Supporting greenhouse gas inventories and livestock data development in Fiji
Project ID: PRJ-005526
Project Details
Project Information
Description
This project aims to co-develop a Tier 2 Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for livestock in Fiji, where the potential for mitigation actions to have significant co-benefits (including for smallholders) has already been identified.
It also aims to build a pathway to integrate GHG mitigation from livestock into Fiji's NDC to provide a formal foundation for a policy that could achieve co-benefits and explore how transferrable aspects of the system may be to other PICs. The project will also build Fiji's capacity to continue to improve the national inventory and support policy development into the future. Fiji is prioritising the development of an accurate National Inventory as part of the Initiative for Climate Action Transparency (ICAT).
The 32-year Fiji Low Emission Development Strategy aims to achieve net zero emissions across all sectors, with a focus on the agriculture sector. The strategy emphasizes the need for strengthening data and Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems to support progress. Fiji's National Determined Contribution (NDC) also emphasizes the need for secure climate finance, which will be enabled by a stronger inventory system.While numerous mitigation measures with co-benefits have been identified, the effective implementation of these actions and the ability to record GHG mitigation against NDCs requires robust supporting GHG inventory systems. This can be captured, in its simplest form, as a Tier 1 inventory using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) default emission factors (EFs), which are either global or regional in scope. However, if we are to advance the capability of inventories to capture GHG reductions from mitigation action in the agricultural sector, a country-specific Tier 2 approach with local EFs and activity data for different management practices is required because a Tier 1 approach is not sensitive enough to detect changes from most mitigation options. For example, in livestock systems, a Tier 1 approach can only detect methane emission reductions by removing animals and will not detect changes in forage quality, dietary improvements and supplements, animal health and breeding, grazing management, or rumen manipulation.
Objectives
This project aims to co-develop a Tier 2 Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system for livestock in Fiji, where the potential for mitigation actions to have significant co-benefits (including for smallholders) has already been identified.
Expected Outputs
Expected outcomes:
• Designing field experiments to measure enteric methane using the SF6 equipment
• Setting up, calibrating, and maintaining SF6 equipment
• Setting up SF6 equipment on livestock and the use of control measures
• Creating greater certainty around methane emission estimates from Fijian dairy and beef cattle
• Creating greater certainty in the National Inventory on GHG emissions from the agricultural sector (given the predominance of GHG emissions from livestock)
• Understanding of Fiji's capability requirements for GHG measurement and carbon accounting from livestock systems.
Additional Information
Budget: AUD 735,278. Exchange rate 01/11/2023 AUD 0.6706 and USD 0.4434
Technology Development and Transfer - Specification
• Measurement Technology: The research includes fitting cattle with specialized measuring canisters (respiration chambers) to accurately measure methane production, a first for the Pacific region. This introduces advanced data collection technology.
• Software and Tools: It involves the use and training on tools like the Fiji Digital Climate Transparency Tool (FDCTT) for collecting and inputting activity data.
• Knowledge Transfer: The project facilitates the transfer of scientific knowledge and best practices from international research partners (like the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research - ACIAR) to local scientists and policymakers.
Capacity Building - Specification
• Technical Training: It provides Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)-based technical training to national experts in estimating emissions and managing data.
• Skill Development: Participants gain a deeper technical understanding of GHG data processes, activity data requirements, and the application of international guidelines.
• Strengthening National Systems: The initiative strengthens Fiji's Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) systems and data management workflows, which are essential for transparent climate reporting under the Paris Agreement.
• Institutional Arrangements: It helps review and improve the institutional arrangements for data collection across different ministries and the Fiji Bureau of Statistics
• Evidence suggests that responding to climate change requires collaboration, learning and community-based participatory processes – all ‘softer’ types of response that are rarely formally supported through institutional mechanisms. A small research activity, led by Dr Rowena Maguire of Queensland University of Technology, is exploring whether the relative lack of institutional support for ‘softer’ types of climate response, and the underrepresentation of women and particular cultures, are linked, acting as both causes and consequences of the insufficient action on climate change. The team will conclude the research with a multi-country workshop and the production of 3 country case studies. The research team will present their findings at COP27
Important Links
| Description | Link | Added Date |
|---|---|---|
| ACIAR project information | https://www.aciar.gov.au/project/clim-2021-160 | 15/10/2025 |
