New certified protocol sets scientific standard for carbon removal through improved forest management
First supplier signed as Renoster, targeting smallholder participation and durable credit quality
Consultation-driven rules add rigor to MRV, ecological integrity, and revenue-sharing for landowners
Isometric has certified a new protocol for carbon dioxide removal via Improved Forest Management, widening the pool of credible nature-based carbon removal options and laying out requirements for verification, ecological integrity, and community benefit. The protocol focuses on increasing carbon storage within existing forests rather than planting new ones. The certification follows a multi-stakeholder public consultation and is Isometric’s second certified nature-based carbon removal protocol after its earlier reforestation standard.
The company released accompanying documentation detailing how feedback from buyers, suppliers, and forestry academics shaped the final rules. The public consultation process produced revisions across measurement, ecology, and credit durability. In an industry still under scrutiny for scientific rigor, the transparency of revisions was central to the rollout.
How Improved Forest Management Works
Improved Forest Management aims to increase carbon removal within standing forests. Practices may include deferred or selective harvesting, faster growth cycles, or strategic fire and pest management that preserve tree biomass. The approach differs from reforestation, which targets degraded land. By enhancing carbon storage in mature forests, improved management can achieve sizeable removals while preserving habitat and ecosystem services.
Isometric highlights potential co-benefits such as biodiversity conservation, rare species protection, and climate resilience. Social benefits also feature, including jobs linked to monitoring and sustainable timber production. These aspects are increasingly relevant for investors screening for nature and community impact alongside carbon performance.
Measurement, Verification and Governance
The protocol sets measurement, reporting, and verification requirements that combine advanced remote sensing technology, including LiDAR, with field monitoring. Projects must establish dynamic baselines by comparing forest parcels with similar regional forests that share type, management history, and site conditions. This aims to address concerns about inflated baselines and permanence in forest carbon markets.
Ecological integrity provisions require native species and exclude commercial plantations and monocultures. These restrictions are designed to align carbon removal with biodiversity objectives rather than short-cycle timber dynamics. For financiers and corporates facing scrutiny on nature disclosures, the integration of ecology into carbon accounting is increasingly material.
RELATED ARTICLE: Frontier Buyers Commit $44.2M To NULIFE Biowaste Carbon Removal Deal Through 2030
Smallholder Participation and Deferred Harvest Module
Alongside the protocol, Isometric certified a module for Deferred Harvest on Smallholder Lands. The module is the first in a planned series of approaches under improved forest management. Deferred harvesting allows forests to store additional carbon beyond baseline harvesting cycles while preserving the economic value of timber over time. The module brings small landowners into a market that has historically excluded them due to high monitoring costs and complex contract structures.
Suppliers must conduct enhanced monitoring across multiple properties and guarantee revenue-sharing arrangements. Contracts are structured around typical harvest ages with conservative durability of fifty years. While technical, these provisions reflect a push to improve credit quality and economic viability without shifting landowners away from timber entirely.
Supplier Adoption and Market Implications
The protocol and module were developed with input from Isometric’s science team and its science network of more than 400 academic experts and practitioners. Renoster, a supplier focused on nature-based carbon projects, provided substantial feedback during development and has become the first supplier signed to issue credits under the new protocol.
Saif Bhatti, CEO of Renoster, said: “Since 2022, Renoster has focused on incentivizing high quality nature-based carbon projects. We are now applying those learnings to project development, starting with improved forest management. Partnering with Isometric and leveraging their unique approach to scientific rigor and deep transparency provides the foundation for Renoster to deliver trusted and scalable climate solutions while keeping small landowners at the center of the process.”
What C-Suite and Investors Should Watch
For corporate buyers, the protocol’s emphasis on scientific rigor, baselines, and co-benefits aligns with demands from climate auditors and procurement teams to differentiate carbon removal from conventional offsets. Financial stakeholders are tracking whether credible nature-based removal can scale while maintaining durability and price discipline. For policymakers, the protocol contributes to an evolving architecture of voluntary standards that interact with emerging mandatory nature and climate disclosure frameworks.
The larger question for global markets is whether improved forest management credits can meet investor criteria for real removal and permanence while supporting biodiversity and rural economies. With smallholder participation built into the design, the protocol brings a development dimension into carbon removal markets that are tilting toward higher scientific scrutiny and transparency.
Follow ESG News on LinkedIn
