Deforestation is driven by human activity, but by using innovative technologies to predict and monitor changes in land use, countries will be far better equipped to halt its spread. At a recent international conference “Working across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area – from Aspiration to Action,” participants shared innovations and experience in satellite-based land-use monitoring as well as ground-based measurements. Countries that invest in and apply such tools more widely have achieved greater success in their programmes to increase reforestation, afforestation and forest restoration.

One particular tool SEPAL (System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring) has a key role in forest monitoring and reporting by enabling policymakers and local communities to overcome the major handicap of inadequate internet connection or low computing power on local. SEPAL, part of the Open Foris Initiative and the FAO-Google partnership, is the easy-to-use platform co-developed by FAO and Norway facilitating free access to Earth observation data.

The Rome conference, organized by the Collaborative Partnership on Forests and hosted by FAO at its headquarters, brought together practitioners and experts from across sectors to present a broad range of perspectives and discuss possible solutions aimed at halting deforestation and increasing forest cover.

Contact FAO Forestry Officer Erik Lindquist for further information.

More information:

• REDD+ and national forest monitoring systems
• Working across Sectors to Halt Deforestation and Increase Forest Area – from Aspiration to Action

First published on the UN-REDD Workspace.

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