Digital: Earth Observation for Forest management Read more about Digital: Earth Observation for Forest management The presentation showcased the ESA–ADB partnership on Earth Observation (EO) for forest management, highlighting collaborations since 2010 and over 50 projects in 30 countries. It explained ESA’s capabilities, including free and open satellite data from Copernicus Sentinels, global land monitoring every five days, and advanced tools for deforestation tracking and biomass measurement. The session introduced ESA programs such as EO4SD and GDA, which mainstream EO into development operations, and demonstrated use cases for forest monitoring, climate resilience, and nature-based solutions.
Country standards and certification of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and value chains Read more about Country standards and certification of Nature Based Solutions (NBS) and value chains The presentation highlighted how the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) advanced sustainable forestry practices to support the UN Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 15 on Life on Land. It explained FSC’s certification system—from forest management to chain of custody—and voluntary add-ons for impact verification.
Vergel Medina Keywords forestry involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples safeguards Read more about Vergel Medina Vergel Medina is a forester by profession and has worked in the fields of community based forestry, involuntary resettlement and indigenous peoples safeguards. He has completed a degree in Forestry from the University of the Philippines at Los Banos and professional master’s degree in natural resources management from the ITC, the Netherlands. In ADB, he has done social safeguards in projects from various regional departments such South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central and West Asia. He is currently with the South Asia Transport and Communication Division.
Louis Verchot Keywords RDFS Forum RDFS Forum 2022 rdfs tg food security rural development agricultural value chains agriculture and natural resources smart agriculture forestry agriculture issues deforestation greenhouse gas emissions land-use change peatland degradation Read more about Louis Verchot Dr. Louis Verchot is a Principal Scientist and Lead of the Land Restoration Group at the Alliance Bioversity – CIAT, based in Colombia. He has been working throughout the tropics on forestry and agriculture issues with a climate change focus for the past 35 years. His work in Asia focuses on deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, land-use change, peatland degradation, and REDD+, among others. He has worked with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2003, and recently was a lead author on the Special Report on Climate Change and Land.
Wayne King Keywords climate change Cook Islands forestry Read more about Wayne King Wayne is the Director of Climate Change Office Cook Islands located in the Office of the Prime Minister, on Rarotonga, Cook Islands. He has been involved in climate change negotiations and issues since 1990 at a time when talk was all about the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The then UN Framework Convention on Climate Change had finally been agreed and was at the time available for signature and eventual ratification.
Wahyuningsih Darajati Keywords national development planning SDGs environment natural resources forestry water resources fishery food and agriculture Read more about Wahyuningsih Darajati Wahyu Darajati serves as Primary Planner, supporting the Deputy Minister for Natural Resources and Maritime, particularly for the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). She joined the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) in 1986 and took on the roles of Director for Forestry and Water Resources Conservation (2016-2018); Director for Environment (2011-2016); Director for Food and Agriculture (2008-2011); Director for Marine and Fisheries (2002-2008); and Director for Natural Resources and Marine (2001-2002).
Successful Reforestation in South Korea Read more about Successful Reforestation in South Korea This presentation highlights the history of forest conservation in Seoul, Korea. Policies were successfully developed and implemented in order to protect and preserve the forests.