17 March 2014
African Countries Share Knowledge on GHG Inventories, Forest Monitoring Systems
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The UN-REDD Programme and the UN Development Programme's (UNDP) Low Emission Capacity Building Programme (LECBP), in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, convened a workshop to discuss building capacities for national forest monitoring systems for REDD+ and national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory systems in African countries.

unredd-lecbp7 March 2014: The UN-REDD Programme and the UN Development Programme’s (UNDP) Low Emission Capacity Building Programme (LECBP), in partnership with the Zambian Ministry of Lands, Natural Resources and Environmental Protection, convened a workshop to discuss building capacities for national forest monitoring systems for REDD+ and national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory systems in African countries.

While a robust inventory requires accurate data, effective institutional arrangements and transparent reporting standards, data collection is often fragmented across agencies or inconsistent in many African countries. Thus, the workshop aimed to address challenges in building inventories and bridge gaps in data collection. National GHG inventories are a key part of reporting obligations by countries under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Over 85 participants from 20 countries in Africa and the Arab States attended the workshop, which took place from 25-27 February 2014, in Livingstone, Zambia. The event focused on, inter alia: common understandings and important linkages between LECBP and the UN-REDD Programme; raising awareness of UNFCCC decisions on measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) and biennial update reports; available tools for GHG reporting; institutional arrangements; quality assurance and control; archiving; remote sensing; forest inventories; and land classification.

In addition, the workshop fostered cooperation across agencies, programmes and individuals, and countries were encouraged to share their experiences, network and build partnerships. The workshop also aimed to: build capacity for future reporting schemes; and enhance both the quality and flow of information obtained, to enable decision makers to make informed policy choices regarding climate change mitigation actions. [LECBP Press Release] [UN-REDD Website]

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