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The World Conservation Monitoring Centre provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources, and helps others to develop information systems of their own. |
The global loss and degradation of forests is one of the most critical conservation issues. Solutions to the problems of deforestation and loss of forest biodiversity depend on accurate, up-to-date and accessible information. WCMC's Forest Programme exists to meet the demand for this information, bringing together a range of information management and dissemination activities undertaken by the Centre in collaboration with WWF, IUCN, UNEP and other conservation and development agencies world-wide. Currently the Forest Programme can draw on extensive species, habitat coverage and protected areas databases together with expertise in data management, international forest policy, capacity building, and indicator development. Achievements of the Forest Programme, in collaboration with IUCN, include the development of the Biodiversity Map Library maintained at WCMC and installed in a range of international organisations, the compilation of the first global digital map of tropical moist forests derived from national data, and publication of The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests.
The Forest Programme, in association with other Programmes of the Centre, is currently planning for expansion to realise its interlinked objectives and overall aim in response to growing pressures on forests around the world.
The targets highlighted below will be achieved by the year 2000 if WCMC is successful in securing the financial resources for project activities and programme development and continues to work in close partnership with the world's leading conservation agencies.
Objective 1:
To record and make accessible geographical data on the extent and variety of forests on global, regional and national scales as a basis for forest conservation decision making.
Status:
WCMC holds, in the Biodiversity Map Library (BML), geographical data for tropical moist forest throughout the world and is collecting comprehensive data on temperate and boreal forests. Particular attention is also being given to the collection of detailed information on ecosystems of special concern such as cloud forests and mangroves.
Targets:
Comprehensive, up-to-date global forest coverage by the year 2000 with fully
documented record of data holdings available on request.
Objective 2:
To record and provide information on the management and protection of forest areas world-wide.
Status:
WCMC holds information in the BML and Protected Areas Databases on formally protected areas in forest regions around the world.
Target:
Information on the extent and management systems of all permanent forest estates; a fully linked system with GIS maps and database information for protected sites; data on all FSC certified sites.
Objective 3:
To provide information on patterns and priorities in forest biodiversity conservation.
Status:
WCMC holds information on the Centres of Plant Diversity and BirdLife International's Important and Endemic Bird Areas within the BML and is investigating linkages between species distribution, diversity and habitat information.
Target:
Integration of tree species distribution with habitat data; identification and mapping of forest biodiversity"hot spots".
Objective 4:
To provide information on the distribution, conservation status, management and trade in forest species and their products.
Status:
WCMC holds information on the distribution and conservation status of forest species including over 14,000 tree species, around 3000 of which are globally threatened.
Target:
Evaluation of the conservation status of all tree species with geographical data compiled for rare and threatened species, monitoring system in place for trade in species of conservation concern, linking ITTO, CITES and EU timber trade data.
Objective 5:
To develop and disseminate a series of policy-relevant forest condition and stress indicators based on integrated data.
Status:
WCMC has carried out a study of forest biodiversity indicators world-wide and is working with national partners to evaluate indicators of forest condition and vulnerability.
Target:
Application of the methodology arising from national case studies to tropical forests globally; incorporation of forest condition information into the BML.
Objective 6:
To improve the capacity of individual countries to monitor their transition to sustainable management of forests, and provide them with information on regional and global contexts in which to assess their actions.
Status:
WCMC has developed a framework for assistance to national forest agencies in collaboration with IIED, ODA and ITTO. The approach, known as Forest Resource Accounting (FRA), keeps down the costs of information usage by focusing on what is essential only - information which is required to set, achieve and review forest policy and management goals. To date, the FRA approach is being piloted in Ecuador, Guyana, Indonesia and Pakistan.
Target:
To pursue opportunities for implementation of FRA in ITTO member states.
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