestic policies and carbon pricing (Decision 1/CP21, para. 136).

The CiACA initiative was launched during the 22nd Conference of the Parties (COP22) in Marrakesh, with the objective of supporting Parties in developing carbon pricing approaches to implement their NDCs under the Paris Agreement while fostering collaboration. The initiative is purely voluntary and does not create obligations for the jurisdictions supported or for its donors. It is currently funded through voluntary contributions from the Government of Germany, provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN). The initiative is jointly managed by the UNFCCC Secretariat and its Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs).

National context

The Philippines, as a developing-country Party, has articulated an ambitious mitigation target in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), committing to a 75% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions relative to business-as-usual levels by 2030, conditional on international support. National greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, estimated at approximately 234 MtCO₂e in 2019 (excluding LULUCF), are primarily driven by the energy, transport, and industrial sectors; however, the forestry sector remains integral to the country’s mitigation portfolio. In addition to its carbon sequestration potential, the sector provides critical co-benefits, including biodiversity conservation and climate resilience, thereby positioning forest-based mitigation activities as a key component in Philippines’ NDC Implementation Plan (2020-2030).

The Government of the Philippines is advancing the development of a comprehensive carbon pricing framework, including the potential establishment of an emissions trading system (ETS). House Bill No. 11375, currently under legislative consideration, establishes an enabling framework for carbon pricing and mandates that covered entities in key sectors undertake decarbonization measures. The proposed system provides flexibility through the use of emissions allowances, internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and other eligible carbon credits.

In this context, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has issued two landmark Department Administrative Orders that establish the regulatory foundation for voluntary forest carbon market development in the Philippines:

• DAO 2026-02: Adoption of the Philippines’ Readiness in the Voluntary Forest Carbon Market: Roadmap (2026–2030), which provides the strategic framework for forest carbon market development and assigns implementation responsibilities to the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) and other relevant agencies.
• DAO 2026-05: Guidelines Governing the Establishment, Registration, and Monitoring of Voluntary Forest Carbon Credit Projects in Forest Lands, Protected Areas under NIPAS, and Ancestral Lands/Domains, which establishes the regulatory framework for forest carbon project registration and oversight.

DAO 2026-02 identifies the FMB as the overall technical coordinator for the roadmap and mandates the formulation of annual implementation and financing plans. The DAO further tasks DENR with commissioning studies on revenue sharing, the feasibility of carbon revenue taxation, and sustainable financing instruments, including the viability of a national Carbon Exchange. Implementation of the Roadmap requires close coordination among DENR, the Climate Change Commission, the Department of Finance, local government units (LGUs), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and development partners.

The institutional landscape involves multiple stakeholders with distinct but complementary mandates. Effective inter-institutional coordination will be critical to operationalizing a transparent, robust, and inclusive forest carbon market framework that upholds environmental integrity and ensures equitable benefit-sharing for local communities and Indigenous Peoples.

Objectives

The primary objective of this assignment is to support the Forest Management Bureau (FMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in developing key elements of the implementation plan for DAO 2026-02, the Philippines’ Voluntary Forest Carbon Market Roadmap (2026–2030), including identifying the capacity-building needs of relevant government institutions required to operationalize the roadmap effectively.

Specifically, the assignment will:

• Assess the regulatory and institutional framework established by DAO 2026-02, identify implementation gaps, and propose actionable recommendations to address them.
• Develop a phased, prioritized implementation plan for DAO 2026-02 that provides clear timelines, institutional responsibilities, resource requirements, and sequencing of actions aligned with the roadmap’s strategic objectives.
• Conduct a systematic assessment of capacity-building needs across FMB and relevant agencies (DENR field offices, NCIP, LGUs) required to operationalize forest carbon market governance, MRV, and oversight functions under DAO 2026-02.
• Recommend targeted capacity-building interventions to address identified gaps, drawing on international best practices and regional precedents.
• Facilitate stakeholder validation of the implementation plan and capacity building recommendations through a national consultation workshop.

Scope of work

The Consultant shall be responsible for the tasks outlined below and required to ensure broad and inclusive participation of all relevant stakeholders in any workshops or consultations conducted as part of this assignment, including national agencies, LGUs, Indigenous Peoples’ organizations, civil society, and development partners.

1. Inception Meeting and Workplan

Upon signing the contract, the Consultant shall hold a virtual inception meeting with the UNFCCC RCC-Asia Pacific team, DENR Climate Change Service and FMB counterparts, including the Climate Change Commission, to present their work plan, clarify understanding of the assignment, agree on methodological approaches, and confirm timelines for all deliverables. The inception report shall document the agreed workplan, methodology, and any revised timelines.

2. Regulatory and Institutional Stocktake

The Consultant shall conduct a comprehensive review of the regulatory and institutional landscape relevant to the implementation of DAO 2026-02, including but not limited to:

• Review of DAO 2026-02, DAO 2026-05, and associated policy instruments (including House Bill No. 11375 and relevant REDD+ frameworks), with analysis of mandated follow-up actions assigned to FMB, DENR, NCIP, and other agencies. The review should also include the complementary roles of the two DAOs, highlighting that DAO 2026-02 contains the roadmap, while DAO 2026-05 operationalizes the forest carbon market, its reporting, M&E, and implementation.
• Mapping of institutional mandates, responsibilities, and inter-agency coordination mechanisms relevant to forest carbon market governance, including links to the National Carbon Registry and the GHG reporting system (BTR/ETF framework) and an assessment of the interoperability and the current development status of data-sharing protocols such as the National Forest Monitoring System, Forest Spatial Dataset Portal, and Forest Carbon Credit Database
• Assessment of existing institutional and technical capacities of FMB, DENR field offices, NCIP, and LGUs in relation to their assigned implementation roles under the roadmap.
• Identification of legal, technical, institutional, and financial gaps that could constrain operationalization of the Roadmap, with proposed recommendations to address each gap.
• Review of alignment between DAO 2026-02 implementation requirements and Article 6 safeguards.

3. Development of the Implementation Plan

Building on the stocktake, the Consultant shall develop a detailed, phased implementation plan for DAO 2026-02. The implementation plan shall:

• Translate the Roadmap’s strategic objectives into actionable short-, medium-, and long-term milestones (aligned with the 2026–2030 timeframe), with clear sequencing and interdependencies.
• Assign lead and supporting institutional responsibilities for each action, including FMB, DENR central and field offices, NCIP, BMB, LGUs, and the Climate Change Commission.
• Define resource requirements (human, technical, and financial) for each action, including indicative cost estimates where feasible.
• Provide clear operational sequencing for sustainable financing models, specifically evaluating paths for a dedicated Forest Carbon Trust Fund and revenue recycling frameworks.
• Address the priority implementation areas drawn from DAO 2026-02, to be discussed with FMB, BMB and DENR CCS.
• Propose monitoring and review mechanisms to track implementation progress, including indicators and reporting responsibilities.
• Develop the framework for Monitoring and Evaluation and detailed Key Performance Indicators and monitoring templates applicable to different project types.
• Identify opportunities for coordination with DAO 2026-05 implementation, including harmonization of FMB and BMB’s follow-up actions under both DAOs.

4. Capacity Building Needs Assessment

The Consultant shall conduct a systematic assessment of capacity-building needs across the institutions responsible for implementing DAO 2026-02. The assessment shall:

• Identify technical, institutional, and human resource capacity gaps at FMB (central office), DENR field offices, NCIP, and LGUs in relation to their assigned Roadmap functions.
• Assess gaps in the following specific functional areas:
  • Forest carbon project governance, oversight, and verification
  • MRV (measurement, reporting, and verification) for forest carbon credits
  • FPIC (Free, Prior, and Informed Consent) processes and engagement with Indigenous Peoples
  • Benefit-sharing mechanisms and community engagement
  • Carbon market literacy and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including cooperative approaches under Article 6.2 and Article 6.4 Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM)
  • Registry systems, data management, and GHG reporting linkages
• Review relevant international capacity building frameworks and identify regional best practices applicable to the Philippines context.
• Develop a prioritized capacity building action plan, including recommended modalities (e.g., training workshops, peer learning, technical assistance, online courses), target audiences, estimated timelines, and potential delivery partners.

5. Stakeholder Consultations

The Consultant shall design and conduct targeted consultations with key national and subnational stakeholders to gather input, validate findings, and build ownership of the implementation plan and capacity-building recommendations. Consultations shall include:

• Key government agencies: FMB, DENR Central Office, BMB, NCIP, Climate Change Commission, Department of Finance, and relevant DENR field offices.
• Local government units (LGUs) in areas with existing or planned forest carbon activities.
• Indigenous Peoples’ organizations and local communities.
• Civil society organizations, development partners, and private sector actors engaged in voluntary carbon markets in the Philippines.

Consultation findings and feedback shall be systematically incorporated into the draft implementation plan and capacity building needs assessment.

6. National Validation Workshop

The Consultant shall organize and facilitate a national validation workshop, to be held in person (preferably in Manila), to present the draft implementation plan and capacity building needs assessment to relevant stakeholders. The workshop shall:

• Present key findings, proposed implementation milestones, institutional responsibilities, and capacity building recommendations to national and subnational stakeholders.
• Gather feedback from participants including government agencies, civil society, development partners, and the private sector.
• Ensure the relevance, practicality, and inclusiveness of the proposed implementation plan.

The Consultant shall produce a validation workshop report summarizing presentations, discussions, key feedback, and agreed revisions to the implementation plan.

7. Final Implementation Plan and Report

Upon completion of the validation workshop, the Consultant shall submit a final implementation plan and accompanying report that integrate all stakeholder feedback and agreed-upon revisions. The final report shall include:

• Executive Summary of key findings, the implementation plan, and capacity building recommendations.
• National Context and Regulatory Overview summarizing the DAO 2026-02 framework, institutional landscape, and key implementation challenges.
• Regulatory and Institutional Gap Analysis with recommendations.
• Detailed Implementation Plan for DAO 2026-02 (phased, with timelines, responsible agencies, and resource requirements)
• Capacity Building Needs Assessment and Action Plan.
• Stakeholder Consultation Summary.
• Annexes including references, consultation materials, stakeholder maps, and supporting data.

The final report must be written in English, submitted in both editable (Word) and non-editable (PDF) formats, and shall be suitable for publication on the CiACA section of the UNFCCC website.

Deliverables

All deliverables must be submitted in English.

1. Inception report and workplan (10%) – Within 2 weeks after contract signing
2. Regulatory and institutional stocktake report (gap analysis) (15%) – Within 5 weeks after contract signing
3. Draft implementation plan with capacity building needs assessment (20%) – Within 9 weeks after contract signing
4. Validation workshop report (15%) – Within 11 weeks after contract signing
5. Final implementation plan (English, Word and PDF) (40%) – Within 13 weeks after contract signing

Qualifications and competencies

Academic background:

The Consultant(s) must possess an advanced university degree (Master’s level or higher) in forestry, environmental science, climate policy, environmental economics, sustainable development, public policy, or a related field. A strong academic foundation in forest carbon governance, voluntary carbon markets, or land-use policy will be considered a significant asset.

Required professional expertise

Forest Carbon Policy and Governance

Demonstrated expertise in international carbon market frameworks, REDD+, and/or forest carbon governance mechanisms, preferably in the Asia-Pacific context.

Carbon Markets and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Familiarity with Article 6.2 cooperative approaches and the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM/Article 6.4), including reporting and accounting requirements and environmental integrity requirements.

Institutional and Regulatory Analysis

Experience in conducting policy and institutional analyses for environmental or climate-related assignments, including assessment of legal frameworks and regulatory gaps. Should be well-versed in the Philippine policy framework and institutional landscape.

Capacity Needs Assessment

Demonstrated experience in assessing the technical and institutional capacity-building needs of government agencies, ideally in developing-country contexts.

Stakeholder Engagement

Ability to conduct multi-stakeholder consultations involving national agencies, local government units, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society.

Familiar with NCIP guidelines and FPIC process for areas within ancestral domains

Analytical and Communication Skills

Strong technical writing skills; ability to produce publication-quality reports. Fluency in English required; proficiency in Filipino an asset.

Language proficiency

Fluency in English required; knowledge of the national language is an asset

1. ^https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/Philippines%20-%20NDC.pdf.
2. ^https://unfccc.int/about-us/regional-collaboration-centres/the-collaborative-instruments-for-ambitious-climate-action-ciaca