6 June 2013: The UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (UN-REDD) has released a report, titled ‘National Forest Monitoring Systems: Monitoring and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (M & MRV) in the context of REDD+ Activities.’

The report provides an overview of REDD+ and introduces the concept of MRV under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) including National Inventory Reports, Common Reporting Format tables, and National Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventories.

With regard to guidance, the report refers to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidance and guidelines, as well as the UN-REDD Strategy on National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS). With regard to the UN-REDD Strategy for NFMS, the report highlights three elements: satellite land monitoring system, national forest industry, and national GHG inventory.

Overall, the report stresses the importance of a number of steps associated with NFMS’s, including: awareness raising; human, technical and institutional capacity building; strategy development; and implementation. The report also highlights the importance of clear institutional roles and responsibilities, supportive legal frameworks, and sufficient attention to MRV in Phase I REDD+ activities. [Publication: National Forest Monitoring Systems: Monitoring and Measurement, Reporting and Verification (M & MRV) in the Context of REDD+ Activities]