For information, this validation report was prepared by a dedicated ABM Validation Activity Specific Team (VAST) with an independent mandate. During the ABM Pilot Phase, all costs for validation and verification under the ABM are covered by the African Development Bank, including the validation costs for this activity. The members of each VAST are selected by the ABM secretariat from the ABM Validation and Verification Roster of Experts, based on their relevant expertise and experience. All members of the Roster of Experts were selected by the ABM Executive Committee via a public call for expressions of interest. 

The next step for this activity in the ABM Activity Cycle is obtaining a Letter of Approval or similar (e.g. a Letter of No Objection) from the host country government by the relevant national authority in the host country, Côte d'Ivoire, by the legal entity entitled to receive payments via the ABM - Fonds Interprofessionnel pour la Recherche et le Conseil Agricoles (FIRCA), which could be facilitated by its technical partner for this activity - the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF).