11 February 2009: The UNFCCC Secretariat has added new documents to its information-sharing web platform related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD), which was created in response to UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.13 (Reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries: approaches to stimulate action). The new documents include information on remote sensing submitted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Forest Resources assessment (FRA 2010).

As part of FRA 2010, the FAO and its members were charged with conducting a remote sensing survey. The documents posted on the REDD-web platform include links to a website and brochure providing more information on the global survey, which aims to improve knowledge of forest and land use changes; provide baseline information on deforestation trends; develop a global framework and agreed-upon methodology for monitoring; create an “information gateway” for remote sensing imagery; and build capacity for monitoring, assessment and reporting. The other documents posted by the UNFCCC Secretariat include information on remote sensing submitted by the Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics (GOFC-GOLD) and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). [UNFCCC Remote Sensing website] [FAO Remote Sensing Survey website] [FAO Remote Sensing brochure] [Other Remote Sensing documents]