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Looking at LUCAS
Issue 9, Autumn 2010, INFO 517

Release of New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–2008

New Zealand’s annual inventory of human-caused emissions and removals of greenhouse gases was released by the Ministry for the Environment on 15 April 2010.

The 'New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990–2008' includes the latest LUCAS estimates of net greenhouse gas removals by the land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector, and is a Tier 1 statistic.

The Inventory provides new 2008 figures as well as improvements to the 1990-2007 time-series. Improvements to the  LULUCF estimates include a new age-based carbon yield table for post-1989 forest, updated land-use categories, new soil carbon stock estimates and other methodological refinements implemented by LUCAS in 2009.

This year’s inventory also includes, for the first time, New Zealand’s emissions and removals in the first year of the Kyoto Protocol commitment period, which commenced in 2008.

Prime Minister John Key is briefed on the LUCAS programme by Explorer Graphics (EGL) Executive Chairman, David Pimblott. EGL was a key partner for the Ministry, having developed the geospatial component of the LUCAS system. In the background is a poster of the LUCAS Mapping Project.

Key findings of the 2008 inventory

• New Zealand’s net greenhouse gas removals by the LULUCF sector were 26.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2-e) in 2008, a significant increase from 16.8 Mt CO2‑e in 2007 and reflecting the recent decrease in plantation forest deforestation.
• New Zealand’s total net emissions from all sectors in 2008 (including LULUCF) were 48.5 Mt CO2-e, up by 18.8 Mt CO2-e (63.2%) on the 1990 level of 29.7 Mt CO2-e, largely due to the growth in energy emissions as well as the effects of forest harvesting and deforestation.
• Of New Zealand’s total land area, 759.2 kilo hectares (2.9 per cent) underwent land-use change between 1990 and 2008, with the remaining 26,091.9 kha (97.1 per cent) staying in the same land-use category.
• In 2008, net removals from afforestation, reforestation and deforestation under the Kyoto Protocol were 14.4 Mt CO2-e, made up of total forest removals of 17.3 Mt CO2-e minus  deforestation emissions of 2.8 Mt CO2-e.
• The total area of Kyoto-eligible, post-1989 forest in 2008 was 568.8 kha, compared with 1430.3 kha of pre-1990 planted forest and 8118.0 kha natural forest.
• The total area of forest land estimated to have been deforested in 2008 was 4.8 kha.

The inventory measures New Zealand’s progress against its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol as well as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). All Annex I Parties (developed countries) to the UNFCCC and to the Kyoto Protocol are required to submit annual inventories to the UNFCCC secretariat by 15 April each year.

Also released on 15 April 2010 was 'New Zealand’s net position under the Kyoto Protocol'. The net position is a forecast of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions over the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol. The latest projection of New Zealand’s net position under the Kyoto Protocol is a surplus of 11.4 million units.

The inventory report and summary snapshot report can be accessed on the Ministry’s website at:
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/publications/climate/greenhouse-gas-inventory-2010/index.html.

The net position report is located at:
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/climate/greenhouse-gas-emissions/net-position/index.html.

LUCAS farewells its founding designer and architect, Peter Stephens

For those who knew him, it may come as a shock that Peter passed away on 2 May 2010, having been diagnosed with cancer late last year.

The LUCAS programme owes its concept, blueprint and its funding to Peter’s drive and professionalism.  His guiding hand was present across the whole programme of work and his vibrant, mentoring and cheerful presence is much missed by the LUCAS team and wider science community, both in New Zealand and internationally.

Luckily, Peter was able to see his vision realized as the Ministry submitted the National Inventory Report for 2008, the first report that contained the Kyoto and LULUCF data derived from LUCAS.

Recent LUCAS award

The Ministry for the Environment is to be awarded a Special Achievement Award in GIS at the upcoming 30th ESRI International User Conference on 12–16 July 2010 in San Diego, California. The Conference is held for organisations using ESRI GIS technologies in a wide range of applications. The Ministry has been invited to attend the Climate Change Showcase, and will receive a Special Achievement Award in GIS at a ceremony convened by the ESRI President Jack Dangermond. This award is given to user sites around the world to recognise their outstanding work with GIS technology. A link to the ESRI web site where you can find out more about the award can be found at:

http://www.esri.com/events/user-conference/agenda/sagawards.html.

Launch of the LUCAS Land Use Maps

Delivering some of the LUCAS benefits – Sharing our lunch

From Nelson Gapare, workstream leader for LUCAS mapping and geospatial

We are delighted to have launched the first iteration of the land-use maps (LUM). You will now be able to download the latest land-use data from http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/climate/lucas/data/index.html or from www.koordinates.com.

This latest dataset, which focuses on land use, adds a new dimension to how we analyse relationships between human activities and environmental effects. For the greater part of the last 10 years, we have largely been working with the two Land Cover Databases (LCDBs). By adding land use to our analysis, I believe users can better assess the relationship, for example, between land use and pressures on freshwater systems.

With this new dataset, there is a great opportunity to drive its use as an evidence base for academic research, policy development and decision-making.

The Ministry considers the sharing of data to be fundamental. As such, the land-use mapping data have been issued with a Creative Commons Attribution (CCA) with no restrictions on its use, re-use and right to share, provided that the user acknowledges the Crown as the original source of the data.

Steve Botica, manager of the Ministry’s LUCAS programme, believes the data will encourage the free exchange of environmental data, allowing more people to access, use and benefit from the information purchased by government.

‘Improving access to the government’s spatial information is a goal of the New Zealand Geospatial Strategy. This approach also supports the NZ Government Open Access and Licensing (NZGOAL) framework,’ says Botica. ‘In addition, it is important for users to understand the differences between LUM and other datasets such as the LCDBs. Contextual material is provided with the maps to ensure users gain a good understanding of the scope for LUM.’

The LUCAS programme could not be implemented without the collaboration and partnership of national and international agencies. In New Zealand, Explorer Graphics have been a key partner in developing the geospatial applications. Landcare Research, GNS, SKM, SPOT Image Australia, Poyry Forest Industries and DMC International Imaging Limited have all contributed to the successful completion of the land-use mapping.

The work that Landcare and EGL have done on LUCAS certainly stands out in the form of international business growth opportunities in the climate change response space. This also demonstrates the contribution by the geospatial industry to New Zealand’s economic growth. 

Nelson Gapare leads the LUCAS mapping and geospatial workstreams. Contact nelson.gapare@mfe.govt.nz

In the next issue — a look at the mapping and geospatial system design and future-proofing to ensure backwards and forward compatibility.

UNFCCC Expert Review Team to visit New Zealand in August 2010

A United Nations-appointed Expert Review Team will visit New Zealand later this year to conduct the annual inventory review of New Zealand’s 2008 Greenhouse Gas Inventory, submitted on 15 April 2010 (see story above).

National inventory reports are reviewed annually by expert review teams to determine their conformity with UNFCCC reporting guidelines and IPCC good practice guidance.

The in-country review will take place from 30 August to 4 September 2010, and will be more comprehensive and detailed than the previous centralised reviews of New Zealand’s inventory submissions, which were conducted from the UNFCCC Secretariat in Bonn, Germany. The Expert Review Team (ERT) will also review New Zealand’s 5th National Communication (MfE, December 2009).

Further information and past review reports are available on the UNFCCC website at: http://unfccc.int/national_reports/annex_i_ghg_inventories/inventory_review_reports/items/4400.php

Calculation & Reporting Application Phase 2 work

The LUCAS programme has established systems to store, manage and retrieve data for international greenhouse gas reporting. The LUCAS Management Studio comprises two primary applications: the Gateway, and the Calculation and Reporting Application (CRA). The Gateway manages field-collected data which the CRA then uses to calculate emissions and removals for the New Zealand Greenhouse Gas Inventory each year.

The development of the LUCAS Management Studio was split into two phases. Phase one was completed in 2009 and ensured that LUCAS would meet all the United Nations reporting commitments for the 2008 inventory report. The second phase is the development of ‘priority two’ requirements.

Phase two will allow for the following additional functionality.

• Calculation and reporting of land use and land-use change since 1962. This will enable New Zealand to report land in a transition state as at the baseline year, 1990.
• Division of the Wetlands land-use category into two sub-categories, ‘Wetland – open water’ and ‘Wetland – vegetative’.
• Provision of a forecasting functionality for carbon emissions and removals, allowing the CRA to be used to assist with policy development and national reporting.
• Reduced reliance on expert users by:
  • providing a user interface that allows the import of carbon and land-use area data into the Gateway
  • allowing the Ministry to perform basic system administration functionality. This is currently provided by Interpine Forestry Limited under contract
  • the inclusion in the CRA of analysis currently undertaken in MS Excel – the adjustment or ‘reconciled’ (ie, reconciled against the LUCAS post-1989 forest area) post-1989 yield table in tonnes C/ha by age and biomass pool.
• The inclusion of new data sourced from Statistics New Zealand on dolomite and liming emissions.

The phase two improvements are expected to be completed by August 2010.

Screenshot of the LUCAS Calculation and Reporting Application (CRA).

Photo competition

Welcome to the seventh LUCAS photo competition to identify a geographical feature on a satellite map. LUCAS introduced the competition to see if readers could identify the part of New Zealand depicted in SPOT 5 satellite imagery.

All those who correctly identify the location of the satellite image will go into a draw for the chance to win a copy of the book No clouds today: the history of aerial mapping in New Zealand and the South Pacific by Peter Stephens, Piet van Asch and Mairi Clark.

Competition terms and conditions: The prize is not redeemable for cash or transferable. Entrants must supply the exact map coordinates of the satellite image to be entered in the draw. Entries must be submitted by email no later than Friday 25 June 2010. The judge’s determination of the winner will be final and no correspondence will be entered into. Entry is limited to one per person. The promotion is open to New Zealand residents only. Ministry for the Environment employees, contractors, and their immediate families are disqualified from entering.

Last time we showed satellite imagery of:
Cooper’s Beach in Northland
2557835 6689967 NZMG
1646939 6127931 NZTM

Unfortunately, of the three correct entries received, none were eligible according to the rules for entrants.  Please note that Ministry for the Environment contractors, employees, and their immediate families are disqualified from entering. Good luck with the latest image.

SPOT 5 satellite photo

Do you know where this SPOT 5 satellite photo is? The answer will appear in Issue 10 of ‘Looking at LUCAS’. You can get a copy of the SPOT 5 satellite photo by emailing LUCAS (see details below).