The Global Forestry Survey concept was born out of FAO's Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 (FRA 2000) project. One conclusion from FRA 2000 is that comprehensive and systematic information about forests and forestry is still not available in most countries — despite the considerable attention that forestry and environmental monitoring have had on the international agenda in recent decades. This has led the Forestry Department to propose a Global Forest Survey that would address the national and international information needs.
The Global Forestry Survey (GFS) concept has been developed in over the past year. The current document intends to lay a foundation for project proposals and partnerships by (a) establishing a programme framework and (b) proposing a general methodology for the implementation.
