Leakage and other risks

Leakage arises when project activities result in the unforeseen emissions of carbon outside the project boundary which were not included in the calculation of carbon benefits.

The technical specification should define the project boundary - i.e. which carbon stocks/emissions are included and which are excluded - and identify possible leakage risks and mechanisms for controlling them. Examples of potential leakage problems and possible mitigation actions include:

activity	potential leakage	mitigation
afforestation	planting trees on agricultural land leads to further deforestation as farmers clear new areas of forest to plant crops	ensuring that farmers have sufficient area of land for agriculture and tree planting
forest conservation	leads to increased harvesting in other areas in order to meet demand for timber	ensure that management plan includes actions to improve sustainable timber production
fuel efficient wood stoves	lead to people using the stoves for longer rather than saving fuelwood	project monitors actual fuel use by participants
electricity generation from biomass	biomass sources are not sustainable and lead to deforestation	biomass sustainability is explicitly assessed

Other risks could include, for example, the risk of fire or pests and diseases in forestry plantations or risks associated with markets for electricity generated by renewable energy projects. The technical specification should identify such risks and describe how they may be mitigated through planning and management.