Improved forest management projects are a mixed reduction-and-removal project type within the land & forests segment of the carbon market. They are designed to increase or retain forest carbon relative to baseline management. The carbon benefit comes from increased forest carbon storage and/or avoided forest emissions relative to a baseline management regime. Common project configurations include Extended rotations; deferred harvest; altered silviculture; improved forest stewardship.

This category spans a wide range of interventions, so the quality of inventory data and harvest baselines matters enormously. These projects can protect large carbon stocks and important ecosystems, but their credibility depends heavily on baseline setting, leakage control, permanence, and the strength of social and land-rights safeguards. For buyers and program designers, the most important diligence questions are: Is the baseline management scenario robust? Are leakage, harvest-shifting, permanence, and ownership rights addressed?