Carbon Project Feasibility and Land Eligibility

Updated 2026-11-02 · 2 min read · By the akar.earth specialist team

Carbon project feasibility and land eligibility screening in Indonesia: land-cover history, tenure, project type, methodology fit and a go/no-go memo.

A carbon project feasibility and land eligibility study tells you whether your land can carry a credible carbon project, which project type and methodology fit, and roughly how many credits it could generate. We deliver it as an evidence pack and a clear go, no-go or redesign recommendation for land in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.

Who it is for

• Plantation, PBPH and HGU holders exploring a carbon revenue line.
• Social forestry groups and customary forest holders, who Permenhut 6/2026 names as legitimate participants in forestry carbon.
• Project developers screening a pipeline of sites before committing budget.
• Investors and buyers who want an independent view of a proposed project.

The problem it solves

Many projects fail late. A boundary that included forest within the look-back period, a disputed licence or an implausible growth assumption can surface at validation, after a year of spending. Feasibility moves those questions to the start, when changing the design is cheap. See ARR project feasibility for the questions buyers ask.

What we deliver

• Eligibility maps of the boundary showing land-cover history against the methodology’s forest definition, including the 10-year rule for ARR.
• Project-type fit: ARR, REDD+, improved forest management, blue carbon, peat or agroforestry, with reasons.
• Methodology and standard shortlist, for example VM0047 under Verra or a Plan Vivo pathway, with notes on ICVCM CCP status where relevant.
• Tenure and carbon-rights review against Indonesian rules and the licence type.
• Indicative carbon range with conservative and central scenarios.
• Risk register: permanence, leakage, community, legal and market risks.
• Feasibility memo with a recommendation and next steps.

How it works

1. Boundary and context. You share a boundary file or rough location and what you know about the land.
2. Desk screen. We run AKAR Eligibility on the boundary: satellite land-cover history, change detection, peat and mangrove layers, protected-area overlaps.
3. Document review. Licences, permits, land titles and any earlier studies.
4. Field check (if needed). Where imagery is ambiguous, a short visit confirms land cover and stocking, and we speak with land users.
5. Scenarios. Indicative volumes using the AKAR Carbon Simulator and conservative defaults.
6. Memo and call. We walk you through the findings and the decision points.

What you provide

• A boundary (shapefile, KML, GeoJSON) or coordinates and an approximate area.
• Licence, permit or tenure documents you hold.
• Any planting, inventory or management history.
• A contact on the ground if a field check is needed.

Typical timeline

A desk screen typically takes one to three weeks from receipt of a usable boundary. A full study with fieldwork typically takes one to three months. Remote or large areas take longer.

Tools we use

AKAR Eligibility for the land-cover screen, AKAR Carbon Simulator for indicative volumes and AKAR Mapper where drone imagery helps resolve ambiguous areas.

Next step

Try the free project eligibility quiz for a first sense of fit, read the forest carbon overview, then message us with the location, area and land type. If the screen shows a viable project, the natural next step is ex-ante carbon modelling.