Unsustainable commodity production remains the main driver of deforestation and degradation of tropical forests.
Addressing trade-offs between agricultural production and forest conservation is critical and has gained recognition and political momentum in recent years through commitments and actions including the COP26 Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration, European Union Deforestation Regulation, and decisions of FAO’s Committee on Forestry and Committee on Agriculture.
After years of voluntary approaches for reducing deforestation linked to commodity production and their respective value chains, mandatory regulations are on the rise. At their core, these regulations all share an urgent need for transparent geospatial data to demonstrate compliance. Innovative and inclusive forest monitoring, building on existing country capacity and national forest monitoring systems, while integrating new remote sensing data sources, can make an important contribution.
This side event, of the GFOI Plenary 2025: Forests and the marvel of monitoring, will allow to address those aspects and explore:
- data requirements brought by the emergence of regulatory frameworks: a new realm for forest monitoring
- need for a digital public infrastructure
- related opportunities and programmes
- in-country experience using the OpenForis tools
- integration within national forest monitoring systems
Moderator: Rémi d’Annunzio (FAO). For more information on the event, please access here.
