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Forest Monitoring

News
Costa Rica advances their monitoring platform for Payment for Environmental Services

News
When countries connect: how forest monitoring exchanges in Latin America are turning dialogue into collaboration

News
FAO and JAXA extend partnership to advance forest monitoring through space data and technology

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Honduras boosts forest transparency with the publication of first and second national forest inventory cycles in FAO’s FAM Catalogue

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Making bamboo visible: Asia-Pacific forest inventory experts improve how a fast-growing resource is measured

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Strengthening national peatland monitoring in the Central Congo Basin through inter-agency technical workshops

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Papua New Guinea publishes national forest inventory in FAM Catalogue for strengthened forest data transparency

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Breaking down data silos: Unifying reference data collection for forest monitoring

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FAO and University of Leicester join forces to enhance integration of real-time forest alerts in SEPAL

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Customary lands for people, nature, and climate

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AIM4Forests supports Indigenous climate finance and governance strategies in Peru

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Open Foris: Open-source solutions for Forest and Land monitoring

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Countries make progress on UNFCCC reporting giving them a head start for the TFFF

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Ethiopia’s country-led forest monitoring progress: From national ownership and responsibility to international reporting

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Nigeria advances forest monitoring with updated Forest Reference Emission Level submission

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From restoration targets to measurable progress: countries advancing restoration monitoring and reporting in Nairobi

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From Community Forests to Digital Innovation: How Open Foris Is Transforming Forest Monitoring

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Youth, Indigenous Peoples and Forest Monitoring: Insights from the FAO–IFSA Session at COP30

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With FAO support, the Ministry of Environment and Energy is promoting transparency of forestry data in Ecuador

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FAO’s forest monitoring revolution is rooted in Finnish open-source expertise

FAO at the frontline in monitoring forests and ecosystems

Every year 10 million hectares of forest are lost to deforestation.

In response, world leaders have committed to halt deforestation and restore 1 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030.

To achieve this, countries need the right data to measure progress and enable action on the ground.

FAO’s Forest Monitoring team works to bridge this gap by:

- Developing new solutions driven by innovation and technology 

- Deploying inclusive capacity development approaches to empower anyone, anywhere 

- Collecting, analysing and reporting of forest data 

- Accelerating the protection, restoration and sustainable use of forests

Highlights
Young Forest Champions: Indigenous and Rural Youth in Action
14/10/2025

The side event “Young Forest Champions: Indigenous and Rural Youth in Action,” held on 15 October during the World Food Forum 2025, highlighted the...

Blog
How Sudan maintained forest carbon reporting during a conflict—using satellite-based technology
24/04/2026 Naila Yasmin, Neha Hunka, Nagmeldin Elhassan, Javier Garcia-Perez, Andreas Vollrath and Marieke Sandker

Forests store large amounts of carbon, so tracking how forests change is important for climate action. Countries collect data for reporting through a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS).

Blog
Artificial intelligence in forest monitoring: uses, applications, adoption and precautions
06/02/2026 Pilar Valbuena, Victoria O’Brien, Till Neeff, Erik Lindquist, Andreas Vollrath, Javier Garcia-Perez Gamarra, Remi D’Annunzio, Jingjing Liang, and Julian Fox

Across virtually all industries and fields, artificial intelligence (AI) is a transformative force. The same is true for forestry, where AI is reshaping how forests are monitored, managed, restored, and integrated into global supply chains.

 
Publications
Branching out: Synergies in forest assessments and climate transparency reporting
12/12/2025

Towards the institutionalization of forest data – The importance of data management and sharing
29/10/2025

This publication explores how countries can improve forest data governance by institutionalizing data management and sharing within national forest...

An innovative financing mechanism to incentivize long-term forest conservation at scale
15/10/2025

A global methodology for the assessment of direct drivers associated with deforestation and degradation
31/07/2025

Assessment of drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in West Africa
20/06/2025

This report presents the methodology and main findings of an assessment conducted between 2015 and 2020 to identify the primary drivers of deforestation...

CBIT-Forest II - One year in numbers
22/04/2025

Enhancing Ghana’s forest monitoring system for climate action through AIM4Forests
01/04/2025

Ghana’s commitment to sustainable forest management and climate action has been further strengthened through the assessment of needs and gaps. The application...

Enhancing sustainable forest management and climate action through the national forest monitoring system in Kenya
21/03/2025

Kenya’s National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) supports sustainable forest management and climate action by providing accurate data to guide decisions...

Strengthening forest data transparency with a national monitoring system in Lao People’s Democratic Republic
21/03/2025

This publication highlights Lao People’s Democratic Republic’s National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), which supports REDD+, results-based payments,...

Slowly getting there: a review of country experience on estimating emissions and removals from forest degradation
26/11/2024

Estimating emissions and removals from forest degradation is important, yet challenging, for many countries. This paper reports results from analysis...

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