On the delivery of weather services and parallels for the development of operational forest carbon measurement, reporting and verification systems

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change has requested governments participating in Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus to establish reference emission levels and maintain robust and transparent forest monitoring systems. While the measurement and data coordination technology is available, much work remains to be done to develop national monitoring capability and institutions in developing countries, and the international framework for these systems. This paper draws attention to the useful insights to be drawn from the evolution of the delivery of routine global weather information, which stems from a partnership between National Meteorological Services and the World Meteorological Organization. These insights are already aiding in the ongoing development of national systems as well as in the Global Forest Observations Initiative led by the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations.