Building forest solutions: regional training boosts inclusive planning and digital monitoring across Central Asia

Ankara – Forests are home to a wealth of biodiversity; they protect our climate and support a wide range of livelihoods. Recognizing the critical role of forests and as part of its commitment to sustainable biodiversity conservation and forest management, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), under the FAO-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme, has launched a regional training programme for sustainable forestry – equipping participating countries with inclusive planning approaches and cutting-edge digital solutions.

Implemented under the regional project “Improving Biodiversity and Sustainable Forestry”, the training targets government experts, planners and technical staff from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The sessions are designed to enhance practical capacities for developing multifunctional forest management planning and updating protected area management plans in alignment with international goals.

The July 2025 training sessions explored two interlinked themes that together aim to strengthen participatory planning and technical monitoring capacities. The first session, held on 11 July, focused on participatory and gender-sensitive forest planning. Participants were introduced to key principles of community-based natural resource management and gender-responsive planning. Participants were guided in the use of stakeholder analysis and inclusive governance tools, while a preparatory exercise conducted in advance encouraged reflection on cases from their own countries, promoting deeper engagement in discussions during the session.

The second session, conducted from 14 to 18 July, delivered training on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and open-source digital tools for forest inventory and monitoring. The training was carried out in conjunction with the FAO project “Building global capacity to increase transparency in the forest sector (CBIT-Forest): accelerating capacity-building, knowledge-sharing and awareness raising”.

During this session, participants worked directly with spatial data and applied open-source platforms such as Open Foris – an initiative that provides free and open-source solutions for forest and land monitoring, such as Open Foris Arena and Arena Mobile and Collect Earth Online (CEO), in support of forest inventory mapping and satellite-based land use assessments. The session demonstrated how these solutions can support national reporting and planning in alignment with global frameworks, including the Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) and the Paris Agreement.

This training initiative contributes directly to countries’ efforts under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the UN Strategic Plan for Forests 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals—particularly SDG 15 (Life on Land) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). The training programme will continue through 2025 providing a blend of online and field-based modules. 

About the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes

The objectives of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes are to provide support to ensure food security, rural poverty reduction and sustainable forest management; combat desertification; and preserve ecosystems in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Türkiye, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, and other countries of mutual interest.

Established in 2007, the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture (FTPP) has benefited from trust fund contributions totalling USD 10 million, financed by the Government of Türkiye and represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. During the first phase of the programme, 28 projects were implemented in 16 countries between 2009 and 2015.

In 2014, Türkiye and FAO commenced the second phase of the FTPP along with the first phase of the FAO-Türkiye Forestry Partnership Programme (FTFP) with additional funding of USD 20 million, bringing Türkiye’s total contribution to USD 30 million.

• FAO-Türkiye Partnership Programmes
• Project flyer
• Sustainable forest management planning and biodiversity conservation advances in Tajikistan
• Boosting transparency of forest data

This article was originally published here.