The Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) has reported on a partnership between the Government of Colombia and the Carnegie Institution that has resulted in greater forest monitoring capacity for REDD+ in Colombia, with broader applicability for forest carbon monitoring across the Amazon.
25 July 2012: The Government of Colombia and Stanford University’s Carnegie Institution have demonstrated the ability to measure carbon stocks using a combination of airborne Light Detection and Ranging technology (LiDAR) and a satellite image analysis technology called CLASlite to produce carbon maps. The technology aims to contribute to operationalize REDD+ (reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries, and the role of conservation, sustainable use of forests and enhancement of carbon stock).
According to the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA), the use of the methodologies reduces the need for expensive collection of field data and plot inventories. It was performed in the 165,000 square kilometer REDD+ pilot project that was established by the Colombian Institute for Hydrological, Meteorological and Environmental Studies (IDEAM). These efforts have increased the capacity for Colombia to monitor forest cover for REDD+ and broader resource management objectives. The study demonstrating the use of the two methodologies was published in Biogeosciences.
ECPA is a partnership launched in 2009 among the US, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Peru, and Trinidad and Tobago. It is supported by Inter-American and regional institutions such as the Organization of American States (OAS), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE), as well as multilateral development banks such as the World Bank, and representatives from the private sector, civil society, and academia. [Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas Press Release]