Would you like to support establishing and operationalizing a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS) in your country? If you are nodding in agreement, then this FAO free self-paced online course is for you.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently launched the online course ‘Institutionalization of Forest Data’. This is a course crafted for individuals eager to support the institutionalization of forest data within a robust NFMS. Additionally, it emphasizes transparency, sustainability, and data-sharing as critical pillars for the successful implementation of an NFM strategy.

Whether you are a legal expert, a government, or a ministry officer, an academic, a member of the private sector, a student or an interested individual, this course is your gateway to understanding institutionalizing forest data for lasting impact.

Since many countries recognized that monitoring forests requires up-to-date data to monitor status and changes over time, to enhance decision making and to ensure reliable reporting for national and international frameworks including REDD+, and after experiencing a significant progress in developing and operationalizing their NFMS, it is important to know how to approach this legal instrument.

By enrolling in the course, you will learn about the foundation and strategic elements to strengthen institutional arrangements for the planning and definition of an NFMS, how to adopt a NFMS, the importance of an NFM strategy, and the actors and responsibilities involved in operating the NFMS, as well as the types of issues pertaining.

Moreover, you will know the application of the NFMS legal assessment matrix, and will access the NFMS assessment tool, and the checklist tool to identify countries’ good practices, among other topics and useful resources.

Benefit from acquiring new skills and receiving a completion certificate, after the finalization of the course, already available in English. Translations into French and Spanish are upcoming and will be shared widely.

Course: Institutionalization of forest data (fao.org)

The launch of this course stems from a successful partnership among several resource and technical partners, spearheaded by FAO, including AIM4Forests funded by the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, SEPAL funded by Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the UN-REDD Programme.

Click for more