Nigeria, FAO Launch Strategic Initiative to Strengthen Forest Monitoring and Climate Reporting
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The Federal Government of Nigeria has entered into a new collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) to enhance the country’s forest monitoring systems and promote sustainable forest management.
The initiative, titled “Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests” (AIM4Forests), aims to close key technical and institutional gaps in Nigeria’s National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), improve climate reporting capacity, and position the country for access to global carbon finance mechanisms.
According to a statement by FAO communication specialist David Tsoker, the partnership was officially introduced at a workshop in Abuja following months of stakeholder consultations involving FAO and the Federal Ministry of Environment’s Forestry Department.
The workshop convened stakeholders from federal and state government institutions, civil society, academia, and international organizations to evaluate Nigeria’s forest data systems. Discussions focused on enhancing Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) frameworks and aligning with global REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) protocols.
Declaring the workshop open, Dr. Moses Ama, National REDD+ Coordinator, underscored the importance of inclusive collaboration.
“As Nigeria’s UNFCCC focal point, the National Council on Climate Change, together with ministries, agencies, state forestry bodies, and civil society, must work collectively to strengthen our national forest management strategy,” Ama said. “This initiative is a step toward that shared goal.”
Using FAO’s NFMS assessment tool, participants examined deficiencies in institutional structure, technical capacity, and data verification processes, all of which are vital for accurate and credible forest monitoring.
Dr. Hussein Gadain, FAO Country Representative, stressed the importance of building institutional resilience:
“A comprehensive assessment of institutional gaps and MRV capacities will help Nigeria create a more reliable and transparent forest monitoring system. This is critical not only for domestic planning but also for securing international climate finance,” he said.
The AIM4Forests initiative represents a critical step forward for Nigeria in meeting its climate commitments and advancing sustainable environmental governance.