Country participation is a large component of the FRA data collection process. 186 national correspondents were officially nominated for FRA 2005, many of whom were backed by a team of national experts. National correspondents work in close collaboration with FAO staff to compile and report data. The collaboration with countries has grown stronger with each assessment. For FRA 2020, 345 national correspondents and alternates were nominated.

This close involvement of countries through the global network of national correspondents is crucial to the success of the FRA process and results in the better use of existing data (better estimates, improved capacity) and an increased feeling of ownership of the process by countries.

The immediate task of the National Correspondents and their teams of experts is to assist the FRA Secretariat in the implementation of the reporting process. More specifically, the National Correspondent is expected to:

• act as a focal point for communication with FAO on matters related to the FRA Programme;
• set up and coordinate a national team of collaborators to assist with the FRA reporting, including the coordination of inputs from different national institutions to ensure completeness and consistency of the reporting;
• access the online FRA platform to input, process and document national data in accordance with the reporting methodology and timeframe; this may include the voluntary update in case the country wish to update or correct any reported figure in between two FRA reporting cycles;
• participate (or designate the participation of another expert from the national team) in meetings and workshops organized in the context of FRA;
• communicate and share information with national stakeholders, national statistical office for the Sustainable Development Goals and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change focal points to ensure consistency of reported data and increase awareness and knowledge on the FRA process at the national level before the final submission of the country report;
• liaise with the Head of Forestry for validation of national information before publication;
• maintain updated contact details in the online Platform and liaise with the Head of Forestry to make sure that in case of any change, a new nomination will be communicated to the FRA Secretariat.

For feedback or questions: please write to [email protected].