New UN platform gives access to global forest health data

02/07/2013

The United Nations agriculture agency has launched a new online platform which will allow climate change experts to analyse data for upcoming bioenergy strategies.

The web platform, which is called GlobAllomeTree, was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Tuscia University of Italy and The French Research Centre CIRAD. It aims to assist environmental policy makers to make informed decisions to help in the war against climate change.

Issues that the platform will be able to help with include forest volume information, alongside the production of biomass and forest carbon data.

FAO Forestry Officer Matieu Henry, told Scoop.co.nz: "This is the first time that countries have access to an extensive database of tree models used to evaluate forest resources worldwide. It allows them to get a clear picture on their forests' capacities to store carbon."

The FAO-backed online platform will allow users to obtain crucial data on tree biomass, stem volume, and carbon stocks from factors such as wood-specific gravity and trunk diameter.

Currently, the new platform covers 61 tree species across seven different ecological zones located in Europe, alongside 263 tree species located in 16 zones in North America. It also covers 324 species located in nine ecological zones in Africa, and the tools for South Asia, South-East Asia and Central and South America will soon be uploaded, FAO confirmed.

The tree calculation methods that the platform will allow for will be of particular interest to those countries that are taking part in the UN Collaborative Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD), as it will allow them to assess both forest carbon stocks and carbon stock changes.

An FAO spokesperson said: "These efforts will help countries obtain more accurate data on the status of forest resources and forest carbon stocks and changes and support implementation of national and international forestry policies”.