Inter-institutional development cooperation for "Improving Research
Capacity of Forest Resource Information Technology in Vietnam and Nepal"
Objectives
The overall objective of the inter-institutional cooperation is to strengthen the capacity of the partner countries to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. This overall objective will be achieved by improving the partner Agencies' capabilities in data acquisition and analysis, environmental monitoring, and reporting of forest resources and statistics related to carbon fluxes. The specific objectives are:
1) to elaborate the existing setups including the development of new biometrical tools for large-scale forest inventories in partner countries, and
2) to increase the expertise of personnel in the partner Agencies to the level required for the advanced use of these techniques.
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Photo: Dr. Keshab Awasth |
In order to obtain the first specific objective, the project will elaborate the existing inventory techniques and data analysis procedures for the extended utilisation of data with broadened reporting requirements. In addition, the large-scale inventory techniques used in Finland are tested, adjusted and further elaborated to the local conditions in Nepal and Vietnam. The results obtained on the development of inventory methodology will be reported in project seminars and publications, technical notes and research articles. The success at achieving the second specific objective on the development of human capacity can be assessed through the trained personnel skilful to run and develop new tools designed for processing and analysing of inventory data. It is expected that the reporting and learning skills will also develop which indicators are project related publications, seminar presentations, and studies and training periods conducted during the project implementation.
After the project the Agencies in partner countries will also have more tools and better expertise to tackling problems related to complex issues on the implementation of FRAs and new global initiatives such as the REDD. Solving these issues require research-oriented approaches with country-specific adaptation. In these the Finnish expertise on biometric modelling (e.g. tree and stand characteristics, leaf litter and coarse woody debris accumulation, forest carbon stocks) and resource monitoring based on modern remote sensing techniques (satellite imagery, digital images, ALS data, etc.), for instance, is harnessed to serve the capacity building needs in partner Agencies. The project will establish working relations between participants, and the network created and information flows established will guarantee that the maintenance and development of techniques obtained will continue also in the future.
Finally, the project will not only promote the information sharing and within-country collaboration of the Agencies in Nepal and Vietnam, but it will also facilitate the inter-institutional between-country collaboration. Both the North-South and South-South collaboration on the project related issues will establish an ideal environment for testing the general applicability of the methods and techniques developed by the project. It is foreseen that the collaboration and information sharing between Nepalese and Vietnamese project partners will minimise the risks of misinterpretations, but it will also create a specific channel for communication and interaction pivotal for the participatory type of development project.
