The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Virginia Cram-Martos Director, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division Geospatial World Forum,

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

Virginia Cram-MartosVirginia Cram-MartosDirector, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division

Geospatial World Forum, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

15 May 2013

The United Nations The United Nations Economic Commission for Economic Commission for

EuropeEurope

56 member States in Europe, Central Asia and North America

The United Nations Economic The United Nations Economic Commission for EuropeCommission for Europe – –

Eight thematic SubprogrammesEight thematic Subprogrammes

• Economic cooperation• Environment• Forestry• Housing and land

management• Statistics• Sustainable Energy• Trade• Transport

ECE-FAO Forestry and Timber Section, Geneva

ECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry &

FAO European Forestry Commission

United Nations Economic Commission for

Europe

Food and Agriculture Organizartion of the United Nations

1947

4 Work Areas of the ECE-FAO 4 Work Areas of the ECE-FAO GenevaGeneva

1. Data

2. Analysis

3. Policy/Management Advice

4. Capacity Building

• Pan-European and global reporting on forest resources

• Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire

• Joint Wood Energy Enquiry

• Short-term forecasts for Europe and North America

DataData

• Reports on State of Europe’s Forests

• Global Forest Resource Assessments

• Sustainable Forest Management

• Forest Products Annual Market Reviews

• Outlook Studies

• Forests and Economic Development

• Ecosystem Services

AnalysisAnalysis

15 May 2013, Rotterdam, the Netherlands

World’s and region’s forests

19%

18%

Source: FAO FRA 2010


Forests - Major Trends in the UNECE Region

Source : EEA 2006, SoEF 2011, TBFRA 2010


Supply and Demand in 2030

Source: UNECE/FAO EFSOS II, 2011

Forestry and Geospatial dataForestry and Geospatial Data


Forests in the ECE/FAO Region

1.6 BLN HA 40% WORLD’S FORESTS



Consumption of wood per capita

Source: UNECE/FAO 2011

CIS – 0.3

NA – 1.6

E – 1.0

Remote sensing in international Remote sensing in international forest reportingforest reporting

Remote sensing has many and varied applications

Technological progress and the increased availability of data sets allowing comparisons over time are increasing the use of remote sensing technologies and information

Nonetheless

There are still problems that prevent full realization of the potential


WHAT IS MISSING?WHAT IS MISSING?

• Comparability and interoperability across countries and regions

• Links between topographical map data and contextual data (land use, legal status, disaster impact, etc)

• Easy to use software – including for data uploading

• Applications tailored to end user needs


WHY?WHY?

• National forest information systems are not harmonized

• The basic level of reporting is a country, which makes reference units extremely differentiated (Monaco – Russia)

• Differences in scope, definitions and timing affect data comparability

• Missing data and process standards

• Sampling granularity differs widely and the less granular, the more likely that samples extrapolated into national averages may distort the actual situation (for example, in cases of disaster damage or landscape phenomena)


Remote sensing in international Remote sensing in international forest reportingforest reportingOTHER ISSUESOTHER ISSUES

• Legal – national reporting is a prerogative of countries, international data cannot officially replace national data

• Nomenclatural – internationally endorsed definitions of forests include two basic criteria: (i) land use and (ii) land cover. Obtaining information about land cover via remote sensing is feasible, information on land use is not commonly available

• Incompleteness - only some information can be assessed via remote sensing, some can still be generated only through land or records based systems (ownership, employment, species mix, etc)


Remote sensing in international Remote sensing in international forest reportingforest reportingOTHER ISSUESOTHER ISSUES

• No one to one correspondences between many types of data – so very different maps have to be overlaid, creating work/costs.

• Capacity – insufficient knowledge and capacity in countries and organizations to analyze and utilize geo-referenced information

Remote sensing in international Remote sensing in international forest reportingforest reportingOPPORTUNITIESOPPORTUNITIES

• Multi-national geospatial data sets from identical periods and based on a common methodology could: i) create more harmonized data; ii) support cross-border resource management; and iii) help us better understand forest dynamics

• Geo-spatial data could provide increased numbers of samples and measured variables which are more precisely geo-referenced

• Linking forest-related data with data from other areas (e.g. water, climate, other land uses) can create new uses, for example in measuring ecosystem services

Remote sensing in international Remote sensing in international forest reporting forest reporting

EXISTING APPLICATIONSEXISTING APPLICATIONS

• FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment – Forest Area Monitoring with the use of Remote Sensing Survey– Tree Canopy density Survey– Forests in Climatic Zones

• European Forest Institute– Forests in Europe by Forest Types (simplified classification:

conifers, broad-leaves and mixed)

• EU Joint Research Ispra– Monitoring of Forest Fires– Forest Connectivity and Fragmentation


Forests in climatic zones



Forest connectivity – change 2000 – 2006

Source: EU JRC Ispra / SoEF 2011

The Committee on Housing and Land Management

• Inter-governmental dialogue

• The exchange of information

• Support for policy formulation and implementation:

- In-depth assessments

- Policy guidance and recommendations

- Advisory services and capacity-building activities

UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management

STRUCTURE

Committee on Housing and Land Management

WORK AREAS

•Land administration and

management

•Sustainable housing and real estate

markets

•Sustainable urban development

•Country Profiles

• Property registration and the structure of cadastres and land registries

• Informal settlements• E-Government

Current priorities of the Working Party on Land Administration (WPLA)

The UNECE WPLA and property registration

• Encourages registration, access to data, and data sharing between countries.

• “Survey on the Benchmarking of Land Registration Systems”, 2013/2014.

The UNECE and geospatial data – land management

Urban and used land areas have expanded in the last 50 years:•agricultural land +13%•pasture land +10%,•total forest area -15%

World land cover, source: NASA

Property registration and geospatial media

• WPLA publication “Land registration and cadastre, one or two agencies”, 2015

Informal settlements in the UNECE region

• Significant in 20 UNECE countries, affecting over 50 million people

• Squatter settlements• Settlements refugees and

vulnerable people• Upgraded informal settlements• Illegal suburban land divisions• Dilapidated urban housing

Challenges from Informal Settlements

• Economic: Keeps funds from the formal sector and interferes with planning

• Social: Can marginalize already disadvantaged groups

• Environmental: Complicates regulation and compliance with standards

Informal settlements and geospatial media

E-Government and changes in Europe

• Lowers costs, brings faster service• Can make auditing and fact-checking

easier• Can present new challenges of fraud

and user verification

The UNECE and E-Government in land registration

• The Challenges of Fraud to Land Administration Institutions (2011)

• “Collaborating for secured ownership”, 29 to 31 May 2013, Uppsala, Sweden

E-Government and geospatial media

SummaryThe UNECE and geospatial data

THE BIG QUESTIONTHE BIG QUESTION

Standardized data and processes are needed

In order to achieve the international semantic interoperability required for success

This will require close collaboration with a broad range of users, everyone working together around the same table.

The tables are here, but where are the foresters, the farmers , the energy companies, the urban planners , and the government regulators ?

Without them the geospatial industry will never reach its full potential

Thank youVirginia Cram-MartosVirginia Cram-Martos

Director, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division

[email protected]

Documents

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Virginia Cram-Martos Director, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division Geospatial World Forum,