A forest inventory team measure tree species near Kupiano village, in Papua New Guinea. Cory Wright/UN-REDD Programme
As part of ongoing efforts to contribute to the regional management of natural resource protection, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) launched the “National Forest Inventory (NFI) Learning Journey”, at a regional workshop in Bangkok, Thailand on March 27.
The self-paced learning initiative will support the planning, implementation and analysis if forest inventories among member nations, thus enhancing their capacities.
“Forests are the lungs of our planet. Accurate, accessible and transparent forest data tailored to national frameworks, allow countries to monitor ecosystems, track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and nationally determined contributions (NDCs), which is why NFIs are so important for collecting and analysing this data for decision-making”, explained Robert Simpson, deputy regional representative, FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
NFIs are a field-based, reliable was of assessing the status, trends, and potential of forest ecosystems. As they are conducted on the ground, they offer superior data that satellites and remote sensing surveys cannot match.
“Reliable forest data empowers countries to take informed forest actions on the ground. It is critical that we empower those that have the responsibility to manage this precious resource, with the best available knowledge and technical solutions. By strengthening national capacities in forest monitoring, we are equipping nations with the tools they need to safeguard their forests and build a more resilient future,” noted Julian Fox, FAO senior forestry officer.
“The NFI Learning Journey guides users through all key phases of a national forest inventory, from planning and implementation to data gathering and reporting. The course is designed for various levels of expertise and covers topics such as field data collection, sampling, data analysis, and reporting,” explained an FAO statement.
The self-paced course is offered in three languages – English, Spanish and French – and is designed for forestry experts, government agencies, researchers and other stakeholders.
This initiative supported by key partners, including the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the "Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest)" project, and the UK’s Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) Initiative, added the FAO.
The launch was attended by forestry officials and specialists from Cambodia, as well as 11 other FAO regional partners – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, as well as regional partner organisations.
The FAO encouraged all relevant stakeholders — governments, forestry experts, researchers and institutions—to explore the NFI Learning Journey and strengthen their national capacities in forest monitoring.
