South-south knowledge exchange drives innovation in forest monitoring

More than 150 experts from across the globe convened in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 28 November 2024 to enhance collaboration on forest monitoring efforts. The south-south knowledge exchange  emphasized collaboration on country-led planning; forest monitoring and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) procedures; and forest monitoring for transparent commodity value chains. 

The event was hosted by the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) and its lead partner the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), under the Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) programme funded by the United Kingdom (UK). Attendees included representatives from many tropical forest countries spanning Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia and the Pacific. 

Setting the stage: the evolving context of national forest monitoring 

The forum opened on Monday, 25 November 2024, with a high-level welcoming to participants followed by a livestreamed panel discussion exploring the evolving context of national forest monitoring. The panel featured key experts from FAO, GFOI partners and forest country governments. A suite of resources was introduced, streamlining forest monitoring and supporting country needs. These include: 

“This knowledge exchange represents one of the first major efforts under the new Forestry Roadmap and responds directly to the priority action to advance technological innovation whilst ensuring transparency and inclusive capacity development.” said Zhimin Wu, Director of the Forestry Division at FAO. 

View the panel discussion and Q&A session, now available for replay in English, French and Spanish: 

Morning session (English, French, Spanish)

Afternoon session (English, French, Spanish)

Browse the photo album from this occasion.

The forum continued with parallel workshops from 26 to 28 November focused on three key areas: country-led planning; forest monitoring and MRV procedures; and forest monitoring for transparent commodity value chains. 

Country-led planning: "Connect & Reflect" 

The country-led planning global forum facilitated knowledge exchanges between the current group of six countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fiji, Guatemala, Kenya, Peru and Viet Nam. The forum focused on helping countries to work towards embedding their national forest monitoring systems (NFMS) and associated MRV procedures within national institutions. Country representatives were exposed to the rationale of deepening functional expertise needed for embedding NFMS within national institutions. 

"Our goal is to build country ownership in forest monitoring, ensuring sustainable outcomes that meet both national and global needs," shared Thomas Harvey, GFOI Office Manager. 

Forest monitoring for measurement, reporting and verification 

These technical exchanges brought together MRV practitioners in data collection, MRV reporting and international partners. Representatives from the following forest countries were present for the exchange: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Uganda and Viet Nam. The participants were engaged in joint learning on technical aspects of NFMS and MRV, including uncertainty analysis, area estimation and removals from forest restoration. 

“With robust MRV systems and pragmatic National Forest Monitoring Systems countries can successfully report their climate achievements and hopefully access results-based finance," said Peter Nduati, Deputy Chief Conservator of Forests of Kenya, who participated in the MRV Workshop.   

Forest monitoring for transparent commodity value chains 

Co-hosted with the Forest Data Partnership, this knowledge exchange facilitated collaboration on geospatial information needs and forest monitoring for transparent commodity value chains and associated regulations. In attendance were those overseeing geospatial datasets at forest departments and ministries of agriculture from key producer countries, as well as consumer countries and other international entities. Representatives from forest countries in attendance included: Brazil, Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Peru and Viet Nam. 

"Let’s focus on engaging farmers more and finding ways to make these initiatives positive and beneficial for them. For the developers, consider what add-ons you can include in solutions for forest monitoring—such as tools for improving production, good agricultural practices, or better data feedback. Let’s keep the momentum going, align more with field teams, and move forward with a shared commitment to achieving these goals," stated George Watene, Program Manager at Global Coffee Platform (Kenya). 

Looking forward 

In conclusion, the global forum "Enhancing forest monitoring through global collaboration: A south-south knowledge exchange" showcased the transformative potential of south-south collaboration using an innovative structure with different stakeholders working simultaneously across three streams through the week. Bringing together over 150 experts from tropical forest countries and beyond, the event facilitated meaningful exchanges which representatives can take home and build upon to improve their own countries’ forest monitoring efforts.  

By fostering partnerships, the forum set a robust foundation for sustainable forest monitoring practices. As countries deepen their ownership of these systems and adopt cutting-edge strategies, the collaborative spirit and shared knowledge from this forum will continue to drive impactful progress in forest conservation and climate action worldwide. 

"This forum demonstrates how south-south collaboration is vital for addressing global forest challenges. The knowledge exchanged here will shape forest monitoring for years to come," remarked Thomas Harvey, GFOI Office Manager.