Forest Monitoring for Transparent Supply Chains
To promote forest monitoring for transparent supply chains
Forests play a vital role in global sustainability, biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. However, agricultural expansion for the production of commodities such as palm oil, cocoa, coffee and livestock remains one of the main drivers of deforestation. To address this challenge, FAO’s Forest Monitoring for Transparent Supply Chains workstream develops data-driven approaches to promote sustainable land use, enhance forest monitoring for transparency across supply chains, and support compliance with international sustainability standards.
Through a combination of cutting-edge geospatial analysis, digital public infrastructure, and multi-stakeholder collaboration, we aim to create solutions that drive positive change. Our work aligns with global policy frameworks, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and deforestation-free regulations, ensuring that Forest monitoring for transparent supply chains remains a cornerstone of forest conservation and responsible trade.
Our solutions
Open Foris Ground is an open-source, map-first data collection solution co-developed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Google, which consists of a web console and an Android app, under the AIM4Commodities program.
Open Foris Ground enables non-technical users to easily create surveys and collect georeferenced field data.
It supports offline data entry with automatic syncing and provides real-time visualization through a web dashboard, where data can be downloaded in CSV or GeoJSON formats.
Numerous publicly available Earth Observation maps provide data on forests, land use, and tree cover. However, these maps often differ because they use various definitions and classification systems. As a result, no single map can provide a complete picture of any specific area. To address this issue, the Forest Data Partnership (FDaP), and the AIM4Commodities and the AIM4Forests Programmes advocate for the Convergence of Evidence approach.
By analysing several data sets together, stakeholders can build a more accurate picture of what’s likely happening in a given location. This approach provides a more comprehensive and reliable view of forest and land use changes over time.
Whisp is developed under the AIM4Commodities programme - Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests and Commodities.
Digital Public Infrastructure prototype
A Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to a collection of technological components powered by interoperable open standards and specifications. These components are managed within a framework of enabling rules and governed in an open, transparent, and participatory manner. A DPI is designed to foster innovation, inclusivity, and competition on a large scale, providing essential digital tools and systems that enhance accessibility and efficiency across various sectors.
The DPI infrastructure supports smallholder farmers and other stakeholders in meeting deforestation-free regulations requirements through open-access digital solutions and standards. By integrating critical technologies such as field boundary mapping and forest monitoring, DPI enables farmers to comply with regulations while promoting transparency and sustainability in agroforestry supply chains.
Boundaries
- Field data
- Digitized manually
- Segmentation
Unique Geo-IDs
- GDSP compliant
- Anonymous
- Attribute-less
Public Geodata
- Land cover
- LC Change
- Biophysical
- Land use
Public Models
- AI models
- Decision trees
Compliance Support
- Standardized data
- Risk assessment at the plot level
Key publications
Open Foris Ground Guide
01/10/2025
Check the Open Foris Ground Guide to learn step by step how to design surveys, collect data offline, and visualise results in the web console.
Towards a digital public infrastructure for deforestation-related trade regulations. What is in that plot? (Whisp)
31/05/2024
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) drives the development of a pre-competitive digital public infrastructure to support compliance on aspects of the trade regulations related to forest monitoring.
Stories
E-learnings
Open Foris Ground
07/10/2025
This course describes the growing challenges of field data collection and the use of open-source solutions like Open Foris Ground. In this course, you will learn Open Foris Ground's key features and how it can be used to address the data collection needs of various users in different contexts.