The purpose of the Launchpad is to present the key products and outcomes of a prototype of the Eastern Africa Forest Observatory (OFESA) to policy makers, practitioners and the general public. The products include the observatory’s website and capabilities, a State of Forests report for the region covering Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique and recommendations for the longer term sustainability of the observatory.

The Eastern Africa Forest Observatory was developed in response to the significant loss of forests experienced in the region with negative impacts on forest goods and services (including climate regulation) and local livelihoods. Many factors driving forest cover loss are transboundary in nature resulting in the need to monitor at a regional scale to ensure sustainable forest management and conservation. However, the existing forest monitoring systems and initiatives are divergent, varying in scale, frequency and the type of data gathered, thus challenging forest monitoring at a regional scale. The is regional forest observatory therefore provides member countries with a platform for sharing, exchanging and accessing data and information related to forests and REDD+ in support of decision
making processes by governments and other actors. The observatory has data and information on forest cover trends and drivers that countries can use to track progress towards achieving restoration targets under the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFRI 100) and other initiatives such as Forests 2020. These data are also useful for national reporting obligations.

We will begin with opening remarks from CIFORs DG, RCMRDs DG and CIRADs DG (10 minutes). We will have short presentations that provide an overview of the project and its key outcomes (10 minutes). We will also have a demo of the website, its functionalities and a description of the underlying database (10 minutes). The final 15 minutes will be dedicated to a discussion about the future implementation of the observatory. All country focal points for the project will be present. We also anticipate that high-ranking government officials from the project countries will be available for this event. We would like the Launchpad to be filmed and livestreamed.

Speakers:

Robert Nasi, CIFOR Director General

J.B. Kiema, RCMRD Director

Plinio Sist, CIRAD Director

Laura Mukhwana, CIFOR

Esther Mwangi, CIFOR

Patrick Kabatha, RCMRD

Paolo Cerutti, CIFOR

Publication: Report: The Current State of Eastern Africa’s Forests

Launchpad Flyer: OFESA Launchpad Flyer