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Tackling deforestation, reducing forest degradation, restoring forests, and scaling up sustainable forest management are critical pathways for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and progress will require having access to high-quality forest monitoring data. Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests programme) was launched in mid-2023 as a ground-breaking initiative to be implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), funded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in collaboration with UN-REDD. The programme is leading the charge in advancing forest monitoring through cutting-edge technology, and innovative and sustainable technical solutions. 

AIM4Forests identifies initial group of countries to provide technical assistance

Eventually, AIM4Forests will benefit up to 20 countries, but work has commenced in eleven “quick-start” countries. Following requests from national governments, FAO, in agreement with the government of the United Kingdom, will work with relevant authorities to address immediate monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) gaps (grouped by region):

• Africa: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Ghana, Kenya and Uganda;
• Asia and the Pacific: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam; and
• Latin America and the Caribbean: Brazil, Guatemala, Peru and the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

Topics for technical assistance in these eleven countries include critical gaps such as nesting arrangements to avoid the double counting of emission reductions; improvements to MRV systems to access climate finance; the strengthening of national forest inventories (NFIs); data to support ecosystem restoration commitments; and technical support to meet compliance requirements for the European Union’s Regulation on deforestation-free products.

The programme also seeks to harmonize efforts with other initiatives that provide technical assistance in countries like the Forest Data Partnership, UN-REDD Programme, United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, SEPAL Forest and Land Monitoring for Climate Action, and the Drivers of Deforestation project of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI).

In addition to a focus on improved forest monitoring data and its efforts to building institutional capacity for more effective monitoring and management, AIM4Forests will also help ensure social inclusion. The programme includes specific support for those responsible for protecting and managing forests – particularly Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities.

What makes AIM4Forests different is its country-driven approach (referred to as Country Led Planning), in coordination with the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI). Each participating country identifies its unique needs and gaps, and then develops a tailor-made plan to enhance their National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) to deliver transparent, high-quality data.

Julian Fox, NFM team leader, shared that the programme team has "initiated work in eleven quick-start countries based on their National Forest Monitoring Systems' needs, aligning with the GFOI country-led planning approach, and responding to government requests to address strategic gaps." 

Examples of how AIM4Forests engages in technical dialogues

For example, activities have already kicked off in DRC, Ghana, Kenya, and Peru, where technical meetings are unfolding, establishing partnerships with various public agencies in these countries.

Peru launched of AIM4Forests activities in the country in September 2023. Experts in forest policy and monitoring from key institutions, including the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI), Ministry of the Environment (MINAM), and the National Forestry and Wildlife Service (SERFOR), participated in key discussions with an FAO delegation around work packages such as the European Union’s Regulation governing deforestation-free products, nesting and MRV assessments. The Peruvian representatives embraced AIM4Forests, valuing the collaboration with FAO. Plans for potential activities in 2023 and 2024 were made, underscoring Peru's unwavering commitment for more sustainable forest monitoring systems.

In DRC, in a combined effort between FAO and Silvacarbon, activities related with nesting were carried out. Discussions and meetings with several government institutions including the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Fonds Forestier National, among others, and private sector (REDD+ implementers) were conducted.

In Ghana, FAO led some working sessions with the MRV team and the Resource Management Support Centre of the Ghana Forestry Commission (FC), as recently as November 2023. The goal was to ensure that Ghana’s FC takes full ownership of the supporting technical documentation for the recently submitted TREES Registration Document and Monitoring Report. National experts joined the FC team to assess the technical and functional capacities of Ghana’s NFMS using the FAO’s NFMS assessment tool, with the aim of identify potential areas for technical assistance under AIM4Forests in the coming years. A roadmap for NFMS capacity development in Ghana is currently under preparation.

In Kenya, the IMPRESS project successfully established a reliable NFMS, showcasing a 26% decrease in emissions by 2021 compared to the previous five years. The project is now gearing up for the 2022 monitoring phase, focusing on land use trends and intensifying mangrove monitoring. In July 2023, the AIM4Forest program organized a workshop to evaluate Kenya’s National Forest Monitoring System, acknowledging progress through projects like IMPRESS and CADEP. Key findings emphasized mapping mandates for entities involved in forest monitoring and assessing Kenya’s eligibility for climate finance under the REDD+ using the ART-TREES gap assessment tool. The updated Carbon Calculation Database is expected by 2024.

Ms Marieke Sandker, Lead Technical Officer for the AIM4Forests programme in FAO’s NFMS team, pointed out that “In the first set of eleven countries, including Peru, DRC, Kenya and Ghana, we start with a set of activities targeting MRV, forest monitoring for ecosystem restoration, and forest monitoring in support of deforestation-free commodity production. We are off on a good start and hope to provide similar support to further countries over the coming years.”

Banner photo credit: © FAO/Thomas Nicolon