Capacity development in national forest monitoring

The development of a system for forest monitoring and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) is an on-going priority – and challenge – for REDD+ countries. Although many countries already have some form of national forest monitoring in place, the existing capacity often falls short of the level required to participate fully in REDD+. In this context, a group of experts from around the world met in September 2012 to share their experiences and to discuss some of the central – and at times controversial – issues for national forest monitoring readiness and REDD+.

This joint publication of the CIFOR Global Comparative Study on REDD and the GOFC-GOLD Land Cover Office synthesises the main outcomes of that meeting.

Through the experiences and analyses of five REDD+ countries, two donor organisations and several researchers and negotiators, the papers gathered examine:
success factors for building capacity and implementing national forest monitoring
stepwise approaches for bridging capacity gaps through continuous improvement
key components and attributes of an effective national forest monitoring system
data and technology needed for forest monitoring
the conservativeness principle, benefit distribution, and a framework for REDD+ reference levels (stepwise approach)
assessment of current and required methodological guidance.
By publishing these papers for a wider audience, this collection aims to help all those invested in the success of REDD+ to learn from others’ experiences.

This joint publication of the CIFOR Global Comparative Study on REDD and the GOFC-GOLD Land Cover Office synthesises the main outcomes of that meeting. More information can be found at www. gofcgold. wur.