In plain English
Sustainable Agricultural Land Management
Sustainable Agricultural Land Management is a reduction method run by Verra Verified Carbon Standard. People often refer to it by its code, VM0017. It works in the agriculture space.
In short
Adoption of sustainable agricultural land-management practices that cut soil emissions.
What it is
VM0017 quantifies greenhouse gas emission reductions from sustainable agricultural land management practices that enhance aboveground, below-ground, and soil carbon stocks on agricultural land. It applies to projects that introduce such practices where soil organic carbon would otherwise have remained constant or declined, and it uses peer-reviewed models to estimate soil organic carbon at equilibrium for each management practice and land use category. Each credit represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. Verra inactivated the methodology on 31 March 2023 following a review that found overlap with VM0042.
What it rewards
The reward is a credit called a Verified Carbon Unit (VCU). One credit stands for one tonne of carbon dioxide kept out of the atmosphere (or taken back out of it). One tonne of CO₂-equivalent verified-and-issued. A whole period of work is issued as one batch of credits at a time, in the same way a registry issues a batch.
What gets measured
To earn VCU credits, a project has to measure and prove a few things. An independent reviewer checks the evidence before any credits are issued.
The baseline: what would most likely have happened to the land or the emissions if the project had not gone ahead.
The activity data for the period, with clear units and a clear source for every number.
The net result actually achieved, checked by an independent reviewer before any credits are issued.
Who takes part
Standard Registry. Owns the policy, approves participants, anchors each issuance to its evidence.
Project Proponent. Registers the project and submits monitoring reports.
Validation & Verification Body. Independently validates the design and verifies monitored data.
How it works
- 1
The project team registers the project and its plan.
- 2
An independent reviewer checks that the plan is sound and that the benefit is real and would not have happened anyway.
- 3
The team looks after the site and measures the agreed indicators over time.
- 4
The independent reviewer verifies those measurements.
- 5
Credits are issued for the verified result, and a buyer can retire a credit to claim the benefit once.
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