Ecuador is consolidating strategic actions to strengthen agroforestry value chains that are positively linked to forests in the cocoa and coffee sectors. A forest-positive agroforestry chain is a value chain based on agroforestry systems that generates economic, social and environmental benefits and actively contributes to the conservation and restoration of forests. This work is being carried out within the framework of the Technical Cooperation Programme implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), whose international mission took place in the country this week.

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 governme...

Cocoa is a vital source of income for millions of smallholder farmers across the globe and Cameroon — one of the world’s top three cocoa-producing countries in Africa. Yet cocoa production can also be linked to deforestation and forest degradation. 

To address these challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the European Union’s Sustainable Cocoa Programme is using satellite remote sensing, artificial intelligence and cloud technology to map land cover and assess the impact of cocoa on forests.

Jointly developed by FAO and the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, AIM4Forests has expanded to include Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Nature Restoration (AIM4NatuRe) and Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests and Commodities (AIM4Commodities). AIM4NatuRe widens the scope to all ecosystems to provide a holistic approach to nature restoration monitoring, while AIM4Commodities promotes more sustainable and transparent supply chains connecting science, data and policy to deliver impact and measurable results for people and the planet.

How can food be produced sustainably while meeting deforestation-free requirements? That is the challenge at the heart of AIM4Commodities, a global initiative that is rethinking how digital tools, data, and smallholder empowerment through data ownership can shape the future of agriculture. 

From May to July 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ)  and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, carried out two missions to Kenya under the AIM4Commodities work stream and the AIM4Forests programme. As one of four pilot countries, alongside Colombia, Viet Nam and Lao PDR, Kenya is testing and scaling up approaches to strengthen forest monitoring, enhance supply chain traceability, and promote sustainable land use through Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI).  

From 12 to 16 May 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with funding from the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and in close collaboration with the Viet Nam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST), launched project activities under the AIM4Commodities project in Viet Nam. The country is one of four pilot countries globally—alongside Colombia, Kenya and Lao PDR—supporting efforts to improve forest monitoring, increase supply chain transparency and strengthen smallholder resilience in the face of growing market demands for deforestation-free commodities. 

The International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have teamed up to create a suite of free, public tools that farmers anywhere in the world can use. Here’s how these tools are already being put into use in Kenya.

As the world faces a mounting ecological crisis, marked by the rapid degradation of ecosystems, biodiversity loss, and advancing desertification, an ambitious initiative is lighting a path forward: the Indigenous Peoples’ Biocentric Restoration Global Programme. And Open Foris Ground is helping to monitor these efforts, you will discover how in the new elearning that will be launched soon.

On November 27, the Forest Data Partnership will be presenting at the South-South Knowledge Exchange on data governance and data sharing, capacity development and meeting demand-side requirements for forest monitoring.

New community models and probability maps of forest-risk commodities from Google support deforestation risk assessment, such as what is needed under the EUDR.

About one quarter of Guatemalan coffee and over half of Honduran coffee exports are destined for the European Union. Most of that coffee is grown by smallholder farmers. But as of January 2026, European Union importers will be required to ensure that imported coffee, along with eight other product groups affected by the regulation, does not cause deforestation or forest degradation.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM), inaugurated the national workshop marking the start of the AIM4Commodities (A4C) project activities in Colombia. The event took place on 22 and 23 April in Bogotá, bringing together nearly 50 participants, including representatives from government agencies, cocoa cooperatives, exporters, and national and international technical partners. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new project to help countries improve their forest-related data at a four-day South-South knowledge exchange taking place in Rome this week.

To enhance a digital public infrastructure for deforestation-related trade regulations, FAO has developed a suite of innovative solutions to help smallholders, decision-makers, operators and third party verification actors to assess the deforestation risk related to commodity production at the plot level.  

Join us for the webinar where we will unpack findings from a new WRI report, explore priority action areas for closing key gaps, and showcase collaborative approaches to advancing traceability and transparency. Simultaneous interpretation in Bahasa Indonesia, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Read More.

More than 150 experts from across the globe convened in Rome, Italy, from 25 to 28 November 2024 to enhance collaboration on forest monitoring efforts. The south-south knowledge exchange  emphasized collaboration on country-led planning; forest monitoring and measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) procedures; and forest monitoring for transparent commodity value chains. 

On February 14, 2025, FAO hosted the first event of the Private Sector Brown Bag Lunches Series, highlighting its decade-long collaboration with Google. The event, organized by FAO's Private Sector Unit (PSUS), demonstrated how innovative technological solutions can transform agricultural and environmental challenges on a global scale.

With just one click, Rabbie is able to verify whether a deforested patch of land is the result of commercial logging or agriculture, quantify the amount of tree cover loss, and identify which of the 12 vegetation types and plantations it falls under. All from the comfort of his office chair.

While it sounds like magic, it’s science. Over the past decade, cutting-edge technology and innovation have transformed countries’ abilities to monitor, report and manage their forests - resulting in better forest protection, restoration and sustainable land use.