Programme-Specific Requirements

VVB EXPERTISE 

1. VVB organisation must hold valid 14064-3 and ISO 14065 accreditations delivered by a recognised international accreditation standard. 
2. VVB audit teams shall demonstrate knowledge and skills in: 
   1. The field of ecology, and more specifically, ecosystem restoration and ecosystem services;
   2. Remote sensing and earth observation; 
   3. Anthropology and community-based projects;
   4. Sustainable development. 
3. If VVBs' internal resources cannot demonstrate sufficient knowledge and skills in these domains, they shall engage independent experts or consultants. 
   1. Experts and consultants involved in a Validation or Verification process must be included in the Project Mandate and their participation must be documented in the corresponding Validation/Verification Report.
   2. Experts allocated to a Validation/Verification must operate under the sole responsibility of the VVB.
4. Refer to the Validation and Verification Bodies Accreditation section for more information about VVB organisation requirements. 

VALIDATION

1. Schedule

   1. Validation must occur after the Project Design Review.
   2. Validation must be completed within a four-month period. This implies that the time span from signing the Project Validation Mandate to publishing the Validation Report on the ERS Registry must not exceed four months.

2. Requirements

   1. VVBs must validate:
      1. That Projects meet the criteria enunciated in the ERS Programme. This includes but is not limited to, alignment with the General Project Requirements and the Certification Procedure.
      2. That Projects meet the criteria enunciated in the Methodology applied. The Project Design Document and its affiliated documents must contain all information to demonstrate that the requirements on Eligibility Criteria, Ecological Recovery, Carbon, Livelihoods and MRV procedure are met. 
      3. The estimations of GHG removals according to the Methodology applied. 

VERIFICATION 

1. Schedule

   1. Verification must occur every two (2) to four (4) years. This implies that the interval between the publication of a Verification Report and the signing of the subsequent Project Verification Mandate must not exceed two (2) or four (4) years, depending on the chosen MRV schedule.
   2. Projects that underwent Pre-submission activities must perform Verification in tandem with Validation to assess the interventions declared as Pre-submission.
   3. Verification must be completed within a four-month period. This implies that the time span from signing the Project Verification Mandate to publishing the Verification Report on the ERS Registry must not exceed four months.

2. Requirements

   1. If Verification is performed in tandem with Validation, VVBs must verify the Pre-submission Activities Report.
   2. Throughout the crediting period, VVBs must verify: 
      1. Project’s Annual Reports;
      2. Biennial GHG quantification reports from ERS;
   3. Additionally, every four years, as part of the Adaptive Management, VVBs must verify all updated documents, namely:
      1. The updated Project Design Document; 
      2. The updated Risk Assessment Matrix; 
      3. The updated Developer Due Diligence. 
   4. Verifications must always refer to the latest version of the ERS Programme and methodologies. 

SCHEDULED DEVIATIONS

1. Dispute resolutions

   1. ERS may require a VVB to resolve a dispute between ERS and a Developer prior to the scheduled Verification. This is applicable, for instance, when ERS deems the documentation submitted by the Developer inadequate to prove the nature of loss events.

2. Extensions

   1. Developers can request ERS’ Certification Agent to extend the Verification interval to four years instead of two.
      1. The request must be made via email at least one hundred and eighty (180) days before the next Verification scheduled date.
      2. The request must include a justification for the extension’s request.
   2. If the Certification Agent deems there is no material risk associated with a delayed Verification, they can grant the request via email. Material risk includes but is not restricted to:
      1. Delay superior to two weeks (from the grace period) in sending an Annual Report in the last four years.
      2. Any grievance filed against the Project in the last eight years.
      3. Any loss events or reversal in the last two years.
      4. Suspicion by the Certification Agent of the Project’s rightful evolution.
   3. The Certification Agent must publish an Extension Note on the Project’s page in the Registry. The Note must contain the request’s justification, ERS’ decision, the decision’s justification, and the new Verification date (if applicable). 
   4. The Verification’s extension can not be applied to years where the Project is undergoing Adaptive Management (years four, eight, twelve, sixteen, and subsequently).

3. Delays

   1. Verification can be delayed up to twelve months due to the following circumstances:
      1. Inaccessibility of the Project Area due to environmental conditions, travel restrictions, conflicts, or logistical challenges.
      2. Regulatory or Policy Changes implying sudden changes in national environmental regulations or carbon accounting frameworks.
      3. Other reasons demonstrated as justifiable by the VVB to the ERS Secretariat.
   2. If Verification has not been completed after the initial twelve-month grace period, the VVB must submit a new justification to ERS, including the expected length of the postponement. If ERS deems the justification insufficient, the Project must be halted.

REMOTE AUDIT POLICY 

1. With major technological advances embedded into the data collection processes of the Project, ERS considers that remote assessments can be reliable alternatives to physical site visits. Notably, ERS remote audit policy: 
   1. Reduces VVBs’ travel time, costs, and emissions.
   2. Facilitates the identification of Projects’ risks and the verification of their impacts through more frequent and less expensive audits.  
2. A comprehensive and effective remote audit must include:
   1. Document Review. The VVB must review all the Project’s reports, documentation, letters and shapefiles to assess compliance with the ERS Programme and the Methodology. 
   2. Data Verification. The VVB must cross-check the reported data against external sources to ensure accuracy and consistency. This includes verifying the completeness, traceability and reliability of the data collection processes and assessing the adequacy and quality of the Project’s data.
3. Remote audits must not lower the quality of the outputs. Site visits must be performed under the following circumstances:
   1. An initial Verification.
   2. There is suspicion of false data in the documentation or Project documentation is poorly done, with missing or unreliable data, geolocation, and/or supporting images, not allowing a reasonable level of assurance.
   3. There is suspicion of breaching one or more of ERS’ requirements.
   4. A material grievance complaint has been filed since the last Verification.
   5. Stakeholders are inaccessible via remote channels.
   6. Material changes in scope or boundary of reporting, i.e. Project expansion.
4. If the VVB decides to perform a site visit, it must: 
   1. Communicate its decision to the Secretariat in the Project Mandate. 
   2. Schedule a site visit with the Developer.
   3. Collect relevant data during the site visit, including GPS coordinates, photographs, interviews and supporting documents. These on-site observations, measurements, and records must be reported in the final Validation/Verification Report.
      1. If interviews are conducted with local populations or Stakeholders, they must be conducted in the local language or dialect.  
      2. The VVB team must hire a translator if it does not speak the local language or dialect.