Bamboo is a fast-growing and economically important resource across Asia and the Pacific, yet it is often overlooked in official forest inventories. To help close this monitoring gap, the Asia-Pacific National Forest Inventory (AP-NFI) Network convened a technical online session focused on practical ways to measure bamboo more consistently, using methods that combine satellite-based mapping, field inventories, and community-based data collection. 

On 19th March, for the International Day of Forests (21 March) and World Water Day (22 March), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a high-level global event highlighting the interconnections between forests, water, economies and gend...

FAO’s Forest Monitoring team hosted a technical delegation from the University of Leicester at FAO headquarters for a two-day inception meeting (9-10 March 2026) to advance technical innovative solutions for near real-time forest monitoring through the integration of Python Earth Observation (PyEO) forest alerts into FAO's SEPAL (System for Earth Observation Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring) platform. 

Open Foris is a free, open-source initiative of forest and land monitoring solutions developed by FAO. The portfolio makes environmental monitoring more accessible, transparent, and collaborative for governments, communities, researchers, and practitioners worldwide.

In Uganda, forest monitoring has moved from paper-based field notes to cloud-enabled digital analysis. Forest officers now collect data in the field using mobile devices and analyse satellite imagery through cloud-based platforms, enabling faster detection of forest change, improved transparency and more informed decision-making.

Fifteen years ago, a Finnish-funded development project began reshaping how the world monitors its forests. Today, that initiative has evolved into Open Foris, a global suite of open-source technical solutions developed by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), now used in over 190 countries.

The European Programme for Sustainable Cocoa (SCP), the operational arm of the European Initiative for Sustainable Cocoa, implemented with FAO, supports Cameroon to strengthen the sustainability of cocoa production.

The IKI funded Congo Basin Peatlands project aims at securing crucial biodiversity, carbon and water stores in the Congo Basin Peatlands by enabling evidence-based decision making and good governance.

El Instituto de Hidrología, Meteorología y Estudios Ambientales (IDEAM) y la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (FAO), a través del Programa AIM4Forests y el apoyo del Programa ONU-REDD, desarrollaron del 14 al 17 de octubre el “Taller Técnico de Entrenamien...

FAO has launched a new publication, A Global Methodology for the Assessment of Direct Drivers Associated with Deforestation and Degradation, presenting a harmonized, statistically robust approach to identify and validate the causes of forest loss. A launch webinar took place on 2 October 2025, bringing more than 80 participants from around the world interested in understanding the methodology and its implications for forest monitoring.

In early June 2025, the National Institute for Space Research (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais - INPE) in Brazil hosted the workshop “Uncertainty Assessment of BiomasBR Products in the context of Measurement, Reporting and Verification”. The event was held in São José dos Campos, focused on improving forest monitoring data and assessing its accuracy.  

With the aim of strengthening national capacities for monitoring and the sustainable management of natural resources, technical staff from the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) are participating in a specialized training from 9 to 12 June on the use of the SEPAL platform (System for Earth Observations, Data Access, Processing and Analysis for Land Monitoring), developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In 2020, during the uncertainties of the COVID-19 pandemic, a bold idea emerged: estimate deforestation trends and associated drivers of deforestation across six Central African countries using FAO’s SEPAL platform.

Cameroon’s cocoa thrives in rich agroforestry systems, where cocoa trees coexist with towering forests, fruit trees like mango and avocado, and non-timber species such as bush mango and jansang. This sustainable approach preserves biodiversity and boosts ecosystem services. However, for Cameroon’s cocoa to access the EU market, its major outlet, it needs to comply with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) which is reshaping cocoa markets by requiring proof that commodities have not been produced by converting forests to agricultural and other land uses, known as deforestation after 31 December 2020.

Forests, data, and digital innovation took center stage at the Earth Observation for Forests session during the GEO Global Forum 2025 on 6 May. Co-hosted by FAO’s Forest Monitoring and Data Platforms team, alongside partners from the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), the Chinese Academy of Forestry, and the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI), the session showcased how cutting-edge earth observation and open-source technologies are transforming the way we monitor forests, restore ecosystems, and bring transparency to global supply chains.

Experts from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) participated in a training session led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on the computation and reporting of Sustainable Development Goal Indicator 15.4.2 – Mountain Green Cover Index and Proportion of Degraded Mountain Land.

The further humans encroach upon the rainforests of our planet, the more the natural barriers that protect us from wild animal diseases disappear. Up to 75 percent of new human infectious diseases originate from animals, and as human activities push deeper into biodiverse ecosystems, the likelihood of pathogen spillover increases.

The further humans encroach upon the rainforests of our planet, the more the natural barriers that protect us from wild animal diseases disappear. Up to 75 percent of new human infectious diseases originate from animals, and as human activities push deeper into biodiverse ecosystems, the likelihood of pathogen spillover increases.

The recent webinar, Learning Opportunities for All: Forest Monitoring for Climate Action, that took place on December 26 at FAO headquarters, convened global experts and participants, including 128 online attendees and around 50 in-person participants, to explore FAO's approach to strengthening capacities in forest monitoring. The session showcased significant progress in eLearning resources particularly for National Forest Inventories (NFIs).