# Forest Programme

Solutions to the problems of deforestation and loss of forest biodiversity depend on accurate, up-to-date and accessible information. UNEP-WCMC's Forest Programme exists to meet this demand, in collaboration with other conservation and development agencies world-wide. UNEP-WCMC has been compiling digital spatial data on forests for a number of years, and has produced a number of forest maps in both digital and paper form.

Achievements of the Forest Programme, in collaboration with IUCN and CIFOR, include the development of the Biodiversity Map Library, the first global digital map of tropical moist forests, and publication of The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests and A Global Overview of Forest Conservation , a CD-ROMcontaining tropical moist forest and protected area data.

- Mapping Current Forest Cover
- Strategic Development Plan 1996 - 2000
- Information for Forest Conservation
- Programme Development
- Annex: Current and Recent Activities

### Mapping Current Forest Cover

The map of Current Forest Cover (CFC) was made up of a number of different data sources, some national, others regional or global. National sources were considered generally more accurate than the regional or global datasets and so where they existed they took priority. Exceptions to this were where the national sources were obviously very much older or of lower resolution and accuracy than the regional or global sources. For some countries a combination of datasets was used, the most accurate parts of each taking priority. Most datasets were from 1990s data sources, a few were from the 1980s.

Recently there have been three major global forest projects at UNEP-WCMC which have develped three classifications:

- LPI:
This digital dataset contains global forest cover which presents the world's forests in 5 different categories.
- CIFOR:
The most recent digital publication (with CIFOR) contains global forest cover was issued on a double CD-ROM, which presented the world's forests in 25 different categories.
- WCFSD:
The focus of UNEP-WCMC's work on forest mapping had until the CD-ROM emphasised closed forests. The work undertaken for the World Commission for Forests and sustainable Development (WCFSD) required the depiction of open as well as closed forests worldwide, so much of the work in the production of the maps and statistics for this project involved the expansion of the UNEP-WCMC forest datasets to include more open forests.

### Strategic Development Plan 1996 - 2000

AIM: To inform and guide international, regional and national policy and action on the conservation and sustainable management of forests and their biodiversity through the provision of integrated, timely and accessible information.

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. UNEP-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 UNEP-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.

### Information for Forest Conservation

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 UNEP-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:
UNEP-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:
UNEP-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:
UNEP-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:
UNEP-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:
UNEP-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.

### Programme Development

The development of the Forest Programme will continue to be driven by careful analysis of user needs working closely with UNEP-WCMC's international partners and clients. Core development of the Forest Programme is crucial to maximise the value and integration of existing activities and to enhance the Programme's effectiveness in developing and delivering timely and policy-relevant products.

Co-ordination The Forest Programme is a cross-sectoral programme within UNEP-WCMC drawing on the skills and activities of all Units. Internal coordination is currently through regular meetings and circulation of discussion documents. Closer integration of activities is required through programme management particularly in the development of priority activities (see below). Regular review of forest conservation policy material is also important in directing the Forest Programme and ensuring effective evaluation of information needs. Policies of both bilateral and multilateral agencies will be reviewed on a regular basis to appraise information needs.

External liaison It is essential that the Forest Programme compiles data and provides information that is relevant to international and regional conservation programmes. Mechanisms are clearly in place for effective liaison between the Forest Programme and UNEP-WCMC's partners - IUCN, UNEP and WWF; the Secretariats of major Conventions and with CIFOR through the CIFOR Liaison Officer located in UNEP-WCMC. Liaison with other key agencies including FAO, IIED, IPF, ITTO is also crucial and needs to be effectively planned and maintained. Regular participation in planning and policy meetings and membership of appropriate working groups will facilitate close cooperation with such agencies.

Database maintenance and development UNEP-WCMC is responding rapidly to the development of global information services and is at the forefront in the design of Internet access to environmental information. All forest cover and related data will be made available via the Internet. Metadatabase facilities will also be expanded. GIS mapping provides the core of the Forest Programme information system. In order to expand mapping capability and develop links with associated protected area and species databases, additional hardware and software needs have been identified.

Development of priority activities The following priority activities have been identified by internal review of existing work underway at UNEP-WCMC, proposals submitted for funding and preliminary discussions with partner agencies.

Activity | Programme Objective
Conservation Atlas of Temperate and Boreal Forests | 1
Collection of geographical data on tropical dry forests | 1
Collection of geographical data on wooded landscapes especially in low forest cover countries | 1
Compilation of data on extent and management of permanent forest estates | 2
Linkage of BML and site database information for forest protected areas | 2
Compilation of geographic data on FSC certified sites | 2,4
Centres of forest biodiversity | 3
Relationship between low forest cover and the conservation status of trees | 1,4
Atlas of threatened tree species | 4,3
Integrated monitoring system for trade in forest species of conservation concern | 4
Development and application of indicator methodology | 5
Biodiversity indicators in tropical moist forest | 5
Development of a system for defining tree species conservation status applicable at a national level | 4,6
Application of FRA | 6

### Annex: Current and Recent Activities

Vegetation and land-use classifications
Programme objective 1
UNEP-WCMC and the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology are investigating with UNEP and FAO, the feasibility of developing a General Global Nomenclature for Land Cover and Land Use. A pilot project aims to facilitate translation between existing nomenclatures at various geographical scales. This collaborative venture aims to provide for the first time an international standard on vegetation and land use for use in GIS systems. It will allow the forest cover data currently maintained at UNEP-WCMC to be stored in a globally applicable system of vegetation classification. Current project: Project leader: Richard Luxmoore.

Global overview of forest cover
Programme objective 1
UNEP-WCMC is building on the data it maintains on global tropical forest cover in the Biodiversity Map Library (BML), a GIS application developed by the Centre. Data holdings are currently being updated and expanded from national and international data sources, in collaboration with CIFOR and the EU/JRC TREES Programme. Functionality of the BML is being upgraded and the GIS files of forest cover have been released on a CD which will be updated regularly. The latest CD-ROM A Global Overview of Forest Conservation , a CD-ROMcontaining tropical moist forest and protected area data.

Current project: Project leader: Sue Iremonger.

Analysis of low forest cover
Programme objective 1
UNEP-WCMC provided an analysis of the needs and requirements of countries with low forest cover to take forward debate by the UNCSD Intergovernmental Panel on Forests on this issue. Completed project: Project leader: Val Kapos.

Global forest poster map
Programme objective 1
In collaboration with WWF-Netherlands, UNEP-WCMC has compiled the first global map of temperate and tropical forests. The map is intended for global distribution; it is combined with forest protection statistics in a WWF campaign poster and is also available as a simple poster map and as a generalised data set in digital form. Completed project: Project leader: Clare Billington.

African rain forest posters
Programme objective 1
Two posters showing current distribution of African tropical moist forests are being produced for distribution throughout Africa. They are designed as planning and educational tools, one as a technical poster for government agencies and NGOs and the other for use in schools. Current project: Project leader: Sam Kanyamibwa.

Promoting awareness of tropical montane cloud forests
Programme objectives 1,3
UNEP-WCMC is compiling a global database on tropical montane cloud forests to assist in the preparation of national overviews highlighting the importance of this threatened habitat type. Current project: Project leader: Clare Billington.

World Mangrove Atlas
Programme objective 1
UNEP-WCMC is working with International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems to produce a concise pictorial world atlas of mangrove ecosystems. In the process, digital data on mangrove areas is being added to the BML. Current project: Project leader: Mark Spalding.

Systems analysis of the world's forests
Programme objectives 2,4
In collaboration with CIFOR, forest data sets in the BML are being enhanced by: a) generation of more detailed distribution maps of global forest condition and diversity, including both plantation and natural forests, and b) incorporation of mapped information on world-wide human population distribution and density at reasonable national scales. These datasets will be used to carry out analyses of forest distribution, fragmentation, type and condition in relation to the human population data, concentrating on human populations in and around the forest areas. CIFOR and its affiliated institutions can then use the mapped information as well as the results of the analyses to guide and assess their research activities. The project supports a significant amount of outreach and dissemination of information to national and international organisations. Current project: Project leader: Susan Iremonger.

Forest certification database
Programme objectives 2, 4
Data on forests certified under the Forest Stewardship Council's programme of certification of sustainably managed forests will be held by UNEP-WCMC. This information will be made available through a World Wide Web home page hosted by UNEP-WCMC for FSC. It will be a long-term archive which can also be used in conjunction with species and trade data bases to provide information about sources of sustainably produced timber and other forest products. Proposed project: Contact: Mark Aldrich.

Forest Conservation Monitoring
Programme objective 2,6
WCMC is providing support to the Forest Programme of WWF International by reviewing the available information on forest, protected area, and certified forest site distribution for a list of priority countries. This will help in the planning of activities to reach WWF's target of 10% of global forest area protected by the year 2000. Current project: Project leader: Mark Aldrich

Review of Indo-Malayan protected areas
Programme objective 2
WCMC is working with the Asian Bureau for Conservation to assess the extent to which original and remaining forests and other vegetation types are conserved within protected areas. The project, funded by the World Bank, builds on a similar review of the Indo-Malayan region, completed in 1986 by CNPPA. Current project: Project leader: Jim Paine.

Protected areas system of Europe - a GAP analysis
Programme objective 2
In collaboration with WWF International, UNEP-WCMC has recently undertaken a feasibility study and analysis of the protection status of European forests and the gaps in protected area coverage. Completed project: Project leader: Michael Green.

Conservation and sustainable management of trees
Programme objective 4,3
WCMC is working with the IUCN Species Survival commission (SSC) and a wide range of other national and international organisations to develop a Tree Conservation Information Service. This is designed to provide reliable and up-to-date information on the distribution, conservation status, local uses and economic values of tree species world-wide, in order to assist countries in the planning of sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation, through appropriate international or intergovernmental processes. Current project: Project leader: Sara Oldfield

Monitoring the trade in tree species covered by CITES
Programme objective 4
WCMC maintains the CITES Trade Database under contract for the CITES Secretariat. Recently UNEP-WCMC has been asked to review the reporting of all trade in plant species covered by the Convention, looking in particular at the reporting of the timber trade. The resulting trade reports are made available to the CITES Timber Working Group. Current project: Project leader: Sara Oldfield.

Monitoring the state of the world's forests
Programme objective 5,6
WCMC is undertaking a study on the use of forest biodiversity indicators world-wide. From this a wide range of potential indicators of forest condition and vulnerability are being evaluated in selected countries. The current case study countries are Uganda, Sri Lanka and Ecuador. Current project: Project leader: Val Kapos.

Forest Resource Accounting
Programme objective 6
Governments and forest industries are considering the transition to sustainable forest management (SFM). Two constraints are the high cost of information production and usage, and the gap between current practices and SFM. Forest Resource Accounting (FRA) helps keep costs of information usage down by focusing on the essential - i.e. information to set, achieve and review forest policy and management goals. This helps to bridge the gap between current and improved practices in a practical, step-by-step manner. FRA focuses on three key areas of information: the supply of forest assets; the demand for forest goods and services; and the use and management of forest resources. Proposed project: Contact: Jake Reynolds and Val Kapos.

Contribution to FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000
Programme objectives 1,2
The Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) is carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE). WCMC was commissioned by FAO to advise on what additional parameters should be included in the FRA 2000 to enhance its environmental and ecological information content and take account of the multiple values and functions of forests. A paper on what these data should be, how FAO should go about gathering them, and how they should be presented in the FRA 2000 publication was presented and discussed at the June 1996 Meeting of Experts for the FRA 2000, in Kotka, Finland. Among the measures agreed was that the area of global forest cover would be presented by forest type and that information on forest fragmentation and protection would be included. UNEP-WCMC will continue to be involved in the preparation of the FRA 2000. Completed project: Project leader: Susan Iremonger

Honduras Natural Resources Management Project
Programme objectives 1,3,6
WCMC is contributing to a large project on the management of Honduras' natural resources by drafting a classification and digital map of the natural communities of that country. This activity, financed through the World Bank and UNDP, will identify the areas in Honduras that are important for conservation, and contribute to the drafting of a national strategy for protected areas designation, distribution and management. Collaborators on the mapping activity are DHV Netherlands. Current project: Project leader: Sue Iremonger

### Living Planet Index

The Living Planet Index (LPI) is a measure of the health of global ecosystems and biodiversity, based on data showing the average change over time in the state of forest, freshwater, and marine ecosystems. It is an attempt to quantify the extent and severity of biodiversity loss. Change in the area of natural forest cover, calculated as total forest cover less plantations, is used as a measure of the state of forest ecosystems. UNEP-WCMC have compiled digital global forest maps, for both current and orignal forest distibution, classsified into 5 broad classes (See Annex 5 for classification details).

### CD-ROM from UNEP-WCMC and CIFOR

A Global Overview of Forest Conservation:

Including GIS digital files of forests and protected areas: Version 2

The UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) have just finished a major analysis of the protection status of the world's forests. This has produced an unprecedented amount of data on forest location, by type, and the amount of each forest type protected in each region of the world. The new CD-ROM product contains all the GIS spatial data files on forests, protected areas and ecological zones that went into the analysis. It also contains a copy of the statistical analysis with tables, figures, maps and discussions. This statistical analysis is also available to read on the WCMC Web Site.

The philosophy behind the creation of the CD series is to make widely available the data that UNEP-WCMC compiles and analyses. Access to information of this kind is vital for the scientists and decision-makers of the world, in this age of forest conversion and biodiversity decline.

This CD-ROM was made possible through financial support from the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and CIFOR.

The forest maps used in the regional forest coverages on the CD-ROM came from many different sources, all of which are gratefully acknowledged in the text. The many varying resolutions and different forest classification systems used were harmonised by UNEP-WCMC for this study, into 25 distinct types, including tropical and non-tropical systems (See Annex 1 for classification details). Forest types such as "thorn forest" were included, and categories for exotic or native species plantations, as well as areas with sparse tree cover. Specific data on forest type, particularly plantations, was difficult to obtain and UNEP-WCMC and CIFOR would be very happy to receive new, better datasets for inclusion in subsequent analyses.

The protected areas datasets have been drawn from the WCMC databank compiled over many years and continually updated for the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and United Nations List of Protected Areas. The spatial protected areas data used in this analysis were extracted towards the end of 1996. All records for areas designated within the IUCN categories I-VI were used in the study and are presented in GIS form on the CD. Extensive documentation is also provided.

In addition to the forest and protected areas GIS files, ecological zones files are included on the CD-ROM. These spatial data cover all the regions of the globe, the FAO ecofloristic zones for tropical regions and the Holdridge zones for elsewhere.

Portions of this CD product include intellectual property of national and international organisations, all acknowledged in the text. All of these organisations are eligible to apply for a free copy of the CD. No part of the CD may be reproduced without the permission of UNEP-WCMC, CIFOR and these organisations.

Price: US$ 250, UK£ 150 (Discount available for educational institutions)

### World Commission for Forests and Sustainable Development

Objectives:

To Provide WCFSD with up-to-date global maps and statistics of original and current forest cover, including information on dry and open forests. The maps give the forest cover according to the classification: closed forest/open forest/non-forest, with tropical and non-tropical forests marked (See Annex 4 for classification details).
Project Outline:The World Commission for Forests and Sustainable Development requested UNEP-WCMC to prepare two maps of the world's forests, one depicting Current Forest Cover and the other depicting Original Forest Cover (before major disturbance by people). The sources of the data used to make the maps were to be documented for each country. The forests were to be displayed in four categories: Tropical closed forest, tropical open forest, non-tropical closed forest and non-tropical open forest. For each of eight regions of the world (Latin America, North America, Caribbean, Oceania, Asia, Europe, CIS, Africa) the total amount of each forest type in both maps was to be calculated, and the difference between the figures for Current and Original forest. A list of the 15 most forested countries in the world was to be produced. A report outlining the methodology used to compile the maps was also requested.