More and more countries agree that sharing lessons learned, especially on such a complex subject as GHG inventory is crucial for strengthening countries' technical and institutional capacities to progress in reporting to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and follow-up on the commitments of the Paris Agreement. The "Mesoamerican workshop to exchange knowledge in the reporting and verification of emissions from agriculture" was held in the city of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, from 3 to 7 December 2018. The face-to-face workshop complimented the work plan in South-South Cooperation in Forest Monitoring of the Mesoamerican Environmental Sustainability Strategy (Estrategia mesoamericana de sustentabilidad...

Myanmar has the highest proportion of forest cover in mainland Southeast Asia. According to the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 44.2% of the country’s territory is covered with forests. A considerable part of these forests is still relatively intact, hosting exceptional biodiversity, including fishing cats, sun bears, dholes, binturongs, pangolins, and more than 1,000 bird species. Moreover, an estimated 70% of the country’s population is living in rural areas and heavily dependent on forests for their basic needs. To protect the country’s natural wealth and at the same time fulfil various national and...

Peatlands are lands with a naturally accumulated plant layer on their surface, stored by the high water level. Peatland ecosystems store great amounts of carbon and have therefore become a centre of attention for climate change mitigation. Although not all peat locations are known and mapped, peatlands are estimated to contain 30 per cent of the world’s soil carbon even though they only cover 3 per cent of the Earth’s land area. In addition to storing organic matter, peatlands provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Over 180 countries have peatlands, including in diverse climatic areas like highlands, drylands, coastal areas, river...

Through many years of experience and country examples, we have learned that data on forest ecosystems is crucial for forest-related decision-making at the local and national level. National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) are important for countries to be able to monitor and report on national goals and international targets, such as carbon and biomass in forests. These systems are increasingly used to collect data to identify and address national priorities, including migration and the use of natural resources surrounding the camps of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). One of the recent examples of NFMS’ multipurpose character is the contribution to the Safe Access...

With almost half of the working population employed in the agriculture industry, Côte d’Ivoire’s economy is greatly affected by climate change and the multiple weather variations it brings. In addition, the country’s ever-expanding agriculture is one of the main drivers of deforestation that can further aggravate the effects of climate change. In order to reverse this trend and find and implement win-win solutions to both forestry and agriculture, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire is taking important data-driven steps to address the problems posed by climate change. In these efforts, the country recognises the effectiveness of reducing emissions from deforestation and...