The Research and Development (R&D) Coordination Component of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) held the second session of the GFOI R&D Exchanges on 18 February 2025, which focused on the critical aspects of wetland monitoring.

The engaging discussion covered the inclusion of wetlands in in nationally determined contributions (NDCs), key principles for monitoring wetlands, innovative concepts for peatland greenhouse gas (GHG) emission factor estimation and the latest advancements in mangrove monitoring.

Expert insights and innovations

Daniela Requena Suarez, GFOI R&D Coordinator from GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, moderated the session and opened the discussion with an introduction to the latest GFOI Methods and Guidance Documentation (MGD) Blue Carbon module. To access this novel guide on reporting emissions and removals from coastal wetlands in national GHG inventories, please click here.

This exchange was complemented with presentations by expert representatives from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Maria Nuutinen, FAO, provided an overview on the reasoning and principles for monitoring peatlands and mangroves. Peat GHG emission factors, from key concepts to research needs, were elaborated upon by Kristell Hergoualc’h, CIFOR-ICRAF. Ake Rosenqvist, JAXA/soloEO, presented on the Global Mangrove Watch. A comparison of global mangrove maps was shared by Arimatéa de Carvalhos Ximenes, CIFOR-ICRAF, to assess spatial and bioclimatic discrepancies at poleward range limits.

After the presentations, a fruitful discussion and resource exchange ensued in engagement between the participants and panellists. Please find the multitude of key resources provided at the end of this page.

To watch the exchange in its entirety, please view the recording below or click here.

Global interest in wetland monitoring

Over 250 individuals connected in the exchange, with 40 percent identifying as women. In addition, 49 percent of participants were between the ages of 36 and 50, while 32 percent were young professionals between the ages of 18 and 35. In terms of professional background, the respondents represented the following industries: research and academia (23 percent), governments (14 percent), non-government organizations (13 percent), the private sector (13 percent) and international organizations (11 percent).

Respondents with the highest representation come from Europe (38 percent), followed by Asia-Pacific (19 percent), Latin America and the Caribbean (19 percent), Africa (17 percent) and North America (7 percent). This global engagement demonstrates the widespread interest in tropical wetland monitoring.

GFOI R&D Exchanges

The GFOI R&D Exchanges are an online series of meetings designed to foster discussions on evolving forest monitoring methods and their applications in national forest monitoring systems. These meetings serve as a dynamic platform for the GFOI research community and interested stakeholders to exchange information and insights on recent research achievements and persisting gaps. The content is designed to focus on the current GFOI R&D priorities, such as: degradation and regrowth mapping, biomass and emission factor estimation, deforestation alerts, uncertainty analysis, land use and greenhouse gases.

If you are interested in presenting on a specific topic or sharing your expertise in a future exchange, we would love to hear from you – please reach out to the GFOI R&D Coordinators, Dr Martin Herold ([email protected]) and Dr Daniela Requena Suarez ([email protected]).

Check out this link to read about the first session, which focused on forest disturbance alerts. Stay tuned for upcoming sessions!

Related resources

The following resources, key to the topic of tropical wetland monitoring, were shared by panellists and participants alike during the exchange:

Guidance and manuals

• GFOI MGD Blue Carbon module
• FAO/TNC Manual: Remote sensing techniques for mapping and monitoring mangroves at fine scales
• Guidelines for the establishment of a national blue carbon strategy in national policy frameworks: Summary and Full Report
• The 2014 Blue Carbon Handbook

Reports and event summaries

• FAO Report: The world’s mangroves 2000–2020
• FAO Peatland monitoring & GHG estimation: overview of monitoring tools for Indonesia
• SilvaCarbon - CEOS Technical Workshop: Mangroves Mapping and Monitoring  

Research publications

• A New Global Mangrove Height Map with a 12 meter spatial resolution
• An assessment of recent peat forest disturbances and their drivers in the Cuvette Centrale, Africa
• Half of land use carbon emissions in Southeast Asia can be mitigated through peat swamp forest and mangrove conservation and restoration
• Distribution and drivers of global mangrove forest change, 1996–2010
• Global declines in human-driven mangrove loss

Data and resources

• Global Mangrove Extent Change 1996–2020: Global Mangrove Watch Version 3.0
• Global Mangrove Watch, 10m baseline for 2020, v4.019
• Global Mangrove Watch Platform