Bangladesh – Forest Inventory Study Tour in Bhutan
Thimpu, Bhutan / May 8-12, 2016
A delegation of seven senior officials from the Bangladesh Forest Department and Ministry of Environment participated in a week-long study tour in the Kingdom of Bhutan to learn from Bhutanese counterparts about their experience designing and implementing Bhutan’s National Forest Inventory (NFI). The study tour, which was supported by the SilvaCarbon-Bangladesh program and took place as Bangladesh is preparing to implement its first NFI, provided the delegation with an overview of Bhutan’s entire NFI process, including technical, financial, and political considerations. Bhutan’s NFI was established following the 2008 adoption of a new constitution mandating that at least 60 percent of the country’s total land remain under forest cover for all time.
The Bangladeshi delegation met with the Minister and Secretary of the Bhutan Ministry of Agriculture and Forests, who shared their insights on Bhutan’s NFI process starting with the government’s realization of the importance of forest resource data for forest management and international reporting. The officials stressed the need for a strong political commitment to NFI implementation and discussed the importance of keeping decision makers informed throughout the entire process. They also addressed donor funding issues and their impact on NFI implementation, noting Bhutan’s commitment to building in-country capacities and partnerships to carry out its NFI over the long term. Later in the week the Bangladeshi delegation participated in a workshop with presentations and discussions on key NFI issues, and visited field inventory plots in Paro, Bhutan. Contact: Elise deRiel, elisederiel@fs.fed.us.
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Bhutanese and Bangladeshi counterparts take a field visit to a forest inventory plot in Zongela, Paro, in Bhutan.
Photo credit: Rukshana Sultana, SilvaCarbon Bangladesh team.
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The Minister and Secretary of Bhutan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forests meet with the Bangladeshi delegation in Thimpu, Bhutan. Photo credit: Zaheer Iqbal, Bangladesh National Forest Monitoring System implementation team.
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Central Africa
Republic of Congo – NFI Wetlands Support
Impfondo, Republic of Congo / May 2016
SilvaCarbon has provided ongoing technical support to Congo’s National Forest Inventory Agency (CNIAF) in developing a methodology for inventorying its national wetland forests. The most recent step in this process was a field-based practicum facilitated by US Forest Service (USFS) expert Matthew Warren. The activity is expected to generate data and information needed to finalize the Wetland Amendment to the field manual currently used by CNIAF. Contact: Alex Neidermeier, anneidermeier@fs.fed.us.
Latin America
Regional – FAO Workshop on NFI Data Analysis
Guatemala City, Guatemala / April 11-15, 2016
SilvaCarbon supported the participation of USFS experts Andy Lister and Craig Wayson in a regional workshop in Guatemala on NFI data analysis led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The two USFS experts gave presentations and facilitated technical sessions addressing issues related to forest inventory objectives, reporting scales, continuous monitoring, and parcel size and distribution. Contact: cwayson.silvacarbon@gmail.com.
Regional – First GFOI-SilvaCarbon Workshop in Central America
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic / June 1-3, 2016
Eight countries participated in the first Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) and SilvaCarbon workshop in Latin America, which focused on remote sensing methods for forest monitoring. The objectives of the workshop were to (a) increase understanding of the current status of remote sensing data for use in mapping forest cover in Central America; (b) introduce different satellite missions around the globe using the COVE tool; (c) present GFOI capacity-building efforts supporting forest cover mapping for REDD+ reporting; and (d) discuss and compare the interoperability of different sets of satellite images. Contact: Sylvia Wilson, snwilson@usgs.gov.
Regional - GFOI Research and Development and Capacity-Building Workshop
Mexico City, Mexico / June 7-9, 2016
SilvaCarbon sponsored representatives from six Latin American countries and international practitioners to participate in a GFOI workshop in Mexico. The event brought together the community of REDD+ monitoring technical experts and regional practitioners to discuss the current state of the art in forest stratification mapping and address countries’ evolving needs in this area. Working group sessions helped identify countries’ technical gaps and challenges and develop an action plan to improve the underlying science and national forest monitoring in REDD+ countries. Contact: Sylvia Wilson, snwilson@usgs.gov.
Honduras – USFS Remote Technical Assistance for NFI Redesign
Remote / Ongoing
USFS experts Andy Lister and Chip Scott have been providing ongoing remote support to Honduran counterparts on the redesign of the country’s NFI. Specifically, they have supported the use of FRIED, an Excel-based plot design optimization tool developed by Chip Scott. Contact: Rachel Sheridan, rachelsheridan@fs.fed.us.
South and Southeast Asia
Regional – RSAC Webinar: Working with Sentinel 1 and 2 Data Using Google Earth Engine
Online / April 11, 2016
The USFS Remote Sensing Applications Center (RSAC) conducted the final webinar in a series of webinars offered to South and Southeast Asian countries as follow-up support to a previous hands-on training activity on forest cover change detection. The topic of the webinar was requested by several countries interested in working with Sentinel data for national-level mapping. Contact: Marija Kono, m.kono.silvacarbon@gmail.com.
Bangladesh – Draft NFI Design Presented
Dhaka, Bangladesh / April 13, 2016
Bangladesh’s draft NFI design, which was produced with USFS support, was shared at a National Consultation Workshop hosted by FAO at the Bangladesh Forest Department facility in Dhaka. Olaf Kuegler of USFS and Zaheer Iqbal of Bangladesh’s Resource Information Management System (RIMS) presented the proposed NFI design, and Mariam Akhter of FAO presented on the ecological zoning. The event was attended by 46 participants including representatives from the Bangladesh Forest Department, local universities, NGOs and projects, FAO, and SilvaCarbon. Contact: Elise deRiel, elisederiel@fs.fed.us.
Regional – Joint Workshop Series: MRV Training-of-Trainers
Bangkok, Thailand / April 18-22, 2016
Under the umbrella of GFOI, the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) program and other partners including SilvaCarbon co-organized a regional workshop in Bangkok to increase understanding and uptake of available capacity-building resources for REDD+ Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV). Approximately 40 participants attended, including forest monitoring leaders from eleven Asian countries as well as donors and capacity-building practitioners active in the region. The event included presentations and focused discussions on a variety of complementary training tools and guidance materials such as the GOFC-GOLD Source Book, GFOI Methods and Guidance Documentation, GFOI REDDcompass platform, Forest Carbon Partnership Facility REDD+ Decision Support Toolbox, FAO SEPAL platform, Boston University BEEODA tool, and OpenForis. The workshop was the first of four workshops planned globally and was supported by FCPF, GFOI, FAO/UN-REDD, GOFC-GOLD, Wageningen University, Boston University, SilvaCarbon, and others. Contact: Sylvia Wilson, snwilson@usgs.gov.
Regional – Partners Meeting: Enhanced Cooperation on REDD+ Capacity-Building
Bangkok, Thailand / May 12, 2016
A meeting led by the Center for People and Forests (RECOFTC) convened various partners working on capacity-building for REDD+ to discuss key areas for future regional collaboration and coordination in the post-Paris context. Contact: Marija Kono, m.kono.silvacarbon@gmail.com.
Nepal – Forest Cover Change Mapping Support for Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal / May 17-19, 2016
A SilvaCarbon scoping trip to Nepal resulted in an agreement with the Nepal Department of Forest Research and Survey (DFRS) and the University of Maryland’s Global Land Analysis and Discovery (GLAD) laboratory to apply the GLAD system for forest change mapping in Nepal, and integrate the work with Global Forest Watch (GFW) and SERVIR and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) regional mapping efforts in the Hindu Kush Himalayas. A draft work plan is currently being discussed among partners. Contact: Sylvia Wilson, snwilson@usgs.gov.
Philippines – New Partnership between USFS, FMB, and UMD
Manila, Philippines / May 2016
A kickoff meeting in Manila marked the beginning of a collaborative effort between the Philippines Forest Management Bureau (FMB), University of Maryland Global Land Cover Facility (GLCF), University of the Philippines Phil-LiDAR program, and USFS to develop a national-scale spatial forest/non-forest dataset for the Philippines that meets National Forest Monitoring Program (NFMP) and REDD+ requirements. The goal of the meeting was to provide information to all participating parties on the goals, background information, and deliverables of the project. Presentations included a project overview by Amanda Whitehurst, the USFS Philippines Climate Fellow; a program update on the NFMP and MRV by FMB; and a summary of research by Phil-LiDAR. The GLCF also provided a detailed overview of its Global Canopy Cover Product and explained how it would be used to create a nationally-calibrated forest cover dataset for the Philippines. The meeting included discussions and agreements on next steps between all parties. GLCF stayed in Manila for the rest of the week to meet with partners individually and conduct a two-day initial training with FMB and Phil-LiDAR. Related to this work, in July two USFS consultants will work with FMB on the overall design of their NFMP. Contact: Beth Lebow, etlebow@fs.fed.us.
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Central Africa
Cameroon – NFMS Design Support
Yaoundé, Cameroon / June 2016
A partners meeting is taking place in Yaoundé between USFS, the Cameroon Ministry of Forests and REDD+ Steering Committee, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to coordinate next steps in Cameroon’s design of its National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS). The meeting is joined by SilvaCarbon Steering Committee Co-Chair Doug Muchoney of the US Geological Survey (USGS), who is facilitating a discussion on data processing resources and the potential use of the data cube, as well as USFS expert Jim Alegria and new USFS in-country activity coordinator for Cameroon, Olivier Sene. Contact: Alex Neidermeier, anneidermeier@fs.fed.us.
Latin America
Regional – Belowground Carbon Study Tour to US
Michigan, USA / June 6-16, 2016
A ten-day course at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS) will provide hands-on training to Central American foresters on the design, implementation, and analysis of belowground carbon inventories. The activity will increase understanding of belowground carbon inventory development and interpretation through technical presentations from instructors and participants, field visits, guided lab work, and consultation and discussion. Contact: Rachel Sheridan, rachelsheridan@fs.fed.us.
Regional – Workshop Series on Defining Forest Degradation
Tegucigalpa, Honduras / June 28-29, 2016
The SilvaCarbon program in Central America is helping facilitate two regional workshops on forest degradation. The first will take place in Honduras in June and will review and refine a definition of degradation and address associated issues in collaboration with regional assistance programs (i.e., USAID-RCCP, GIZ, Mexico-Norway, SilvaCarbon). Randy Hamilton, USFS Costa Rica Climate Fellow, will also participate in the event. The second workshop will take place later in 2016 in Mexico and will focus on assisting countries to develop the technical capacity to implement degradation monitoring systems. Contact: Rachel Sheridan, rachelsheridan@fs.fed.us.
Regional – Joint Workshop Series: MRV Training-of-Trainers
Lima, Peru / July 4-7, 2016
GOFC-GOLD and other partners under the GFOI umbrella will co-conduct the second in a series of four regional workshops focused on increasing understanding and uptake of available capacity-building resources for MRV through a train-the-trainer approach. Following the first workshop in Asia, this workshop will focus on the Latin America region, and subsequent workshops will focus on East and Central Africa. Contact: Sylvia Wilson, snwilson@usgs.gov.
South and Southeast Asia
Vietnam – High-Level Forest Inventory and Monitoring Workshop
Hanoi, Vietnam / June 22, 2016
June 22 is a tentative date for a high-level ministerial workshop in Hanoi to discuss the fifth NFI cycle in Vietnam with SilvaCarbon, FAO, Vietnam government counterparts, and potentially other international partners. USFS expert Tom Brandeis is planning to attend and present on the importance of the NFI in the US to national level planning, policy formulation, and fulfilling obligations related to international conventions and agreements. He will also work with FAO and the Vietnam Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (FIPI) on developing their quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocol. Contact: Sarah Banks, scbanks@fs.fed.us.
Regional – FAO Workshop on Enhanced Transparency for NDC Implementation
Bangkok, Thailand / June 27-29, 2016
A regional workshop organized by FAO aims to help countries in the Asia-Pacific region identify core technical and institutional capacity gaps in establishing forest inventory and monitoring systems for adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture and land-use sectors to better track progress toward the achievement of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide a short session on the Agriculture and Land Use (ALU) GHG inventory software. Contacts: Marija Kono, mkono.silvacarbon@gmail.com; and Mausami Desai, desai.mausami@epa.gov.
Nepal – Lidar Processing for Improved Biomass Estimates
Kathmandu, Nepal / July 18-23, 2016
The Nepal Department of Forest Research and Survey (DFRS) identified the need for support in using existing Lidar data for one area of Nepal to upscale to satellite data and generate biomass maps. The activity is envisioned as a one-year process with continuous backstopping from USFS and the Woods Hole Research Center (WHRC). This is the first in a series of training activities and will focus on basic Lidar data processing and discussing the process with DFRS staff. Contact: Marija Kono, m.kono.silvacarbon@gmail.com.
Regional – Joint Regional Workshop on Mangrove Mapping and Monitoring
Location TBD / August 9-12, 2016
A regional workshop involving a number of partners will review existing methods and approaches and identify current capacity gaps in the Mekong region for generating improved mangrove data. Partners include SERVIR-Mekong, the Sustainable Wetlands Adaptation and Mitigation Program (SWAMP), FIPI, Can Tho University, and others. Contact: Marija Kono, m.kono.silvacarbon@gmail.com
Bangladesh – QA/QC Refresher Training for NFI
Bangladesh / October, 2016
Prior to the start of field work for Bangladesh’s first forest inventory planned for later this year, USFS experts will deliver a refresher training on QA/QC to foresters that will carry out the NFI. The training will be conducted in partnership with FAO and the Bangladesh Forest Department, and is a follow-up activity to a previous SilvaCarbon-supported training in March 2016. Contact: Elise deRiel, elisederiel@fs.fed.us.
Regional – Second SERVIR-Mekong Workshop on Regional Land Cover Monitoring System
Bangkok, Thailand / Dates TBD
In March, SERVIR-Mekong organized the first workshop on developing the Regional Land Cover Monitoring (RLCM) system, resulting in several teams assigned to specific tasks. This second workshop will convene the algorithm development and reference data teams to continue discussing and building the RLCM system. Prior to the workshop, a short training on the Google Earth Engine will be provided to interested participants. RSAC is providing technical support to the RLCM system development. Contact: Marija Kono, m.kono.silvacarbon@gmail.com.
Bangladesh – Social Science Input into NFMS
Location and Dates TBD
A USFS expert will work with the Bangladesh Forest Department and FAO on the incorporation of socio-economic variables in Bangladesh’s NFMS. Contact: Elise deRiel, elisederiel@fs.fed.us.
Global
GFOI Collaboration Forum
Washington, DC / June 28, 2016
The upcoming GFOI Collaboration Forum will showcase GFOI activities and highlight the value of collaboration in capacity-building for forest monitoring to address climate change. The event will also provide an opportunity to interact with current GFOI partners and explore opportunities for new partnerships. Participation in the event is by invitation only – please contact the GFOI office (office@gfoi.org) before June 22 if interested in attending.
GFOI Brown-Bag at USFS-IP
Washington, DC / June 29, 2016
The USFS Office of International Programs (IP) will host a brown-bag discussion featuring representatives from two of the leading donor agencies to GFOI, Henrik Fliflet (Norway) and Anthony Bennie (Australia), and the GFOI Coordinator, Tom Harvey. The speakers will share their experiences and perspectives on capacity-building for improved tropical forest monitoring and management. The event will be moderated by the US Lead to the GFOI and SilvaCarbon Steering Committee Co-Chair Doug Muchoney of USGS. Contact: Sasha Beth Gottlieb, sbgottlieb@fs.fed.us.
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Impacts of Land Use, Restoration, and Climate Change on Tropical Peat Carbon Stocks in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for Climate Mitigation
A recent open-access publication by scientists from SWAMP, a SilvaCarbon sister program, highlights the use of the tropical Holocene peat model (HPMTrop) to simulate the impacts of 21st century climate change and land-use on peat carbon stocks.
REDDcompass Launched
GFOI recently launched its new REDDcompass tool for MRV development. REDDcompass is a web-based application that enables users to progressively work through the key themes, concepts, and actions related to REDD+ MRV, providing intuitive access to key resources along the way, including the full suite of GFOI methods and guidance as well as space data resources, training materials, and technical tools.
SilvaCarbon Activity Report: NFI Training for the Bangladesh Forest Department
A SilvaCarbon activity report produced by USFS summarizes the second in a series of activities supporting the development of Bangladesh’s NFI. The activity, conducted in March, provided hands-on quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) training to crews that will implement the NFI, and informed the NFI design and field manual.
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About SilvaCarbon
SilvaCarbon is a multi-agency technical cooperation program of the US Government to build capacity worldwide in measuring, monitoring, and reporting forest and terrestrial carbon. SilvaCarbon agencies include the US Agency for International Development (USAID), US Department of State, US Forest Service (USFS), US Geological Survey (USGS), US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and Smithsonian Institution. Funding for SilvaCarbon is provided by the USAID Sustainable Landscapes Program, the US Department of State Office of Global Change, and USAID Missions in participating countries. Program implementation is led by USFS, USGS, US EPA, and NASA.
SilvaCarbon is a US contribution to the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), a body of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO). SilvaCarbon co-leads the GFOI capacity-building component together with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
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