September 2014 Armenia Colombia GEO Global Forest Observation Initiative Capacity Building Evan Notman United States Agency for International Development

GEO Capacity Building- Strategic Target: Before 2015, GEO aims to: Enhance the coordination of efforts to strengthen individual, institutional and infrastructure capacities, particularly in developing countries, to produce and use Earth observations and derived information

GFOI CB objectives Enhance the capacity of countries to initiate forest and terrestrial carbon assessment and monitoring, and to use management methodologies and technologies. Strengthen the community of forest and terrestrial carbon technical experts.

GFOI Capacity Building Approach Based on needs identified by Countries Work flexibly under a consistent framework Improve coordination Work collaboratively

Key Activities Strengthening and delivering good practice guides, manuals, training, and tools; facilitating learning exchanges, regional fora, and networks to enhance sharing among countries; providing technical advice and assistance to governments (and others); partnering with other donors and with International Organizations to multiply impact and reach.

Harnessing the Technical Capacities of the United States U.S. Agency for International Development U.S. State Department U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Forest Service NASA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency NOAA Smithsonian Institution As well as U.S. universities, NGOs, donors and industry

Program Overview A flagship program under U.S. fast start financing for REDD+ A U.S. contribution to the Forest Carbon Tracking task of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) SilvaCarbon works to: Partner with developing countries to improve monitoring of forest and terrestrial carbon Improve understanding of methodologies and collection and dissemination of data Coordinate US science, innovation, and technical expertise

Current capacity building coordination With SilvaCarbon partners (USGS, USFS, EPA, NASA) With partners outside of SilvaCarbon (programs developing capacity in the same regions) With GFOI partners (FAO, World Bank) With Academia

Whats Next? Asses our efforts to date Help to identify the key role for GFOI in capacity building Develop a strategic approach that builds on efforts so far