Events

About the workshop

We are working with the Ministry of Climate Change (MoCC) in Pakistan to promote systematic forest planning and monitoring approaches using the latest developments in digital and remote-sensing technology and data analytics.

This consultation workshop will bring together relevant stakeholders to engage them in the design process of a geospatial science-based platform that will support ecosystem restoration efforts being made under the ministry’s Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme (TBTTP).

Objectives

The overall objective of the consultation workshop is to engage key stakeholders and share the latest digital solutions and innovations in Earth observation (EO) suitable for planning and evaluating the impacts of forest plantation activities.

The specific objectives include the following:

• Share knowledge on recent innovations in EO and digital tools and technologies and their effectiveness in forest planning and monitoring
• Review the current functional structure of the TBTTP and key field activities and identify monitoring indicators to support the application design
• Compile a joint activity plan for effective implementation of the platform

Expected outcomes

• Enhanced understanding on the use of digital tools and Earth observation technology in the context of the TBTTP’s ecosystem restoration efforts
• Identification of key monitoring indicators for the platform’s application design
• Design of the forest classification scheme for Pakistan’s State of the Forest Report
• Preparation of a joint workplan for the platform along with clearly defined roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders

Expected participants

The workshop will bring together MoCC officials; the TBTTP team; and representatives from relevant national/provincial agencies, development partners, and non-governmental organizations working in the areas of biodiversity conservation and ecosystem restoration.

Background

Pakistan’s ecosystems are delicately balanced and face numerous challenges. Forests play a major role in any society, as watersheds that supply clean water for human consumption, meeting the subsistence needs of local communities, as a source of timber, and as habitat for a variety of flora and fauna.

The MoCC’s TBTTP aims to facilitate transition towards environmental resilience by mainstreaming adaptation and mitigation through ecologically targeted initiatives covering afforestation, biodiversity conservation, and enabling policy environment.

Monitoring forest cover and the outcomes of forest management interventions is essential for effective management, continued learning, and adjusting activities to focus on achieving the expected outcomes of the programme. In the past, forest planning processes lacked an integrated forest landscape management approach, which led to limited success in overall ecosystem restoration and thereby caused economic pressure and strain on the dependent communities.

The appropriate use of digital technologies to support plantation planning and forest monitoring can substantially improve forest management as an important component of broad-based, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth that meets local needs and addresses global environmental challenges. It is necessary to establish a consistent, robust set of tools and technologies for management across land unit boundaries, and for monitoring and reporting against baselines of ecosystem condition. All major elements of the management plan should be monitored (e.g. forest cover, ecosystem services, socioeconomic factors) for internal management purposes – for the compilation of results at district or province levels, or for national or international reporting.

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