With FAO’s support, SERFOR promotes open access to forestry and wildlife information
Peru demonstrates its commitment to transparency with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) of the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation, as the National Forestry and Wildlife Authority, has taken a significant step in promoting open access to the information it generates, collects, processes, and makes available to the public. The first-phase data of the National Forestry and Wildlife Inventory (INFFS) has been published on FAO’s Food and Agriculture Microdata Catalogue (FAM).
Through the FAM Catalogue, users can access detailed information on the INFFS sampling design conducted by SERFOR, the methodology used in field data collection, and the forest variables and indicators estimated. This initiative provides up-to-date data, enabling stakeholders to identify and understand the key characteristics of Peru’s forests and other forest ecosystems.
Additionally, the FAM Catalogue includes reports underpinning the results, detailed metadata, and supplementary documents generated as part of the INFFS implementation. All this information is published under strict data confidentiality policies.
Cecilia Macera, Director General of Forestry and Wildlife Information and Management at SERFOR, emphasised: “Through this initiative, supported by FAO, we ensure transparency in the management of forestry and wildlife data, a cornerstone for environmental sustainability and public trust.”
Jorge Carranza, Director of the Inventory and Valuation Directorate at SERFOR, added: “Publishing the INFFS data provides a global gateway for its use in scientific research, the development of conservation strategies, and the planning of sustainable forest and wildlife management.”
This initiative also serves as a tool to monitor the impact of climate change on the integrity of forest and wildlife resources. By estimating carbon dioxide emissions in the forestry sector, it contributes to tracking the implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and producing national climate change reports.
These efforts foster informed participation by decision-makers and society alike while reinforcing the country’s commitment to managing and protecting its forestry and wildlife resources for future generations.
Data to Inform Decision-Making
As part of its commitment to strengthening its technical expertise and providing key data for decision-making and policy development, SERFOR plans to implement the use of the online platform Open Foris Arena for managing INFFS data. This platform allows for the rapid and flexible storage and processing of questionnaire or field inventory data, facilitating study configuration and data entry by technical teams.
The technical capacity-building necessary to continue implementing the INFFS is supported by the “Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest)” project and the AIM4Forests Programme: Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests. Both initiatives are led by FAO.
Through these efforts, Peru is positioning itself as a leader in the sustainable and transparent management of forestry and wildlife resources by promoting data-driven solutions to address pressing environmental challenges.