7. Activities/interventions

PV Climate projects must:

1. Enable communities to plan and take control of their resources in a sustainable way that promotes rural livelihoods and other environmental and social co-benefits;
2. Be able to generate ecosystem service benefits through one or more of the following project intervention types under the PV Climate System:
3.  
   • Ecosystem restoration – Enabling the recovery of an eco-system which has been degraded, damaged or destroyed. This is done by re-establishing the structure, productivity and species diversity that was previously present in the areas, such as through planting trees.
   • Ecosystem rehabilitation – Assisting the recovery of an ecosystem which has been degraded, damaged or destroyed by repairing processes, productivity and services, but without re-establishing pre-existing structures. For example, inter-planting native tree species on degraded agriculture land to restore soil functions.
   • Prevention of ecosystem conversion or degradation – Protecting an ecosystem from degradation or conversion. An example would be preventing deforestation by reducing agricultural expansion into forest land, or the introduction of new grazing practices to stop grassland degradation.
   • Improved Land Use Management – Improving land use and land use management to increase the provision of ecosystem services, e.g. reduce GHG emissions and/or increase carbon stocks.
4. Be additional, not liable to cause leakage, and provide foundations for permanence, as described in the PV Climate Standard;
5. Involve the planting and/or promote the restoration or protection of native or naturalised plant and tree species. The use of naturalised (i.e. non-invasive) species is acceptable only where such species are:
   • Preferable to any alternative native species owing to compelling livelihood benefits;
   • Specifically selected by communities for this purpose;
   • Not going to result in any negative effects on biodiversity or the provision of key ecosystem services in the project and surrounding areas.
6. Encourage the development of local capacity and minimise dependency on external support.