Global forest resources assessments have been carried out by FAO since 1947 (FAO, 1948), practically since FAO was formed. The mandate to carry out these assessments stems both from the basic statutes of FAO, and from the decision of the Committee on Forestry (COFO). Global assessment reports have been published at approximately ten year intervals. The latest of these reports, FRA 2000, was published in 2001 (FAO, 2001).
The Global Forest Resources Assessment Update for 2005, or FRA 2005, was requested by COFO 2001 and COFO 2003, where it was recommended that global forest resources assessments should: (a) be carried out at 5 year intervals, (b) be related to international forestry processes and (c) be implemented as a broad based assessment.
The main components of FRA 2005 are outlined below in order to give an overview of the entire process and to put the country reporting in a context. The following milestones are important for FRA 2005:
Milestone |
Date |
Comment |
Global meeting of National Correspondents |
Nov 2003 |
Training of National Correspondents and feedback on draft national reporting tables |
Regional meeting of National Correspondents |
May – Sep 2004 |
Review of country reports and technical assistance to National Correspondents |
Deadline for country reports |
Dec 2004 |
Country reports delivered to FAO according to specifications |
COFO 2005 |
Mar 2005 |
Comprehensive progress report expected |
UNFF5 |
May 2005 |
Comprehensive input on reporting processes expected |
FRA 2005 launch |
Oct 2005 |
New global data sets presented |
For additional information regarding the Global Forest Resources Assessment Programme of the FAO, please follow the links below:
www.fao.org/forestry/fra Homepage for the Global Forest Resources Assessment
www.fao.org/forestry/fra2005 Homepage for FRA 2005
This document contains guidelines for the National Correspondents (NC) on how to prepare the Country Reports to FRA 2005. It explains both the general methodology that should be applied and gives specific guidance for the completion of each of the 15 reporting tables. Together with the document “Specification of National Reporting Tables”, it constitutes the main reference documentation for the FRA 2005 reporting process. Complete country reports for five countries will also be made available on the FRA 2005 website. These pilot reports may serve as examples for the National Correspondents on how the country report should be elaborated.
