Why forest data matters and what’s getting in the way

Forests are more than trees. They support food, water, and energy security. They regulate the climate and shelter millions of people. But to protect them, countries need solid information. And that means better data.

Reliable forest data helps answer key questions: How much forest has been lost? Where is it growing back? Which policies are working - and which don’t?

Many countries now have national forest monitoring systems (NFMSs), which track forest change over time. But setting up a system is not enough. The data it produces must be trustworthy, easy to access, and actually used.

The problem isn’t just technical

Collecting data is only part of the story. In many places, data is locked away in disconnected systems, or not shared at all. Agencies may not trust each other. There may be no clear rules on who owns the data, or how it can be used.

Even when the data exists, it might be hard to find, incomplete, or out of date. And if people don’t trust the numbers, they won’t use them.

That’s a problem - because good decisions depend on good data.

Sharing data helps everyone

When forest data is shared across institutions and with the public, it becomes more useful. It can support land-use planning, help communities protect forests, and give investors the information they need to fund sustainable work.

Uganda provides a strong example. The country developed a formal protocol for forest data sharing and became the first tropical country to publish its national forest inventory microdata through FAO’s FAM catalogue. That effort improved transparency and made the data accessible to researchers, planners and other stakeholders.

In Costa Rica, several Ministries worked together to build SIMOCUTE, a national system that brings together land cover and ecosystem data. Its governance model - backed by a legal framework - shows how cross-sector collaboration can improve decision-making and reduce duplication.

Tools are not enough without trust

Digital tools are improving. Forest monitoring and satellite and data platforms are more advanced and affordable than ever. But without clear rules, shared standards and trust among partners, the data won’t be used well - or at all.

That’s why countries like Guatemala have gone beyond technology to address the legal and institutional foundations. A revised technical cooperation agreement brought together multiple agencies and universities to coordinate how forest and land-use data is collected, verified and shared.

Ghana has taken a similar approach. The country uses formal data-sharing agreements between the forest monitoring system and data users. These outline who can access what, under what conditions, and how the data can be used - promoting clarity, accountability and security.

A new FAO guide on forest data management and governance

To help countries navigate today’s data challenges, FAO through the CBIT-Forest and the AIM4Forests programme, has released a new publication: Towards the institutionalization of forest data: The importance of data management and sharing. This guide offers concrete steps and real-world examples to support better forest data governance. It explains how governments and institutions can improve how forest data is collected, stored, protected, and shared - ensuring that forest information is not only accurate and secure, but also trusted, accessible, and used for real-world decisions.

The publication covers:

• Data quality – why consistent methods and quality checks are essential;
• Data management – how to structure, store, and safeguard data across its lifecycle;
• Data access – how to balance openness with ethical, privacy and legal constraints;
• Data platforms – what makes digital systems usable, transparent and sustainable;
• Legal and institutional frameworks – how to clarify roles, foster collaboration and ensure long-term operability;
• Country examples – from Brazil, Uganda, Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala, Italy and more.

Whether you are a policymaker, researcher, NGO worker or technical officer, this guide provides actionable insights to make forest data more visible, usable and impactful - supporting stronger data-driven forest governance and informed climate action.

The full publication is now available in

English: https://doi.org/10.4060/cd5262en

French: https://doi.org/10.4060/cd5262es

Spanish: https://doi.org/10.4060/cd5262fr