ECODIT is pleased to partner with USAID and the Natural Climate Solutions Division to develop a user-friendly, publicly accessible online tool to calculate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and carbon storage associated with Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU). The tool, which will replace the AFOLU calculator USAID developed in 2012, will facilitate reporting on standard USAID climate indicators, assist with activity planning, and align with the priorities of the USAID Climate Strategy 2022-2030. ECODIT will develop the AFOLU Calculator in partnership with major subcontractor Mathematica under a five-year task order from USAID.
The AFOLU sector is responsible for just under a quarter of GHG emissions globally. The USAID Climate Strategy has ambitious targets, including mitigating 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e) through USAID activities and country partnerships to support the conservation, restoration, or management of 100 million hectares with a climate change mitigation benefit. The new AFOLU calculator will help USAID achieve this and other targets by enabling staff and partners to plan, design, and track the impact of its programming on climate change more effectively.
The new AFOLU Calculator Tool will be flexible, usable, and accessible, with the potential of becoming a leading GHG emissions calculator resource for the wider AFOLU community. It will include geospatial user-interface and will have advanced reporting, monitoring, and planning capabilities. It will enable users to add, display and manipulate site- or activity-specific data and environmental characteristics, leveraging geospatial datasets. Users will be able to regularly report on, update, and monitor their projects and activities over time and at different scales. They will be able to estimate the future GHG emissions impacts of their projects and plan for future AFOLU interventions based on estimated projections of impact. ECODIT will use human-centered design to ensure that the tool comprehensively addresses the needs of its users.
To develop the AFOLU Calculator, ECODIT will draw on its long history of developing tools and programs to mitigate climate change. For example, ECODIT previously supported USAID in implementing the Agency’s Adaptation Plan and Executive Order 13677, developing resources that are now used throughout USAID to assess, evaluate, and address climate-related risks to USAID’s strategies, programs, projects, and related funding decisions through the USAID Climate Change Integration Support Activity. Through the USAID Green Annamites Activity, ECODIT worked with provincial governments, communities and the private sector in Vietnam to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 11.6 million tCO2e, boost incomes for more than 15,000 people, and mobilize more than $59 million in private sector funding for the environment. Also, under the USAID Lebanon Diverting Waste by Encouraging Reuse and Recycling (DAWERR) Activity, which aims to divert organic waste away from landfills through composting, ECODIT developed a user-friendly, Excel-based calculator to estimate GHG emissions avoided (in tCO2e) thanks to the Activity.
“ECODIT is pleased to partner with USAID and the Natural Climate Solutions Division to create the new AFOLU Calculator tool to enable data-driven planning and help future AFOLU initiatives maximize their contribution to GHG emissions reductions,” said ECODIT Executive Vice President Joseph Karam.
ECODIT is a U.S.-based women-owned small business with 30 years of experience working with governments, businesses, and local communities to advance environmentally and socially responsible development around the world. To learn more about ECODIT, visit www.ecodit.com and follow the firm’s social media accounts on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.