Innovative Approaches to High Integrity National Forest Monitoring Systems Enabling Access to Climate Finance

Countries around the world, including Kenya, are improving their national forest monitoring systems (NFMS) in response to the growing global demand for high integrity carbon credits. This demand is demonstrated by initiatives like the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance (LEAF) Coalition, which commits to purchasing emission reductions. In order to sell carbon credits to LEAF, countries need to have reliable forest data that meets new carbon standards. The availability of this data is crucial for accessing carbon finance, which in turn supports efforts to address climate change and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in line with the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) approach. In response to this, the IMPRESS project aimed to create a globally applicable method for forest monitoring. Focusing initially on Kenya as a pilot case, its aim was to establish robust forest monitoring systems, enabling participation in Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES) and LEAF.