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Forest Monitoring and Assessment for Climate Change Reporting: Partnerships, Capacity Building and Delivery

Year of publication 2007

Pages 48p.

Author Holmgren, P.;Marklund, L.G.;Saket, M.;Wilkie, M.L.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Document

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) This working paper was prepared in light of the upcoming Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in December 2007 to inform about the status and ongoing efforts in the field of forest monitoring, assessment and reporting at national and international levels. Part I is a review of partnerships between FAO and countries for building capacity and supporting implementation of forest monitoring, assessment and reporting, to meet requirements at national and international levels. At national level, FA O works with countries to establish long-term and robust monitoring systems, based on systematic field sampling and data collection. At international level, FAO supports countries to report to the Global Forest Resources Assessments, which is the leading global reporting process on forests, their management and use. Part II presents basic requirements for national forest monitoring systems, seen from a broader policy context. It reviews the current status in countries with respect to two variabl es that are important for climate change reporting – forest area changes and forest carbon stock. It is concluded that in most developing countries the quality of current forest monitoring would not be satisfactory for an accounting system of carbon credits. However, it is also suggested that investment in national forest monitoring is attracting greater interest, as exemplified by the increasing number of countries requesting support from FAO. FAO continues to work in close collaboration with i ts member countries to improve forest monitoring, assessment and reporting, including helping them to meet requirements for forest carbon reporting.

Language English

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