Capacity development in national forest monitoring

Experiences and progress for REDD+

Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)Bogor, Indonesia

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.