he collaboration between different international organizations has led to the launch of a groundbreaking certified eLearning course titled "Using land-cover information to monitor progress on Sustainable Development Goal 15." Developed jointly by the  FAO Land and Water Division, FAO Forestry Division, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), GEO Land Degradation Neutrality Flagship (GEO-LDN), the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), and the FAO eLearning Academy, the course aims to provide valuable insights into monitoring efforts regarding Sustainable Development Goal 15 using land cover information.

This comprehensive course is now freely available at the following link.

The development of this course is supported by esteemed institutions such as the United Nations Environment Programme - World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC), World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), University of Bern Center for Development and Environment (CDE), Australia’s National Science Agency (CSIRO), and others.

Acknowledging the collaborative effort behind this initiative, key professionals have been recognized for their dedication and expertise:

Supervision:

• Javier DeLamoRodriguez (FAO Forestry Division)
• Matieu Henry (FAO Land and Water Division)
• Brian O'Connor and Sara Minelli (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification)

Authoring:

From FAO Forestry Division: Javier DeLamoRodriguez, Temitope Abisoye, Rocio Condor, Chiara Patriarca, Alexandra Zmachynskaya, Annalisa DeVitis

• From FAO Land and Water Division: Matieu Henry, Fatima Mushtaq, Amit Gosh, Rashed Jalal, Victor Munene
• From UNCCD: Sara Minelli and Brian O’Connor
• From IBGE: Leonardo Lima Bergamini, Fabio Correa Didone, Fernando Peres Dias
• From WOCAT and University of Bern (CDE): Dr. Ingrid Teich
• From SANBI: Sediqa Khatieb
• From University of Southampton: John Latham
• From CNR of Italy: Nicola Mosca

Technical Reviews:

• Dr. Gabriel Daldegan (Conservation International Foundation)
• Antonio di Gregorio (International consultant in Land Cover and Land Use ontology)
• Dr. Chris Hill (University of Southampton)
• Dr. Valerie Kapos (UNEP-WCMC)
• Dr. Glenn Newnham and Dr. Neil Sims (CSIRO)
• Dr. Geoff Smith (Specto Natura Limited)
• Dr. Ingrid Teich (University of Bern, CDE, and WOCAT)
• FAO eLearning Academy Contributions:
• Reshma Sanyal (Instructional Design)
• Claudia Illuzzi (Courseware Development and Graphic Design)
• Giampaolo Rugo and Luca Pepi (Implementation of Certification System)
• Clare Pedrick (English Editing)
• Peter Bruggeling (Coordination of Activities)

This collaborative effort represents a significant milestone in the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goal 15 and underscores the importance of cooperation in addressing global challenges related to land cover and conservation.