Background

Systematic observations of the Earth’s surface from space-based sensors are crucial for the characterization of Earth’s climate and processes.  Countries looking to build systems for monitoring and management of climate-related issues are increasingly required to understand and apply satellite Earth observation data. The Committee of Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) agencies have embarked on a broad range of activities to support countries in doing so, particularly in support of the Global Stocktake (GST) – a fundamental component of the Paris Agreement. The CEOS Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU) task team has embarked on an effort to identify and harmonize the best available aboveground biomass, forest, land cover, mangrove, and agricultural crop products to support bottom-up inventories for the AFOLU sector.

The U.S. Geological Survey relying on the expertise of the SilvaCarbon program is coordinating and supporting CEOS by assisting with the uptake of global datasets in forested developing countries.

SilvaCarbon aims to provide technical assistance for countries that have joined the REDD+ initiative and are building National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS) using a combination of remote sensing and on-the-ground methodologies. This capacity will translate into better management and protection of forests and mangroves in accordance with the REDD+ framework and guidelines. SilvaCarbon and CEOS are organizing a regional workshop that will focus on two key areas of a NFMS: (i) Implementation of Early Warning Systems (EWS) based on deforestation alerts, and (ii) Demonstration of the latest methods in mangrove mapping and carbon estimation.

Objectives

The workshop will be divided in two thematic areas:

1.     Deforestation alerts: September 19–22 (ends at lunchtime, 22 Sep)

2.     Mangroves Mapping and Monitoring: September 22–28 (starts after lunch, 22 Sep)

The deforestation alerts workshop has the following objectives:

1. Identify key stakeholders who would benefit from deforestation alerts, such as local communities, governments, and conservation organizations.

2. Develop a work plan that outlines the objectives for a deforestation alert system, identifying the best available deforestation alert methods for each country.

3. Showcase successful case studies of alerts generated in house. 

4. Discuss the value of deforestation alerts within carbon emission reporting forums, land management, and law enforcement.

5. Showcase different operational and research-stage alert methodologies that use data from one or multiple sensors.

The mangroves mapping and monitoring workshop has the following objectives:

1.    To provide guidance on mangroves classification for reporting forums (REDD+, blue carbon and greenhouse gas inventory).

2.    To showcase the latest methods in mangrove mapping and carbon estimation, including hands-on remote sensing exercises and field data collection.

3.   To emphasize how mapping and field inventories complement one another, since REDD+ programs need to (a) identify the geographic extent of mangrove forests, and (b) measure carbon stocks per hectare (i.e., emissions factors) to estimate carbon emissions from land-use changes.

ORGANIZERS

Sylvia Wilson: USGS SilvaCarbon Program

Kenset Rosales: Ministry of Environment

Paul Berkowitz: University of Hawaii at Hilo – USGS

PARTICIPANT COUNTRIES

Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador

PRESENTERS AND TRAINERS

Alerts:

Johannes Reiche: Wageningen University

Andreas Vollrath: FAO

Sean Healey: US Forest Service

Ruth Nogeron: WRI

Matt Hansen: University of Maryland

Africa Flores: McGill University

Mangroves Mapping:

Erik Lindquist: FAO
Marc Simard: UCLA

Jacob Bukoski: Oregon State University

Rupesh Bhoma: CIFOR

Sahadev Sharma: CIFOR