Resource information
This working paper, published by the World Resources Institute, looks at efforts in Cameroon, Indonesia, and Peru to invest in the infrastructure and capacity to track the impacts of changes from from forest and land-use-based climate change mitigation actions. The paper focuses on the development of forest and land-use information systems (FLUIS), specifically the institutional, human resources and financial capacities of the three countries. After introducing the topic, the paper focuses on each of the three country contexts, illustrating examples of FLUIS. The section discusses the history and current state of coordination between government agencies, and their efforts to develop and implement FLUIS prior to scaling-up efforts. The paper lays out lessons learned and recommendations, prior to the conclusion:
Secure high-level commitment from the government: In all three countries, the commitment to develop their respective FLUIS came from the Presidents office, whilst top-level commitments, and in the cases of Indonesia and Peru, legal mandates, helped inter-ministerial coordination.
Bring all relevant agencies to the table: The overlap of logging permits in each country illustrates the necessity of integrating conflicting agency processes. Removing overlaps and conflicts through an institutional mapping exercise is key to maintaining an effective working relationship.
Establish long-term financial support for the FLUIS through the policy framework - an iterative updating process should be maintained, with clearly defined roles and domestic budgetary inclusion.
Retain institutional memory: A common struggle experienced with the functioning of FLUIS is retaining institutional memory. Efforts are progressing in Cameroon to include in their Interactive Forest Atlas a user-interface that streamlines data entry.
Build sub-national capacity and coordination: All three countries have a growing role in data collection and implementation of forest policies. Initial efforts to implement provincial and district projects in Indonesia will need to be scaled up, with adequate financial and human resources capacities.
The authors conclude that the deployment of FLUIS is not the end goal; but rather serves as a means for enabling tracking of mitigation policies and improving the collection and sharing of data. The initial phase of the project in each country was finance and capacity-intensive, and more is needed to ensure development of the system beyond the development phase. Key to this progress is pinpointing fundamental capacity gaps that prevented integration and management of forest data.
