Sector Environmental Management Project Type Establishment of Forest Monitoring System for Sustainable Forest Management Project Title The project for enhancing national forest monitoring system for the promotion of

sustainable natural resource management Location Botswana Client JICA Project Period July 2013 – June 2016

Problems addressed by the Project The Republic of Botswana is home to globally important ecosystems and biodiversity, including the World Heritage Site Okavango Delta, and the Chobe National Park. Despite these and other diverse ecosystems, and strong government will to conserve the natural environment, the distribution and status of forests in Botswana has not been accurately assessed. Furthermore, Botswana is signatory to numerous international treaties including SADC REDD+, UN Convention of Biological Diversity, FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment and assessment of Non Timber Forest Products, all of which require national level landcover and forest resources data. There is even lack of structures and mechanisms to proceed with monitoring. Therefore, Department of Forestry and Range Resources (DFRR), Botswana has found difficulty to make decisions on forest management with limited baseline data. The objective of the project is to develop capacity in the field of forestry by establishing a forest resource monitoring system. The information generated will be used for addressing pressing issues concerning the management of the forest resources. The strengthening of the capacity of the department will provide leverage to make informed decisions relating to, among others, tactical and strategic planning, policy decisions, international needs such as Global Forest Resource Assessments, Conservation of Biological Diversity, REDD+ plus obligations. Service Provided OC Global is the lead company in the project team for establishment of nation-wide forest monitoring system, and providing technical assistance to DFRR. The project has four key outputs: a nationwide forest distribution map, a methodology for the national forest inventory, Geographic Information System (GIS) Database, and a national forest monitoring plan. OC Global is not providing products but the skill transfer since OC Global emphasizes on developing related capacity within our counterparts, responsible for continuous forest monitoring. - Nationwide forest distribution map

Two types of forest distribution maps are developing; 1) Nationwide forest distribution map using Medium Resolution Satellite Data, and 2) Detailed forest distribution map for the pilot area using high resolution optical satellite image and Radar satellite images.

- Methodology for the national forest inventory Methodology and its manual are developing through close partnership with DFRR. It contributes to develop practical methodology considering natural as well as socioeconomic conditions of Botswana, and to nature with deep understanding of rules and principals of methodology.

- Geographic Information System (GIS) Database The basic concept of the forest GIS database developed is simple and easy-to-use with visually intuitive operation.

The database will be used mainly for the accumulation of spatial information collected through forest monitoring - National forest monitoring plan

Consultation service is provided to make monitoring plan including human resource allocation, reporting system, budget etc. for providing basic forest information.