The Framework for Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring (FERM) consists of a geospatial platform and a registry of restoration initiatives. It is the official monitoring platform for tracking global progress and disseminating good practices for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. It also supports countries in reporting areas under restoration for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 2.

How to navigate FERM

This guidance document provides an overview of how to use the FERM. The document covers information about the FERM ‘s objectives, the context within the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, and its role in supporting countries with reporting on areas under restoration for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) Target 2 indicator. Furthermore, it provides step by step instructions on how to use FERM, including the FERM registry, the FERM geospatial platform and the FERM Search engine

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The PILA geoportal

PILA supports the ILM process to make easy and fast use of relevant and reliable geospatial information at different spatial levels. This includes leveraging on existing global, regional, national and sub-national data through a dedicated geospatial platform. The PILA geospatial platform, is a web-based global platform targeting all 27 FOLUR countries and hosted in the FAO Earth Map tool from the Open Foris suite. It is meant to allow any user, without background in programming, to access and analyse remote sensing data with known accuracies on biophysical, socioeconomic and productive conditions (e.g. on productivity trends, land use change dynamics, tree cover loss, land degradation, restoration opportunities, etc.). The PILA geoportal leverages the petabytes of multitemporal, multiscale, multiparametric, and quasi-real-time satellite imagery and geospatial datasets from Google Earth Engine and other qualified sources. It also offers advanced analytical functionalities through a point-and-click graphical user-friendly interface, taking advantage of Google cloud services, and allowing quick environmental and climate data analysis as well as land monitoring over an area of interest.

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The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 (hereafter “UN Decade”) aims to prevent, halt and reverse ecosystem degradation and recover biodiversity, and ecosystem integrity; enhance human health and well-being, including sustainable delivery of ecosystem goods and services; and mitigate climate change. To create a shared vision of ecosystem restoration, UN Decade partners, through a consultative process, launched ten principles for achieving the highest level of recovery possible through restoration projects.

To facilitate application of these principles and thereby maximize restoration outcomes for nature and people, the Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration provide key recommendations for all phases of restoration projects. These recommendations are applicable to the broad array of restorative activities included as ecosystem restoration under the UN Decade, across all types of ecosystems (urban, production, cultural, semi-natural and natural) and restoration projects, from voluntary community member-led efforts to highly resourced, nationally funded projects.

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Key Messages

• The report proposes a two-phase TCA assessment process: initial national-level assessments to raise awareness, followed by detailed evaluations to prioritize solutions and drive transformative actions.
• Preliminary assessments across 154 countries suggest global hidden costs from agrifood systems exceed 10 trillion 2020 PPP dollars.
• Low-income countries are disproportionately affected by these hidden costs relative to their national incomes.
• There is an urgent need to integrate these hidden costs into decision-making processes to facilitate the transformation of agrifood systems.
• Scaling the application of TCA requires innovations in research, data, and capacity building, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
• This effort aims to enable transparent and consistent decision- and policymaking in agrifood sectors worldwide.

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Close to 90 percent of forest loss is associated with expansion of agriculture, resulting in an urgent need for better solutions to identify and help manage the risk of forest loss associated with commodity supply chains. Traceability and transparency are increasingly called on to help halt and reverse forest loss.

The Traceability and Transparency in Supply Chains for Agricultural and Forest Commodities Report shows that despite the rapid progress seen to date in developing traceability and transparency solutions, key challenges and data gaps remain. It also examines what is needed to ensure that initiatives, tools and policies are set up for success.

The report aims to inform collaborative action among governments, the private sector, and civil society organizations that are working toward enhancing traceability and transparency. It focuses on seven commodities: cattle, palm oil, soy, cocoa, timber, coffee, and rubber, but also offers insights applicable to other commodities.

Key Findings

• Independent verification is necessary for traceability systems to be credible. Definitions need to be applied consistently.
• Governments should provide an adequately resourced policy environment that facilitates traceability and transparency within the challenges of complex supply chains. Investments are rarely one-off since continued funding is usually needed. Approaches to traceability and transparency must consider the needs of smallholders to be effective.
• Data gaps remain, especially where there is a large smallholder component, but equally important is ensuring that data are accessible and usable. Investments are needed to help close these gaps.
• Despite gaps, there is enough existing data and information for supply chain actors to take meaningful steps toward assessing the risk of forest loss in supply chains, and to prioritize areas for action.

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The objective of the East and Southern Africa Forest Observatory (OFESA) is to produce a comprehensive and harmonized regional dataset on the latest trends and threats to forests, and to make information useful and easily accessible to policymakers, funders, forestry practitioners and citizens.

By informing decision-making, OFESA supports five countries in the region – Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania and Uganda – to meet their climate and environment targets. These include regional pledges such as the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), a country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of land in Africa into restoration by 2030, as well as global commitments under the Paris Agreement to achieve climate neutrality through forests.

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Building on recent insights and innovations, this white paper explores emerging solutions and opportunities for improving satellite data processing and use in dryland forest monitoring and management. To complement this essential overview, authors profile a suite of newly developed Earth Observation (EO) data processing tools, developed in collaboration between EO scientists and institutional users in tropical dry forest countries in Southern Africa.

This subject is part of GLF Africa: Restoring Africa’s Drylands.

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HOST: Central Africa Forest Observatory (OFAC)

Since 2007, the Central African Forest Observatory (OFAC) has been working to create information networks, establish analytical and communication tools, and produce flagship regional publications  on the state of Central Africa’s forests.

This session provides an interactive overview of the different tools available for policymakers, researchers, NGOs, donors, private sector and students working in the region to obtain information related to biodiversity and forest management.

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The land use sector plays an important role in achieving a more sustainable future as forests are key to climate change mitigation, and food production must be ensured for a growing population. This session at GLF Bonn 2020 discusses the role of data in achieving transformational change towards more sustainable and climate friendly food systems. The speakers explore opportunities for better monitoring of land use and associated GHG sources and sinks, including the use of new technologies and global data. Scientists, policy makers and practitioners share their experiences centred around the following themes: sustainable food systems; Near Real Time monitoring; experiences with the IPCC 2013 Wetlands Supplement; the politics of numbers and information sharing. The panel discussion closes on lessons learned, data-related challenges and issues like transparency, power, and accountability.

Originally titled “Leveraging data for transformational change towards climate- and forest-friendly food systems”, this session hosted by CIFOR aired on June 4th, 2020 at the GLF Bonn Digital Conference.

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