Evaluation of existing on-farm agroforestry plots should provide useful supplementary information for the design of improved agroforestry systems, in both research and development projects. Such evaluation has been little used, however, largely due to the methodological difficulties of surveying highly variable on-farm plots, and difficulties in identifying key variables for measurement. This paper describes a set of methods and tools used in evaluating plots of alley-cropping and tree borders around crop fields established by farmers working with the CARE Agroforestry Extension Project in western Kenya. Details of survey design, sampling, and implementation are discussed, and suggestions made for carrying out agroforestry surveys in other projects. A condensed version of the questionnaire is appended.
Tag: monitoring
Transparent monitoring in practice: A guide to effective monitoring in the land sector. Book II – Case studies of transparent monitoring approaches
Land management plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, which makes transparent monitoring essential. Countries have considerable flexibility in setting targets, defining the scope of the land sector, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from it. They are, however, required to do this in a manner that promotes transparency and provides sufficient accuracy, completeness, comparability, and consistency.
The Transparent Monitoring project identified a set of criteria designed to overcome such challenges that are introduced by Book I. This Book II presents a collection of case studies demonstrating successful implementation of transparent monitoring approaches, based on experiences in Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Papua New Guinea, and Peru. These cases address specific needs identified by the countries, ranging from technical work on emission factors for forest conversion to palm oil plantations, via mapping of deforestation drivers based on remote sensing, improving communication of cacao mapping for different stakeholders, to making use of community-based monitoring information for forest restoration and deforestation alerts.
The case studies show that transparent monitoring approaches are not merely a technical requirement but a powerful enabler of meaningful climate action. By addressing existing challenges and building on the successes outlined in this report, countries can establish monitoring systems that drive transformative change. The path forward requires commitment, collaboration, and innovation, but the outcome will be more effective land sector policies, with benefits including enhanced resilience and contributing to containing climate change.
Transparent monitoring in practice: A guide to effective monitoring in the land sector. Book I – Background for understanding transparent monitoring approaches
Land management plays a crucial role in addressing climate change, which makes transparent monitoring essential. Countries have considerable flexibility in setting targets, defining the scope of the land sector, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions and removals from it. They are, however, required to do this in a manner that promotes transparency and provides sufficient accuracy, completeness, comparability, and consistency.
An unprecedent amount of data is currently generated globally. It is available for assessing how land use and land management change over time and what the implications for greenhouse gas emissions and removals are. This data richness can serve as a solid foundation for generating high-quality products and services for tracking carbon stock changes. However, this large amount of information is also leading to confusion, with competing definitions and misinterpretation.
The Transparent Monitoring project identified a set of criteria designed to overcome such challenges and strengthen the effectiveness of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector. These criteria are introduced in this Book I. Transparent monitoring approaches refer to datasets, tools, and portals that support countries’ needs in the land sector, by providing complementary data to what is mandated by their own monitoring systems.
By taking advantage of transparent monitoring approaches, countries can increase their capacities for monitoring and reporting GHG emissions and removals from the land sector and advance in the implementation of the Paris Agreement’s Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF). Book II includes a collection of case studies demonstrating successful implementation of transparent monitoring approaches.
Are countries delivering on transparency? Key takeaways from the first Biennial Transparency Reports to the UNFCCC
Key messages
- The Paris Agreement requires Parties to submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals. The first set of these reports was due by December 2024, however, as of February 2025, only 105 Parties had made their submissions—78 when counting the 27 countries of the European Union as a single Party—, while 90 submissions remained pending. Early submission was strongly correlated with country income level.
- This review applies a tailored screening and scoring framework to assess transparency in these first BTRs, focusing on two main dimensions – data and governance. The accuracy of data reporting was generally high– yet information on the Governance dimension in the reports remained limited referring to transparency, consistency, and comparability.
- To improve transparency in future BTRs, recommendations for data reporting include enhancing the quality of input data; adopting more advanced estimation methods and uncertainty analysis; improving inventory completeness across time series, emission categories and gases; and reducing the developing countries’ reliance on flexibility allowances in the reporting.
- Similarly, future governance reporting can be strengthened through standardized structured questionnaires or detailed checklists; better integration of institutional and stakeholder information; and greater recognition of non-state actor contributions.
- These improvements will require increased international cooperation, financial and technical support, and sustained capacity-building, particularly for developing country Parties.
Scaling up Community Dialogues on Gender and Land Restoration: Lessons and insights from Laikipia County, Kenya
This brief presents the gender transformative approach taken by the UK PACT funded project, ‘Promoting nature-based solutions for land restoration while strengthening the national monitoring in Kenya’ in Laikipia County, providing an overview of the training and lessons learned. It is aimed at restoration practitioners and initiatives invested in gender transformation, to assist in enhancing knowledge and sharing lessons on gender transformative approaches to land restoration.
Theory of Change: Implementation Manual for the Enhanced National Greening Program
Plant probiotic bacteria Bacillus and Paraburkholderia improve growth, yield and content of antioxidants in strawberry fruit
Biodiversity Monitoring for Agricultural Landscapes. A protocol using biodiversity metrics to monitor agricultural sustainability under Aichi Target 7
Aichi Target 7 requires that by 2020 agricultural areas, forests and aquatic resources are managed sustainably ensuring conservation of biodiversity. To date, for agricultural land only subjective indicators, such as the area under “sustainable management”, have been proposed and there is an urgent need to develop a framework of objective metrics. This framework should provide a robust system for monitoring agricultural sustainability and its contribution to biodiversity conservation at national scales for reporting to the CBD.
Making Trees Count in Latin America and the Caribbean: Measurement, reporting and verification (MRV) of agroforestry in the UNFCCC
About one-third of countries in Latin America express an intent to use agroforestry to meet national climate commitments. Despite this interest, technical and institutional barriers often prevent agroforestry from being represented and counted in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) MRV processes such as national greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories and REDD+. The fact that agroforestry often isn’t counted in MRV systems has serious implications. Only if agroforestry resources can be properly measured and reported will they gain access to finance and other support, and thereby assume a prominent role as a response to climate change.
Planning technical interventions in agroforestry projects
In agroforestry projects careful planning and design of technologies is necessary because of the complex nature of agroforestry and the lack of proven technology ‘packages’. To identify appropriate methodologies, ICRAF conducted in 1988/89 a review of agroforestry technology monitoring and evaluation in 165 projects worldwide. Approximately half of the projects that responded to the review had carried out technology planning and design activities. The spectrum of information needs, which includes needs assessment, biophysical site description, agroforestry opportunities and existing information was inadequately covered by most projects. Statistically designed and questionnaire-based farmer surveys were favoured by projects although a range of more appropriate approaches and methods for technology planning and design exists. A planning approach is suggested that includes a pilot phase during which initial technology designs are developed and tested with farmers. Projects are encouraged to use more cost-effective, non-statistical methods. The authors recommend improvements to technology planning/design methods and identify training needs for project managers and extension staff.