Forests Sourcebook - HCV Resource Network

■
■
■
enables implementation of action plans to combat illegal
activities in the sector;
increases knowledge on the extent and location of the
country’s forest assets for potential private investors in
wood-processing industries; and
enables FMIS and state forest inventory use for decision
making, monitoring, and planning, thereby helping to
support the benefits of these tools.
Inventory design. Areas to be included in the inventory
must be clearly defined; for example, privately held forests,
forests in areas that are considered nonforest, and tree
resources on nonforest land (see box 7.8). It is equally
important to determine whether the inventory will be “wall
to wall,” or based on samples. The objectives of the inventory
and the sample should help confirm the statistical
design and the required level of accuracy. The objectives
also help determine how often inventory reports should be
updated (annually, or every 5 or 10 years) and the way in
which success will be measured. Success may not be solely a
function of precision, but also depend on transparency and
timeliness.
If the objective is to estimate status and trends in
OPERATIONAL ASPECTS
Operationalizing forest inventories requires great attention
to detail as well as to the big picture in the forest sector. 1
Clarity of the objective of the inventory and an assessment of
capacity to implement the inventory are central to designing
a proper forest inventory and ensuring that all (or most) of
the important components are covered (see box 7.7).
■
■
■
the area of forest land;
the volume, growth, and removal of forest resources; and
the health and condition of the forest;
important elements in a forest inventory will include
■
■
■
■
sampling design—how to have a nationally consistent
assessment;
observations and measurements;
using remote sensing applications effectively, perhaps for
– initial plot observation,
– stratification (see box 7.9);
conducting remote sensing and GIS research, including
– map-based estimation and internet (see box 7.10),
– map-based sustainability analyses.
Box 7.7
Forest Inventory in Tanzania
The World Bank’s intervention in Tanzania has an
inventory component that includes
■
■
setting up a specialized structure in the Forest and
Bee Keeping Department (FBD) for data collection;
updating of information; training of inventory personnel;
developing norms and methods of inventories
and assessments; helping define government
policy in the area of knowledge generation, management,
dissemination, and the like; and
creating a new baseline of information, complete in
scope and harmonized with existing information
required by international reporting requirements
(see box 7.12 for data collection model).
Objectives of the project:
■
Strengthen capability of FBD to collect, analyze, and
update the needed information on forests and trees
for planning and sustainable management of the
forestry resources.
Source: FAO 2007.
■
■
■
Prepare a national map based on harmonized classification
of forest and land uses and related definitions.
Undertake a national forestry resource assessment
and develop a national database.
Design specific and management-oriented inventory
in priority areas and formulate projects.
Outputs:
■
■
■
Harmonized forest and land use classification system
and maps of state and changes of state produced
based on remote sensing data.
New baseline information, encompassing a wide
range of data for both local and international users,
generated and disseminated.
Specific and management-oriented inventory in
priority areas designed and projects formulated.
258 CHAPTER 7: MONITORING AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT