GFOI country forum returns: A south-south knowledge exchange

The Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), in partnership with the Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) programme, is pleased to announce that the GFOI Country forum: A south-south knowledge exchange (GFOI SSX) will return in 2026! This major gathering will be held from 3 to 5 November 2026 in Rome, Italy, at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

Building on the success of the previous event, the GFOI SSX 2026 will provide a forum for tropical countries to learn from one another's expertise in forest monitoring. Many countries now have over a decade of experience developing their National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMSs), making their expertise invaluable to others still building similar systems or facing challenges.

This year, the GFOI SSX will feature three streams held in parallel:

1. Country-led planning to institutionalize NFMS
2. Measurement, Reporting and Verification: TFFF Eligibility and Monitoring
3. Forest monitoring for transparent commodity supply chains, hosted by the AIM4Commodities initiative

Please note that this is a country forum and participation is via invitation only. If you are interested in attending, please fill out this form. 

This event is organized by the GFOI Office and AIM4Forests programme, as hosted by FAO, on behalf of all GFOI partners. It is made possible with the financial support provided by the governments of Germany (via AIM4Commodities), Norway (via the GFOI Office) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (via AIM4Forests).

More information about the event will be shared in the near future. Please monitor the GFOI’s social media accounts and website for updates. In the meantime, please save the date!