©Anthony Morgan
The Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) is pleased to welcome Belize as the newest country to formally start a Country-Led Planning (CLP) process to strengthen the institutionalization and long-term sustainability of its National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS). Belize submitted a formal expression of interest through the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management, reflecting the country’s commitment to consolidating forest monitoring as a sustainable government function.
This engagement is being carried out within the framework of the AIM4Forests programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, funded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.
Belize’s expression of interest to initiate a CLP process follows a country visit in April 2026, during which the national Forest Department facilitated discussions with government institutions, civil society organizations, technical actors and international partners involved in forest monitoring, climate reporting, biodiversity management, disaster risk reduction and forest governance. Discussions during the visit highlighted strong technical capacities, active collaboration among institutions and a shared interest in strengthening long-term coordination mechanisms for the NFMS.
Belize presents a strong foundation to engage in a CLP process. The country has a technically robust NFMS that combines permanent forest inventories, remote sensing and measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) methodologies. The NFMS is compliant with reporting processes connected to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, REDD+ and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Strengthening Belize’s NFMS will support better environmental decision-making, improve climate resilience, enhance biodiversity protection and help safeguard forest resources for future generations.
By initiating a CLP process, Belize joins a growing group of countries working through participatory and country-led approaches to consolidate forest monitoring systems as permanent government functions. The GFOI looks forward to accompanying Belize in the next steps of this process.
