Developing high forest monitoring system, an information portal and farmer information about green Annamites (USAID) in Quang Nam and TT. Hue

Development of hightech forest monitoring system, eLearning and Farmer Information Portal for Green Annamites (USAID) in Quang Nam and TT. Hue
2018-04-13

The USAID Green Annamites Project supports Vietnam’s transition to climate-smart, low emission, and resilient development that protects people, landscapes, and biodiversity in Quang Nam and Thua Thien Hue provinces with three main tasks: i) Increased application of low emission land use; ii) Strengthen biodiversity conservation; and iii) Increased resilience for vulnerable communities.

The forest monitoring system in both provinces is being improved through various governmental and project based initiatives. Improved forest monitoring is important for provincial forest management, biodiversity, PFES, and REDD+. Key support includes the United States Forest Service (USFS) technical components, ADB-WWF monitoring and PFES evaluation, WWF-Carbi with models on group patrolling and SMART application, JICA supports for the platform to integrate the Provincial Forest Monitoring System (PFMS) to the national forest monitoring FORMIS database, and ADB-iPFES the web-based GIS for PFES.

One of the priority activities of USAID Green Annamites Project is to support two provinces in improving their forest monitoring capacity with the employment of new technology. Improved forest monitoring systems with better remote sensing access and enhanced forest ranger capacity are key factors to address the ongoing challenges of illegal activities and to provide accurate data for DARD, and PPC reporting. This will lead to a better Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) system and carbon accounting for PFES and REDD+. The tablets PC application that will be provided to FPD is central in the delivery training materials for farmers for multiples purposes.

There objectives of this consultancy assignment are: 

1) To upgrade the existing forest monitoring system in the Forest Protection Department in Thua Thien Hue and Quang Nam

2) To provide decision makers, land use managers and forest owners with near real-time alerts on land use changes via mobile phone SMS.

3) To facilitate the daily use of high tech data for forest cover monitoring by government agencies