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Under the premise of the UNDP project in Suriname, FAO UN-REDD supports Suriname in their process of designing and setting up a national satellite land monitoring system.

Indications were that conceptualization of the SLMS component was progressing well with the requirements set on the technical backstopping mission by Miss Inge Jonckheere already completed last month. A SLMS workshop was held in November 2016 by Mr. Damiano Giampaoli to run a technical training about the usage and administration of the portal itself. The participants to this training know now how to manage and maintain the national platform.

The National Forest Monitoring System in Paramaribo is organized by the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control (SBB) through the National REDD+ Readiness program which is coordinated by the National Institute for Environment and Development in Suriname (NIMOS), with support of the UNDP. 

Suriname aims, through the development of a national portal, to provide forest and land cover change monitoring information to the broader public and to improve data sharing and collaboration between partner institutions. The SBB carries out this activity in a participatory manner, including approximately fifteen sector ministries and institutions within the process.

The workshop was a way to introduce the national project, its objectives and discuss the requirements for a national satellite land monitoring system geo portal. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the basics of the SLMS and create context for the conceptualization of the development of the national geo portal. A follow-up event will be held later this year to support the accuracy assessment of the existing national maps in order to allow the national counterparts (Center for Agricultural Research in Suriname, CELOS and SBB) to assess the accuracy of existing geospatial products, created by the Forest Cover Monitoring Unit in the SBB, within the framework of the ACTO-project: “Monitoring the Forest Cover of the Amazon region”.

For more information, please contact Dr. Inge Jonckheere, FAO Forestry Officer, Rome ([email protected]) or Miss Sarah Crabbe,  SBB National Technical coordinator, Paramaribo ([email protected]).

See full article on UN-REDD website here