The GFOI’s R&D Coordination Component works to address methodological and technical issues that are obstacles to progress in developing countries’ forest monitoring and GHG accounting efforts. The Component fosters a community of experts to identify science and technologies that can reduce uncertainties and improve the efficiency of forest monitoring efforts; thus addressing unmet country needs.

The component also provides a forum for efficient and effective coordination of existing and planned science and research activities in the forest monitoring sector.

The specific activities of the component include:

• Identifying methodological and technical issues hindering progress in countries’ monitoring and reporting efforts
• Joint work planning to address priority gaps and challenges through collaborative research, and also identifying possible resources and organizations to conduct the research
• Fostering a large and diverse group of experts and practitioners that can be assigned to help address challenges and bottlenecks that hinder progress
• Facilitating science meetings, and producing publications and other communication products that synthesize research findings and existing knowledge to support country uptake
• Acting as expert advisors to advocate practical solutions and robust technologies and approaches, while highlighting their potential and limitations
• Ensuring that new science and technology, as it becomes operational, is considered for improving monitoring efforts and addressing unmet country needs
• Developing and coordinating R&D activities to align with countries’ unmet needs
• Assessing and communicating the operational readiness of proposed technologies and methods
• Providing a forum for the coordination of existing research activities, focusing on progressing GFOI Priority R&D Topics towards operational status
• Working with the GFOI Methods and Guidance Documentation (MGD) Component to develop and maintain guidance materials on operational methods and technologies
• Working with the GFOI Capacity Building Component to support the identification of gaps and training in new methods and technologies
• Working with the GFOI Data Coordination Component to address new science and technologies needed to support improved methods for accessing and using datasets and tools.

See our background and strategy documents, and workshop reports (table below) for more information about what we do and our recent achievements.

The work of the R&D Coordination Component is conducted through the collaborative efforts of GFOI partner researcher, experts, countries and other practitioners. It is led by the European Space Agency who fund the GOFC-GOLD Land Cover Office to provide the component management functions, in close collaboration with other GFOI partners.