The FCMC MRV Task Participates in California Meeting

The FCMC MRV Task Participates in California Meeting
As part of the ongoing FCMC Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) activities, Jenny Hewson, of FCMC Partner Conservation International, participated in meetings of the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) Space Data Coordination Group (SDCG) and SilvaCarbon held at Caltech in Pasadena, California, September 4-6, 2013. The mission of GFOI is to foster the sustained availability of satellite & ground observations in support of national forest information systems.

As a part of their SDCG meeting, GFOI hosted a Country Day. The aim of the Country Day was to review the status and needs of agencies in selected countries tasked with developing monitoring systems, including Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Guyana,. Country Day presented a valuable opportunity for country representatives to provide insightful input to the SDCG in tailoring the types of services and products that SDCG provides. FCMC has ongoing MRV activities in both Peru and Colombia related to the development of forest monitoring systems and works closely with national institutions, including the Ministry of Environment (MINAM) in Peru and Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) in Colombia. In Colombia, FCMC is also working with IDEAM to support the development of reference levels for REDD+ and engaging communities and local governments in MRV systems. Representatives from both institutions were present at the meetings in California and, in preparation for the Country Day, SilvaCarbon and FCMC facilitated a session with these individuals as well as representatives from Ecuador, Mexico, and Guyana, providing technical guidance based on activities to-date, to assist in the development of a combined set of spatial data needs for discussion with the SDCG.

Along with presentations by the United States Forest Service and Rainforest Alliance, Ms. Hewson presented an overview of the FCMC program, current and planned MRV activities, and FCMC’s forthcoming REDD+ Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) Manual, set to be released at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties in Warsaw this coming November. These presentations provided the country representatives with an understanding of the range of activities undertaken by SilvaCarbon, FCMC, and other organizations, and the resources available for use by countries.

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