Earth Observation and REDD+: Requirements and Progress in Supporting Developing Countries
Herold, Martin1; Seifert, Frank-Martin2
1Wageningen University/GOFC-GOLD, NETHERLANDS; 2ESA, ITALY

In 2005, official discussions initiated at the United Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established a process to analyze how reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in developing countries could contribute to the ultimate goal of the Convention. A basic underpinning requirement is the systematic long-­‐term observation of forests and other land cover characteristics and changes on national and global levels. In response to this need several international activities have been established like the REDD working group within the ''Global Observation of Forest and Land Cover Dynamics'' (GOFC-­‐GOLD) and the Global Forest Observation Initiative'' (GFOI) of GEO. Both initiatives foster a continuous interaction mechanism with the UNFCCC to provide technical contributions to the negotiations and for national-­‐level capacity development for monitoring emphasizing the important role of satellite remote sensing in this context. The presentation will elaborate the state of play of REDD+ in the political context and discuss the approach and experiences of the Earth Observation and carbon monitoring community with the REDD political discussions. It addresses the research community with open scientific questions to improve methodologies to support REDD early actions and readiness mechanisms for building national REDD monitoring systems. Critical issues on monitoring forest degradation, accuracy assessments, biomass burning and the role of evolving technologies will be discussed.