National Forest Inventory
Forest inventories are systematic collections of data on the location, composition, and distribution of forest and forested wetland resources. The generated data allows for the assessment of various forest products and services and is a prerequisite for sustainable forest management.Depending on the specific goals and decision-making processes, forest inventories can be implemented at the local, regional, national, or global level.
National forest inventories (NFIs) are defined in FAO's Voluntary Guidelines on National Forest Monitoring (VGNFM) as a technical process of data compilation and forest resources analysis for a whole country. NFIs can build upon multiple data sources, including field inventories and remote sensing, to estimate relevant forest characteristics at particular points in time.
NFIs enable countries to evaluate their stocktaking of a country's forest resources. They are typically multi-purpose and can be used to capture data on, for example, biodiversity, soil, socio-economic aspects of forest use, and carbon stored. These data inform forest management decisions, national policy, and international reporting.
FAO's support in NFI
FAO provides support to countries on all aspects of developing and implementing an NFI under a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) as defined in the VGNFM. A country’s specific capacity development is tailored to its needs, and ranges from planning, data collection, analysis, integration with remote sensing, quality assurance and quality control, to data archiving and documentation, dissemination, and reporting.
A National Forest Inventory is one of the key sources of data for estimating anthropogenic forest-related greenhouse gas emissions and is an essential element of NFMS for Reducing Emissions for Deforestation and Forest Degradation, along with a Satellite Land Monitoring System.
FAO has been providing technical support and capacity development for member countries on forest inventories for more than 60 years. In 2000, a comprehensive program focused on supporting countries to undertake multi-purpose national forest inventories was established. Since then, many countries have been supported. They include but are not limited to the following countries: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Bhutan, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cote D'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Gambia, Ghana, Honduras, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Nepal, Nicaragua, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Philippines, Paraguay, Republic of the Congo, Solomon Islands, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Timor Leste, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Viet Nam, Zambia.
More recently, Uganda, Liberia, Tanzania, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Guatemala, Bosnia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Azerbaijan, and West Africa (15 countries) are receiving support.Over time, different partner institutions have collaborated with FAO on various technical aspects. These partners include:
Natural Resources Institute Finland (LUKE), University of Göttingen, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY), Yale University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Wageningen University, Purdue University, Brazilian Forest Service (SFB), Forestry Research Institute of Ghana (FORIG), Chilean Forest Research Institute (INFOR), Mexican National Forest Commission (CONAFOR), Czech Forest Management Institute (UHUL), Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI), Korean Forest Service (KFS), Oxford University, United States Forest Service (USFS), German Corporation for International Cooperation GmbH (GIZ), Agriculture Research and international Cooperation Organization (CIRAD), French National Institute of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Research (INRAE), National Institute of Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), University of Maryland, World Resource Institute (WRI), the Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI), Silvacarbon.
Open Foris solutions
E-learning
NFI e-learning series
The national forest inventory (NFI) e-learning series consisting of eight courses provides an overview of the key phases of an NFI, from planning to implementation, and from data gathering to reporting.
