United for Nature: keeping a close eye on forests in Latin America and the Caribbean

In order to change the course of deforestation and loss of biodiversity, it is urgently required to broaden the scale of solutions and invoke transformational change in agri-food systems towards the promotion and management of forests and trees with an integrated territorial perspective.

To achieve these solutions, country decision-makers require accurate, updated, reliable, and transparent data on the current state of forest resources and their biodiversity. In this regard, the National Forest Inventories (NFI) are vital instruments that provide robust and accurate information on the extension, distribution, composition, species diversity, biomass and carbon stocks, and time changes in these crucial ecosystems.

Latin American and Caribbean countries with support from FAO, the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology of Spain (INIA), the Federal University of Amazonas in Brazil (UFAM), the Forestry Institute of Chile (INFOR), and the European NFI Network (ENFIN) developed a book on National Forest Inventories in Latin America and the Caribbean: Towards the harmonization of forest information.

This publication is the first output by the NFI network of experts and collaborators of the region.

Opening Remarks

Mette Loyche Wilkie, Director, FAO Forestry Division

Book Launch

Carla Ramirez Zea, National Forest Monitoring and Inventory Expert, FAO Forestry Division

Forum on the Importance of National Forest Inventories

Mr. Martin Monaco, National Director of Forestry, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Argentina

Mr. Fernando Raga Castellanos, Executive Director, Forestry Institute of Chile

Mrs. Silvana Chulde, Director of Forestry, Ministry of Environment, Water and Ecological Transition of Ecuador

Mr. Luis Meneses Murillo, General Director, National Forestry Commission of Mexico 

Mrs. Betina Salgado, NFI Coordinator, National Institute for Conservation and Forest Development, Protected Areas, and Wildlife of Honduras

Closing Remarks

Julian Fox, Team Leader of the National Forest Monitoring, FAO Forestry Division

Anssi Pekkarinen, Global Forest Resources Assessment Coordinator, FAO Forestry Division

Moderators

David Morales, Forestry Officer, FAO Forestry Division

Iciar Alberdi, Steering Committee member of the European Network of National Forest Inventory, ENFIN/INIA-CSIC