GFOI Central America Capacity Building

Taller Práctico REDDCompass

Iniciativa Global de Observaciones Forestales –GFOI- 28 de Noviembre al 01 de Diciembre 2017

Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala

28 de Noviembre al 01 de Diciembre 2017

Centro de Telemática. Facultad de Agronomía –USAC-

La Iniciativa Global de Observaciones Forestales (GFOI por su siglas en inglés) es una iniciativa del Grupo Intergubernamental de Observaciones de la Tierra (GEO) que tiene como objetivo fomentar la disponibilidad sostenida de observaciones para los sistemas nacionales de monitoreo forestal que contribuya al Monitoreo, Reporte y Verificación forestal (MRV) para estimar la Reducción de Emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero causadas por la Deforestación y Degradación de los bosques y el incremento de las capturas de CO2, también conocida como REDD+. GFOI en conjunto con una comunidad internacional de expertos, donantes y organizaciones especialistas proporcionan un foro de discusión para aquellos países que implementan actividades de REDD+.

GFOI actualmente conduce una serie de talleres de entrenamiento con una gran variedad de temas relacionados con REDD+ con el objetivo de permitir a los participantes de las instituciones involucradas en el desarrollo de la Estrategia Nacional REDD+ en Guatemala, a difundir más el conocimiento y capacitar a otras personas relevantes involucradas en REDD+.

Telematics Center Faculty of Agronomy -USAC-

The Global Forest Observation Initiative (GFOI) is an initiative of the Intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) that aims to encourage sustained availability of observations for the national forest monitoring systems that contribute to Monitoring, Forest Report and Verification (MRV) to estimate the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions caused by Deforestation and Degradation of forests and the increase of CO2 capture, also known as REDD +. GFOI together with an international community of experts, donors and specialist organizations provide a discussion forum for those countries that implement REDD + activities.

GFOI is currently conducting a series of training workshops with a wide variety of topics related to REDD + in order to allow participants from the institutions involved in the development of the National REDD + Strategy in Guatemala to disseminate knowledge and train others. relevant people involved in REDD +.

REDDcompass

La Iniciativa Global de Observaciones Forestales (GFOI) también ha desarrollado una aplicación llamada REDDcompass, la cual es una plataforma basada en la web que permite a los usuarios trabajar de manera progresiva a través de temas clave, los conceptos y las acciones de REDD+ Sistemas de Monitoreo Nacional de Bosque (NFMS) para Monitoreo, Reporte y Verificación (MRV) obteniendo acceso a un conjunto de métodos y guías GFOI, recursos de datos espaciales, materiales de capacitación y herramientas.

Disponible en: http://www.gfoi.org/reddcompass

The Global Forestry Observation Initiative (GFOI) has also developed an application called REDDcompass, which is a web-based platform that allows users to work progressively through key issues, concepts and actions of REDD + Systems. National Forest Monitoring (NFMS) for Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) obtaining access to a set of GFOI methods and guides, spatial data resources, training materials and tools.

Available at: http://www.gfoi.org/reddcompass

Expositores/Trainers

Alicia Peduzzi

Researcher

Expertise: Remote sensing application, natural resource management issues, in-country capacity building.

Dr. Peduzzi’s research has centered on the application of remote sensing to evaluate and monitor vegetation to solve natural resource management issues with respect to climate change. Prior to joining the WHRC staff, she worked in forestry and related sciences for 15 years, most recently with the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station in Newtown Square, PA. A specialist in in-country capacity building, for several years Dr. Peduzzi was a collaborator on WHRC’s NASA Carbon Monitoring System and Mexico REDD+ projects. She holds a B.S. from Universidad de Los Andes in Merida, Venezuela, a Master’s from North Carolina State University, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech, all in Forestry.

http://whrc.org/about-whrc/who-we-are/scientific-staff/

Sarai Piazza

Ecologist

Program manager for the habitat restoration monitoring network Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS) under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). Responsible for all aspects of program management from developing and implementation of 10 year budgets, cost share agreements, project coordination, and staffing. Regular coordination with Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and 5 federal partner agencies. Act as liaison between the CRMS analytical teams and data delivery teams to develop web delivery products and ensure timely product development. Develop new ideas for CWPPRA program evaluation on multiple spatial scales using CRMS monitoring data. Design and implement ecological research projects. Collect, process, maintain, analyze and publish scientific data in reports and journal articles. Supervise permanent and term limited federal employees as well as contract staff. Oversee ecological research activities including field schedules, data collection, data QA/QC, field personnel training, and special use permit applications. Develop and deliver training, seminars, and presentations to scientific partners and the general public. Review scientific publications on a variety of topics related to coastal wetlands. Served as an Acting Branch Chief, for one year, within the Wetland and Aquatic Research Center overseeing administrative, procedural, and budgetary planning for the Coastal Restoration Assessment Branch.

https://www.usgs.gov/staff-profiles/sarai-piazza?qt-staff_profile_science_products=0#qt-staff_profile_science_products

Sylvia Wilson

Scientist

Sylvia Wilson is a Physical Scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) – Eastern Geographic Science Center, where she focuses on measuring and monitoring the value of ecosystem services provided by tropical forests, and incorporating these values into land use decision making. Her current areas of work are (i) the impact of forest change on carbon emissions around the globe, with special emphasis in the tropics; and (ii) requirements for building compliant forest monitoring and MRV systems for climate change and national development. Sylvia holds a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from the National Agrarian University – La Molina in Lima, Peru and a Master of Science in Geography from Texas State University – San Marcos. She currently manages the USGS side of the U.S. Government SilvaCarbon Program. This is an aid program that aims to build capacity in the use of Earth Observations for carbon accounting. In her current position, she designs, develops, and implements strategies to transfer technical capacity to developing countries in the use of remote sensing tools and applications for better monitoring of land cover change and for estimating emissions from land use change. She engages the U.S. Federal Geospatial Community, academia, and the private sector to collaborate on data analysis for implementation of National Forest Monitoring Systems in 23 developing countries in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Central Africa. Sylvia represents the USGS in international fora as the US Lead for the Global Forest Observation Initiative of GEO (GFOI). She is also an author and contributor to the GFOI Methods and Guidance Document. In addition, she leads the forest and land use change working group of AmeriGEOSS.

Paulo Arévalo

Boston University-Department of Earth and Environment

BU PhD student Paulo Arevalo (GRS’19) works with Olofsson, focusing on forest change in his home country of Colombia using data from the mid-1990s through the present. “Before, it was like looking at a picture of when you were a kid and then looking at one when you were 25 years old and ignoring all the things that happened in between,” he says. Being able to monitor deforestation in greater detail with time series analysis has allowed him to see patterns of land change that had never been explored in depth before. For example, in the Colombian Amazon, he found that communities would clear a portion of forest for subsistence agriculture, then abandon it and move on. If left alone over years, the cleared patches can regain their forest cover. However, previously farmed patches of vegetation are likely to be occupied by other communities who might clear the land again. Both patterns can be seen in Colombia, but deforestation is more prevalent and damaging.

Arevalo, Olofsson, and their colleagues, BU PhD students Christopher Holden (CAS’11, GRS’11,’17) and Eric Bullock (GRS’22), and Curtis Woodcock, also a BU professor of earth and environment, are working with the governments of Colombia and other nations to help them monitor rainforests and meet global expectations for reducing deforestation. One of their sponsors is SilvaCarbon, a US government program under the President’s Global Climate Change Initiative that monitors deforestation and carbon emissions and looks for the best methods to measure and model environmental changes around the world. SilvaCarbon and its collaborators, like the United Nations Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD), also educate countries on how to report and reduce carbon emissions.

Deforestation affects the Earth’s carbon cycle, and Arevalo plans to find out how. Trees absorb carbon dioxide from the air as they grow and release it again when they die and decompose. Halting or even slowing deforestation could have a huge impact on the carbon cycle and, scientists expect, on climate change.