This project has tailored a method of co-design from its initiation, lead by project staff and linked stakeholders in each country. The project facilitates stakeholder- and user-centered design of a ‘decision dashboard’ as a central location to view and interact with key information and data. The aim of the dashboard is to allow for the integration of evidence into decision-making processes at several scales, to assist in baseline assessments, targeting of interventions and monitoring of changes over time.
Tag: databases
Botanic nomenclature for agroforestry trees database: compilation of the taxonomic status of agroforestry species
ID-RECCO – the international database on REDD+ projects and programmes: Unlocking REDD+ project knowledge for informed environmental action
Key messages
- Access to standardized, unbiased information on REDD+ projects is essential to assess project impacts, analyse trends, develop and scale up initiatives, and evaluate investment opportunities. This fosters informed decisions, transparency and collaboration in sustainable forest management and climate action.
- Scientists working in CIFOR-ICRAF’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+ have created a publicly accessible database of REDD+ initiatives (ID-RECCO) that offers comprehensive, in-depth information on these projects, while also putting in place checks to ensure data reliability and transparency.
- Stakeholders in the forest carbon sector have identified ID-RECCO as an essential tool for their work, indicating that its many core strengths – comprehensiveness, independence, neutrality and focus on data quality – offer unique value compared to other publicly available resources.
- Beyond aggregating information, ID-RECCO has been instrumental in advancing knowledge-sharing, with a team of CIFOR-ICRAF scientists disseminating insights on REDD+ projects through workshops and seminars, supporting users in deploying data for their research, and offering training.
- Institutionalizing ID-RECCO is crucial to maintain and enhance the impact of REDD+. This tool has successfully supported evidence-based decision-making, as indicated by stakeholder feedback. Ensuring its continuity is therefore essential to strengthen environmental accountability measures, optimize future REDD+ strategies, and enhance their long-term sustainability. This is vital for achieving international climate objectives, promoting sustainable forest management practices, and ensuring equitable livelihood improvements for local communities and Indigenous Peoples.
Version 3 of the Global Aridity Index and Potential Evapotranspiration Database
The “Global Aridity Index and Potential Evapotranspiration Database – Version 3” (Global-AI_PET_v3) provides high-resolution (30 arc-seconds) global hydro-climatic data averaged (1970–2000) monthly and yearly, based upon the FAO Penman-Monteith Reference Evapotranspiration (ET0) equation. An overview of the methods used to implement the Penman-Monteith equation geospatially and a technical evaluation of the results is provided. Results were compared for technical validation with weather station data from the FAO “CLIMWAT 2.0 for CROPWAT” (ET0: r2 = 0.85; AI: r2 = 0.90) and the U.K. “Climate Research Unit: Time Series v 4.04” (ET0: r2 = 0.89; AI: r2 = 0.83), while showing significant differences to an earlier version of the database. The current version of the Global-AI_PET_v3 supersedes previous versions, showing a higher correlation to real world weather station data. Developed using the generally agreed upon standard methodology for estimation of reference ET0, this database and notably, the accompanying source code, provide a robust tool for a variety of scientific applications in an era of rapidly changing climatic conditions.
WILDMEAT interventions database: A new database of interventions addressing unsustainable wild meat hunting, consumption and trade
The urgent need to manage wild meat for the sake of both local livelihoods and wild ecosystems means that many and varied interventions have been implemented with the aim of increasing the sustainability of wild meat use. Management responsibility for these interventions can rest with different actors, from central governments (which often contract nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to support their resource management) to private sector concessionaries (e.g. timber companies), or devolved directly to wildlife-hunting communities. Although management goals may be similar—sustainable wildlife populations and local livelihood security—the range of interventions selected, the resources invested and the expertise available differ vastly.
The number of tree species on Earth
One of the most fundamental questions in ecology is how many species inhabit the Earth. However, due to massive logistical and financial challenges and taxonomic difficulties connected to the species concept definition, the global numbers of species, including those of important and well-studied life forms such as trees, still remain largely unknown. Here, based on global ground-sourced data, we estimate the total tree species richness at global, continental, and biome levels. Our results indicate that there are ∼73,000 tree species globally, among which ∼9,000 tree species are yet to be discovered. Roughly 40% of undiscovered tree species are in South America. Moreover, almost one-third of all tree species to be discovered may be rare, with very low populations and limited spatial distribution (likely in remote tropical lowlands and mountains). These findings highlight the vulnerability of global forest biodiversity to anthropogenic changes in land use and climate, which disproportionately threaten rare species and thus, global tree richness.
Agroforestry Species Switchboard: a synthesis of information sources to support tree research and development activities. Version 3.0
The Agroforestry Species Switchboard is a “one-stop-shop” to retrieve data about any particular plant species across a wide range of information sources. As part of the Global Tree Knowledge Platform, its particular objective is to provide information that supports research on trees as well as tree-based development activities, such as agroforestry plantings and wider restoration initiatives. But it also contains information on a much wider range of organisms.
Creating a National Biodiversity Database in Gabon and the Challenges of Mobilizing Natural History Data for Francophone Countries
Language is a major barrier for researchers wanting to digitize and publish collection data in Africa. Despite being the fifth most spoken language on Earth and the second most common in Africa, resources in French about digitization, data management, and publishing are lacking. Furthermore, French-speaking regions of Africa (primarily Central/West Africa and Madagascar) host some of the highest biodiversity on the continent and therefore are of great importance to scientists and decision-makers. Without having representation in online portals like the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and Integrated Digitized Biocollections (iDigBio), these important collections are effectively invisible. Producing relevant/applicable resources about digitization in French will help shine a light on these valuable natural history records and allow the data-holders in Africa to retain the autonomy of their collections. Awarded a GBIF-BID (Biodiversity Information for Development) grant in 2021, an international, multilingual network of partners has undertaken the important task of digitizing and mobilizing Gabon’s vertebrate collections. There are an estimated 13,500 vertebrate specimens housed in five institutions in different parts of Gabon. To date, the group has mobilized >4,600 vertebrate records to our recently launched Gabon Biodiversity Portal (https://gabonbiota.org/). The portal also hosts French guides for using Symbiota-based portals to manage, georeference, and publish natural history databases. These resources can provide much-needed guidance for other Francophone countries—in Africa and beyond—working to maximize the accessibility and value of their biodiversity collections.
Global Tree Knowledge Platform
The Global Tree Knowledge Platform is all about the trees in ‘treed’ landscapes. Its purpose is to support the better use of tree species – to promote the right tree in the right place for the right purpose – to bring greater benefits to humans and the environment.
The Resources for Tree Planting Platform: delivering high-quality tree-planting material to growers
The Resources for Tree Planting Platform explains how to go about sourcing good quality tree planting material for growers carrying out land restoration, agroforestry, plantation establishment and other tree planting activities. By ‘planting material’ we mean seeds, seedlings and vegetatively propagated materials (clones). The resources on the Platform are mostly practical ‘how to’ guidelines for extension workers, tree seed collectors, nursery operators and tree growers. But they also include information useful for the planners of tree planting, for tree researchers and for government policy makers. For each resource listed on the Platform, we explain its use and the user group.