The climate crisis demands global action. One of the most recognizable initiatives implemented at this scale is the Paris Agreement, signed by 195 countries, which aims to limit global average temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. Under the Paris Agreement, countries have outlined individual climate goals, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). To ensure each country is contributing to the Paris Agreement, the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) was developed, which improves transparency and builds trust in the process. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has implemented the two-year project, “Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest),” to help countries meet these enhanced transparency requirements in the context of forests.

The CBIT-Forest project, funded by the Global Environment Facility, was designed to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to analyse and share forest data. The project has provided support through global and national actions. In 2020, the project organized four global webinars and in 2021, the project hosted three global webinars to share knowledge and promote dialogue among experts, as well as to inform about the latest updates from the project. These webinars drew participation from many different sectors, including government ministries, academia, United Nations agencies, other international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector.

Explore here the webinars presented by the CBIT-Forest project in 2021: 

Forest data for climate action: the importance of legal and institutional frameworks

The institutionalisation of national forest monitoring systems (NFMS) is crucial for streamlined, sustainable and transparent use of forest data, which informs forest policies and management. This FAO webinar highlighted the ways in which a legal basis, financial commitment and a permanent institutional framework are vital to ensuring efficient implementation and operation of an NFMS. It also launched the FAO publication “Institutionalisation of forest data: Establishing legal frameworks for sustainable forest monitoring in REDD+ countries,” created within the framework of the UN-REDD Programme. During the webinar, representatives from Colombia and Uganda shared experiences and lessons learned from institutionalization of forest data. The project also shared the CBIT-Forest project’s one-year in numbers presentation, the information note on legal assessment to set up and operationalized an NFMS (available in English, French and Spanish)and presented an educational video on forests and transparency. The concepts reviewed here drew engagement from the private sector (4% of participants), as well as a considerable amount of female participation (52% of participants).

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlo-Uw2-DEU

Forest data and free open-source solutions for Climate Action

Information obtained by NFMS can support countries in their efforts to build confidence in climate actions and increase the effectiveness and transparency of those actions under the Paris Agreement. This webinar highlighted the specific links between NFMS and climate action. A compilation of case studies on forest data transparency, from 6 countries, including Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, and Papua New Guinea, was presented during the online event.  Representatives from Ghana and Papua New Guinea joined the webinar to share experiences and elaborate on the case studies from their countries. Also, the webinar launched ARENA, FAO’s newest, free, open-source platform, created with support from the UN-REDD Programme to advance NFMS. These themes aimed to inform practitioners and other experts and help guide countries that are in the process of designing or implementing NFMS.

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nib3b4LaPuw

Mind the gap: addressing National Forest Inventory capacity needs to support climate action

This webinar was part of a series organized by the FAO elearning Academy, Agreenium, UN-ESCAP, and the Future Food Institute (FFI) to discuss and learn from current trends in thematic areas related to various global challenges, such as climate change and sustainable development. Specifically, this session focused on the ways in which National Forest Inventories (NFI) can support climate action. The project presented a new web page, on the FAO eLearning Academy, that is based on the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) “Forests and Transparency under the Paris Agreement.” Further, the webinar provided an opportunity for practitioners, international experts, researchers and other professionals to interact and share experiences and perspectives, including representatives from Guatemala and Liberia. The University of Gottigen also provided insights on how academia is key to knowledge sharing and strengthening capacity for the implementation of NFIs. Also, the webinar launched FAO’s new series of online NFI training modules.

Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KlmomrBlxs&t=1s

Massive Open Online Course Webinars

The Massive Open Online Course, “Forests and Transparency under the Paris Agreement,” was developed by FAO with support from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This course was designed to share knowledge on the connections between the Enhanced Transparency Framework of the Paris Agreement and the collection, analysis and dissemination of forest data. Three editions of the MOOC were delivered in English, Spanish and French, two of which took place this year. In addition to an interactive online lesson and other supporting materials, each edition of the MOOC included two webinar sessions.

Explore the MOOC webinars, delivered in 2021, below:

Establishing and implementing a sustainable national forest monitoring system (NFMS)

Developed as part of the second edition of the massive open online course (MOOC) “Forests and Transparency under the Paris Agreement,” this webinar explored the processes and tools needed to build sustainable, multi-purpose national forest monitoring systems. Representatives from FAO for example, shared information from the FAO-developed Voluntary Guidelines on National Forest Monitoring. First-hand experiences designing and implementing NFMS were shared during the webinar, which included speakers from Mexico and Costa Rica.

A variation of this webinar was also developed for the third edition of the MOOC. This webinar covered the same topics as the previous, with speakers and representatives varying slightly.

Watch the recording from the second edition here in English, French and Spanish

Watch the recording from the third edition here in English, French and Spanish

From Measurement, Reporting and Verification to the Reinforced Transparency Framework

This webinar was also developed under the second edition of the MOOC “Forests and Transparency under the Paris Agreement.” It discussed the main challenges associated with transitioning from the Measurement, Reporting and Verification Framework to the Enhanced Transparency Framework, as well as the role that institutional and legal arrangements play in establishing a robust NFMS. This webinar also presented lessons and experiences from three countries, Italy, Ghana and Chile, engaging with the enhanced transparency requirements under the Paris Agreement.

A variation of this webinar was also developed for the third edition of the MOOC. This webinar covered the same topics as the previous, with speakers and representatives varying slightly.

Watch the recording from the second edition here in English, French and Spanish

Watch the recording from the third edition here in English, French and Spanish