The Sixth Regional Workshop on Forest Monitoring on Early Warning Systems will be held from November 28 to December the 2nd. The workshop is organized under the umbrella of the Group on Earth Observations and the Global Forest Observations Initiative.

Organizers include: USGS SilvaCarbon program and World Resources Institute/Global Forest Watch, with technical support from FAO, MapBiomas, Google, USFS, University of Maryland, Wageningen University, Boston University, JAXA, JICA and other GFOI members.

Objectives:
 
1.    Discuss the value of EW systems within carbon emission reporting forums, land management, and law enforcement.
2.    Exchange experiences from countries on the use of EW systems, hopes and expectations.  
3.    Showcase different operational and research-stage EW methodologies that use data from a single sensor or from multiple sensors.

Robust national forest monitoring based on objective observations is widely accepted as a prerequisite for countries participating in international forest carbon agreements. Improved monitoring also enhances the existing reporting frameworks of the UNFCCC. To operate efficiently and sustainably, national forest monitoring systems require a continuous, timely, and affordable supply of observations. GEO seeks to facilitate this supply and use forest observations through its Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI).
In support of the GEO GFOI, SilvaCarbon aims to strengthen the capacities of participating countries by building regional partnerships and transferring information and knowledge in the context of Southeast Asia, including Cambodia, Laos PDR, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Nepal. 
 
Many tropical forested countries have pledged to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and degradation as part of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the Paris Agreement and/or in exchange for results-based payments under REDD+. Satellite-based forest monitoring has become an integral part of monitoring progress towards these commitments. Still, most assessments are done annually or biennially and only detect deforestation post facto. However, forest monitoring also can be a tool for implementing emissions reductions by using Early Warning (EW) systems that detect deforestation daily, weekly, or monthly. The frequency and low latency of EW systems make it possible for law enforcement and other actors to respond rapidly to deforestation events, potentially halting further forest clearing.
 
While EW systems have been implemented in countries like Brazil for over a decade, these systems have only recently existed in Southeast Asia. As a result, the SilvaCarbon program and the World Resources Institute’s Global Forest Watch program are co-organizing a regional workshop under the Global Forest Observation Initiative umbrella to bring together forest monitoring actors from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam to demonstrate existing EW systems, showcase future developments, and share experiences around the creation and use of EW systems. The workshop also will include a 1-day field trip to visit the location of an Early Warning alert.