After the preparatory phases, which consisted of the recruitment and training of data collection actors and botanists, Togo's second national forest inventory (IFN2) was launched on 08 March for a period of five (05) months.

The official launch ceremony took place on Monday, March 08, 2021 in Tsévié by the forest administration authorities. This is in the presence of administrative, traditional authorities, the REDD+ coordinator and the actors involved in the activity.

The objective of this second edition is to monitor forest dynamics and assess changes in carbon stock after the first national inventory carried out in 2016.

Dr. Amah ATUTONU, Director of Forest Resources, specified the stages of the activity, recalled the importance of this second inventory before inviting the actors in the field to play their role in order to allow the capitalization of the data. “This operation will involve the passage of collecting agents through the various sampling units that we call permanent plots in order to be able to collect qualitative and quantitative data relating to forests in our country. she explained before returning to this second stage, which is part of the REDD+ process. “It is recommended to set up a national forest monitoring system and it is planned at the country level to carry out national forest inventories for a period of 5 years” she added. For the latter, the activity will make it possible to obtain reliable information in order to compare with the data from the first inventory in order to be able to assess the dynamics of the country's forest ecosystems.

 

 

 

After the official launch of the activities, the IFN2 team and the forest administration were interviewed on the details of the planning and organization of the teams.

Recall that as part of the process of reducing greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+), Togo conducted its first national forest inventory from 2015 to 2016, with the support of German cooperation through GIZ. In accordance with the proposed REDD+ Readiness Measures (R-PP), regular monitoring of forest resources through national forest inventories is planned. Thus, between March and July 2021, the country will carry out its second national forest inventory in order to assess the variations in forest carbon stock after the first inventory.

Data collection in the plots will be done by forest agents. It will take place from March to April 2021 in the Maritime region with two officially formed teams.