04/03/2026 - 05/03/2026
©FAO / Wesley Roberts
The Government of Zambia will host a two-day multistakeholder workshop from 4–5 March 2026 in Lusaka, Zambia, bringing together government institutions, technical agencies, academia, civil society, the private sector and development partners to shape a shared national vision for an institutionalized national forest monitoring system (NFMS).
The workshop is organized under the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) Country-Led Planning (CLP) programme, implemented with support from the AIM4Forests programme funded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's Department for Energy Security and Net Zero. It represents a decisive step in Zambia’s ongoing efforts to strengthen forest governance, fulfill climate commitments and establish a fully embedded, transparent and sustainable NFMS.
Zambia joined the CLP programme in 2025, alongside Belize, Cambodia and Nigeria. As a part of the programme, a mission was held in May 2025, confirming strong national ownership and political commitment to advancing NFMS institutionalization. The mission was led by the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment (MGEE) together with the Forestry Department and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA).
Across institutions, there is a shared understanding that Zambia’s next phase of forest monitoring must evolve beyond project-based approaches toward a nationally coordinated, interoperable system that supports climate reporting, access to climate finance, participation in carbon markets and informed decisions across sectors.
The CLP process provides a structured, country-owned path for achieving this transformation, while ensuring that Zambia defines its functional needs, governance arrangements, institutional mandates and long-term sustainability mechanisms.
Emphasizing the importance of inclusive collaboration among key stakeholders, the workshop will provide a national platform to achieve the following objectives:
Over two days, participants will jointly explore what a durable and fully institutionalized NFMS could look like for Zambia, one that integrates governance, legal clarity, sustainable financing, data-sharing, interministerial coordination, retention of skilled professionals and long-term capacity building.
The outcomes of the workshop will directly inform the next phase of the CLP process, including a functional gap assessment and the development of a country-owned roadmap for institutionalizing Zambia’s NFMS.
Will you be in Lusaka from 4–5 March 2026? International partners or those who work with an institution relevant to Zambia’s NFMS are invited to contact [email protected] to ask about joining the workshop in person.
The GFOI CLP programme assists countries with developing the institutional, governance and functional capabilities necessary for sustainable NFMS operations. Previous CLP workshops and missions revealed that countries are strengthening their forest monitoring systems through nationally driven dialogue and coordinated planning.
If you would like to learn more about the CLP programme of support, explore past national achievements or follow future updates on Zambia’s CLP process, visit the GFOI CLP webpage.
