Developing Measurement, Reporting & Verification Platform for Rice in Pakistan

In the context of rice, this report focuses on developing a digital database that may be used to inform national climate policy decisions and to set goals that are set relative to conventional crop management regimes in Pakistan. This report also defines responsibilities under the proposed MRV framework needed to be taken up by stakeholders in order to determine the scope, inputs, process, outputs, frequency and use of data for reliable accounting of GHG emissions in the rice sector under new technology regimes such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeding (DSR) in rice paddies.

For this purpose, a high-end server with full web solution compliant to TCP/IP, HTTPS, HTML, CSS standards and flexible user-friendly interfaces is setup at GCISC as a dedicated a National MRV system for Rice in Pakistan. Access to the platform will be provided to federal and provincial organizations relevant to the rice sector after concluding formal institutional arrangements for data sharing and use under the said data management system The system will also use International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) tools especially Source-Selective and Emission-Adjusted GHG Calculator (SECTOR) to calculate and report methane emissions estimations and reductions, from baseline, as a result of innovative technologies of AWD and DSR. The data analyzed using IRRI tools will serve as a pivot for developing rice NAMAs in Pakistan as well as the current report. It is hoped that the proposed system will facilitate strategic and cost-effective decision-making on climate policy and generate transparent and comparable information that will build confidence in improving the level of ambition regarding mitigation actions among stakeholders.