The Methods and Guidance Documentation (MGD) Component of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) develops and disseminates methods and guidance materials for forest and carbon monitoring. Primarily, this includes guidance on the integration of remote-sensing and ground-based observations for the estimation of emissions and removal of greenhouse gases in forests (the MGD) but also the administration of REDDcompass, the Registry of Products and OpenMRV, all of which make up the GFOI Family of Resources (GFoR).

The resources managed by the component provide a user-friendly approach to guide countries through the complex processes of national forest monitoring system (NFMS) design, development and ongoing operation. It complements the GFOI partners’ own guidance materials and presents these within the context of complete measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) procedures.

The specific activities of the component include:

• supporting the MGD Advisory Group in delivering its roles and responsibilities aimed at ensuring the MGD Component continues to align with country priorities and provides guidance on operational methods and approaches in support of GFOI activities;
• ensuring that the MGD Component remains consistent with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines and any decisions related to REDD+ made by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
• coordinating the revision and publication of new editions to the MGD and interim guidance published as “rapid response modules”;
• maintaining the GFoR as a neutral platform to support countries in operationalizing their NFMS and as an organizing framework for international partners’ resources;
• supporting GFOI components and partners in the communication and use of the MGD, REDDcompass, Registry of Products and OpenMRV platform; and
• communicating MGD activities to the GFOI Leads Group, components and the broader network.

The writing of all three editions of the MGD was led by the Australian government. The ongoing component functions are now supported by the GFOI Office, in close collaboration with other GFOI partners.