Massive Open Online Course “Forests and transparency under the Paris Agreement” 

Course timeline: 24 May 2021 – 11 June 2021 

Developed under the project “Building Global Capacity to Increase Transparency in the Forest sector (CBIT-Forest),” in collaboration with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the massive open online course (MOOC) “Forests and transparency under the Paris Agreement” explores the connections between aspects of the enhanced transparency framework (ETF) of the Paris Agreement, and the collection, analysis and dissemination of reliable and transparent forest information. The key takeaway participants will learn from this course is that the same principles and elements needed to meet the reporting requirements outlined by the ETF also ensure the sustainability of a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS).    

About this Course 

Article 5 of the Paris Agreement acknowledges the influence forests have on greenhouse gas emissions. Forests act as carbon sinks, absorbing emissions from the atmosphere. But deforestation and forest degradation reduce the ability of forests to store carbon. For this reason, forest management and sustainability play a key role in long-term climate mitigation. The Paris Agreement established the goal of limiting global temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius, and preferably to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. This goal cannot be achieved without sustainable forest practices and NFMS.   

This course guides participants through four modules, each of which details a particular aspect of NFMS and the ETF. In addition to reviewing key principles of each and examining the connections between them, participants will have the unique opportunity to interact with international experts in the fields of forestry, land use, and climate change. Two live webinars will take place, one is designed to explore the process of creating and implementing a NFMS, and the other focuses on how to make the transition from the measurement, reporting and verification framework to the enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement as seamless as possible. Both live webinars will be delivered in all three languages of the course - English, Spanish, and French - simultaneously.  

The course concludes with a final 24-question exam, in which participants must obtain 75 percent or higher to obtain the Digital Badge. Along with the badge, participants are presented with a Certificate of Attendance upon completion.  

The MOOC will follow this structure:  

• Welcome Module: Introduction to the platform and user login  
• Module 1: The enhanced transparency framework and forests 
• Module 2: The National Forest Monitoring System  
• Module 3: Forest data for the enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement  
• Module 4: Interactive international webinars with simultaneous interpretations 
• Closure Module: Video, certification, digital badge and survey.  

Each module is unlocked on a certain date, and all resources will remain available until the last day of the course - 11 June 2021. On average, participants will spend about 6 hours working on the MOOC each week.  

Target Audience  

This course is intended for professionals and officers from public organizations who work within the forest, land use, and climate change sectors. However, it is available to anyone interested in learning about how the ETF and forest-related data are interrelated. The course is particularly accessible, as it is offered in three languages (English, French and Spanish) and is self-paced within the 3-week period it runs for, meaning participants can learn based on their own time zones and schedules.  

Learning Objectives  

It is expected that, by the end of the course, participants will be better positioned to:  

• Recognize the role and importance of forests in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement; 
• Identify the progressive changes in moving from the current measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) framework to the enhanced transparency framework under the Paris Agreement; 
• Better understand the foundation and concept of a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), its main principles and elements; 
• Learn how open and transparent forest-related data can support countries’ activities of reporting under the enhanced transparency framework; 

Information Note: http://www.fao.org/3/cb3779en/cb3779en.pdf

To register for this course, please send an email request to [email protected]