Project Design Document (PDD) Structure and Pitfalls

Updated 2026-11-02 · 4 min read · By the akar.earth specialist team

The carbon project design document explained: what a PDD contains, how to write it section by section, and the pitfalls VVBs flag in Indonesian projects.

A project design document (PDD) is the master document of a carbon project. It sets out what the project does, where, how it meets the standard’s eligibility rules, what would have happened without it, how many tonnes it expects to deliver and how those tonnes will be monitored, and it is the document a validation and verification body audits before registration.

Verra calls it a project description and has its own template. Gold Standard, Plan Vivo and the CDM use the term PDD. The structure is similar across standards.

Typical PDD structure

CCB projects add community and biodiversity sections. Gold Standard adds SDG impacts. Plan Vivo adds governance and community land-use plans.

How to write a PDD step by step

1. Lock the methodology and version. Read the methodology end to end. Note every applicability condition and parameter.
2. Map the boundary. Produce clean polygons for every parcel or stratum. Spatial files must match the text.
3. Gather land and legal evidence. Tenure documents, permits, consent records.
4. Build the baseline. Use the methodology’s approach. Read baseline setting.
5. Make the additionality case. Read additionality.
6. Model carbon. Build transparent spreadsheets or code with every input sourced. Run an ex-ante estimate. Read ex-ante carbon estimation.
7. Write the monitoring plan. For each parameter: unit, source, method, frequency, responsible person and QA/QC.
8. Consult stakeholders. Hold and document consultation before finalising the design.
9. Assess risk. Complete the non-permanence risk assessment for AFOLU projects.
10. Internal review. Check that every number in the text matches the model.
11. Submit for listing and validation. Read the VCS registration process.

Indonesia-specific content

An Indonesian forest or land project PDD should explain:

• Land status. Whether land is inside the forest estate (kawasan hutan), under a PBPH licence, social forestry permit, customary forest or private title.
• Carbon rights. Who holds rights to carbon under Indonesian law. Read carbon ownership in Indonesia.
• National framework. How the project relates to Perpres 110/2025, Permenhut 6/2026 and registration in SRUK, and whether authorisation for international transfer is sought.
• Community participation. Permenhut 6/2026 names social forestry, customary forests and communities as legitimate participants. Show how they participate and benefit.
• Regulatory surplus. Whether any legal obligation, such as restoration or rehabilitation duties, already requires the activity.

Pitfalls VVBs flag

• Text and model do not match. Numbers in the PDD differ from the spreadsheet.
• Spatial files inconsistent. Area in the text differs from the polygons.
• Applicability not demonstrated. Conditions are listed but not evidenced.
• Generic additionality. Barriers copied from other projects.
• Unsourced parameters. Wood densities, growth rates and emission factors without references.
• Thin consultation records. No attendance lists, minutes or evidence that feedback was considered.
• Monitoring plan not workable. Frequencies or methods the team cannot deliver.
• Outdated templates or methodology versions.

Writing tips that save audit time

• Use the methodology’s parameter names and symbols exactly.
• Put every data source in a table with name, version, date and link to the file.
• Give each map a source, date and coordinate system.
• Keep one master calculation file and reference cells, not copied numbers.
• State assumptions plainly and explain why each is conservative.
• Keep a change log of drafts, so the VVB can see what changed after findings.

Write for an auditor who has never visited Indonesia. Explain local terms such as kawasan hutan, PBPH or hutan desa the first time they appear, and give the legal basis for each land status. Clear writing reduces clarification requests.

A good PDD is also a management tool. Teams that use it to plan field work find verification easier.

After validation

The PDD remains the reference for every verification. Any change in monitoring or design must be handled through formal procedures. Read methodology deviations. Each monitoring report is checked against the registered PDD.

Our PDD development service drafts and reviews PDDs, and our carbon modelling service builds auditable models. See the standards hub.