Free open-source tools will help to tackle deforestation and climate change
Rome—The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has
launched free software tools that it hopes will
improve the way many developing nations monitor the state of their forests to
tackle deforestation and climate change.
The
tools are designed to assist countries through the entire lifecycle of a forest
inventory—from assessment, design and field data collection to analysis and
reporting. The governments of Finland and Germany have supported the
development of the software called Open Foris.
Global
knowledge sharing platform
Accurate information about forests is crucial for governments to manage
their natural resources sustainably, but nearly 80 percent of developing
countries have difficulty obtaining and using basic information about their
forest resources.
At
the same time, deforestation and forest degradation—largely taking place in
developing countries—are among the largest sources of carbon emissions globally
caused by humans.
"Many
countries simply do not have a full picture of what is happening in their
forests, and without that knowledge it is hard to develop effective forest
policies to combat deforestation and forest degradation or to advance national
climate change strategies," Eduardo Rojas-Briales, assistant director-general
for forestry, explained.
"We
hope that Open Foris will be a game changer, as it is the first comprehensive
open source tool that will not only guide the countries through the whole
process of data collection and analysis but will also encourage and facilitate
open knowledge sharing in an innovative way. Increased transparency will help
the policy makers obtain the information they need to make informed
decisions," he added.
The
new FAO tools also simplify the complex process of transforming raw data such
as tree measurements and satellite imagery into valuable information in the
form of interactive web pages with statistics, graphs, maps and reports.
In
addition, the software includes built-in tools to help countries meet
international reporting requirements, for example in the context of REDD+ activities related to reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and increasing the carbon
stock in forests.
Piloting
in more than ten countries
Released last October at the International Union of Forest Research
Organizations' World Congress in Salt Lake City, Open Foris tools are already
being successfully tested in more than ten countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
America.
For
example, earlier this year Ecuador and Tanzania completed their first national
forest inventories with the help of Open Foris tools, and a number of experts
from other countries, such as Argentina, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea and Uruguay
have recently received training to use different components of the software.
Viet
Nam carries out a national forest inventory every five years, and for the first
time has been piloting Open Foris in one region after adapting the open source
code to use the software in Vietnamese.
Forest
rangers collect information on canopy cover and the number, size, species and
quality of trees as well as the use of forest resources by local populations before
entering the data into Open Foris software back at the office.
"It
enables us to calculate variables and changes to the forest and tree resources
within a certain period, as well as changes to other environmental values of
the forests such as carbon pools, biodiversity and non-timber forest
products," said Ho Manh Tuong of Viet Nam's Forest Inventory and Planning
Institute. "Through the program, the complete national forest stock can be
assessed."
The
inventory will soon become even more efficient when rangers start using an Open
Foris tool that enables them to enter data directly with their smartphones
or tablets, eliminating the need to input information collected on paper
forms. (FAO)
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