The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

1. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Virginia Cram-Martos Director, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division Geospatial World Forum, Rotterdam, the Netherlands 15 May 2013

2. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe 56 member States in Europe, Central Asia and North America

3. The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe – Eight thematic Subprogrammes • Economic cooperation • Environment • Forestry • Housing and land management • Statistics • Sustainable Energy • Trade • Transport

4. ECE-FAO Forestry and Timber Section, Geneva United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Food and Agriculture Organizartion of the United Nations ECE Committee on Forests and the Forest Industry & FAO European Forestry Commission 1947

5. 4 Work Areas of the ECE-FAO Geneva Data Analysis Policy/Management Advice Capacity Building

6. Pan-European and global reporting on forest resources Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire Joint Wood Energy Enquiry Short-term forecasts for Europe and North America Data

7. Reports on State of Europe’s Forests Global Forest Resource Assessments Sustainable Forest Management Forest Products Annual Market Reviews Outlook Studies Forests and Economic Development Ecosystem Services Analysis

8. World’s and region’s forests 19% 18% Source: FAO FRA 2010

9. Forests - Major Trends in the UNECE Region Source : EEA 2006, SoEF 2011, TBFRA 2010

10. Supply and Demand in 2030 Source: UNECE/FAO EFSOS II, 2011

11. Forestry and Geospatial Data Forestry and Geospatial data

12. Forests in the ECE/FAO Region 1.6 BLN HA 40% WORLD’S FORESTS Source: FAO FRA 2010

13. Consumption of wood per capita NA – 1.6 CIS – 0.3 E – 1.0 Source: UNECE/FAO 2011

14. Remote sensing in international forest reporting Remote sensing has many and varied applications Technological progress and the increased availability of data sets allowing comparisons over time are increasing the use of remote sensing technologies and information Nonetheless There are still problems that prevent full realization of the potential

15. Remote sensing in international forest reportingWHAT IS MISSING? Comparability and interoperability across countries and regions Links between topographical map data and contextual data (land use, legal status, disaster impact, etc) Easy to use software – including for data uploading Applications tailored to end user needs

16. Remote sensing in international forest reportingWHY? National forest information systems are not harmonized The basic level of reporting is a country, which makes reference units extremely differentiated (Monaco – Russia) Differences in scope, definitions and timing affect data comparability Missing data and process standards Sampling granularity differs widely and the less granular, the more likely that samples extrapolated into national averages may distort the actual situation (for example, in cases of disaster damage or landscape phenomena)

17. Remote sensing in international forest reportingOTHER ISSUES • Legal – national reporting is a prerogative of countries, international data cannot officially replace national data • Nomenclatural – internationally endorsed definitions of forests include two basic criteria: (i) land use and (ii) land cover. Obtaining information about land cover via remote sensing is feasible, information on land use is not commonly available • Incompleteness - only some information can be assessed via remote sensing, some can still be generated only through land or records based systems (ownership, employment, species mix, etc)

18. Remote sensing in international forest reportingOTHER ISSUES • No one to one correspondences between many types of data – so very different maps have to be overlaid, creating work/costs. • Capacity – insufficient knowledge and capacity in countries and organizations to analyze and utilize geo-referenced information

19. Remote sensing in international forest reportingOPPORTUNITIES Multi-national geospatial data sets from identical periods and based on a common methodology could: i) create more harmonized data; ii) support cross-border resource management; and iii) help us better understand forest dynamics Geo-spatial data could provide increased numbers of samples and measured variables which are more precisely geo-referenced Linking forest-related data with data from other areas (e.g. water, climate, other land uses) can create new uses, for example in measuring ecosystem services

20. Remote sensing in international forest reporting EXISTING APPLICATIONS FAO Global Forest Resources Assessment Forest Area Monitoring with the use of Remote Sensing Survey Tree Canopy density Survey Forests in Climatic Zones European Forest Institute Forests in Europe by Forest Types (simplified classification: conifers, broad-leaves and mixed) EU Joint Research Ispra Monitoring of Forest Fires Forest Connectivity and Fragmentation

21. Forests in climatic zones Source: FAO FRA 2010

22. Forest connectivity – change 2000 – 2006 Source: EU JRC Ispra / SoEF 2011

23. The Committee on Housing and Land Management Inter-governmental dialogue The exchange of information Support for policy formulation and implementation: - In-depth assessments - Policy guidance andrecommendations - Advisory services and capacity-building activities

24. UNECE Committee on Housing and Land Management STRUCTURE

25. Committee on Housing and Land Management WORK AREAS Land administration and management Sustainable housing and real estate markets Sustainable urban development Country Profiles

26. Current priorities of the Working Party on Land Administration (WPLA) • Property registration and the structure of cadastres and land registries • Informal settlements • E-Government

27. The UNECE WPLA and property registration • Encourages registration, access to data, and data sharing between countries. • “Survey on the Benchmarking of Land Registration Systems”, 2013/2014. • System of Registration • Coverage • On-line availability and electronic access • Status and security • Taxes and fees • Speed of registration • Types of registration activities • Complexity and Automation • Cadastres • Efficiency of service • Gender equality • Administrative structure

28. The UNECE and geospatial data – land management • Urban and used land areas have expanded in the last 50 years: • agricultural land +13% • pasture land +10%, • total forest area -15% World land cover, source: NASA

29. Property registration and geospatial media • WPLA publication “Land registration and cadastre, one or two agencies”, 2015

30. Informal settlements in the UNECE region • Significant in 20 UNECE countries, affecting over 50 million people • Squatter settlements • Settlements refugees and vulnerable people • Upgraded informal settlements • Illegal suburban land divisions • Dilapidated urban housing

31. Challenges from Informal Settlements • Economic: Keeps funds from the formal sector and interferes with planning • Social: Can marginalize already disadvantaged groups • Environmental: Complicates regulation and compliance with standards

32. Informal settlements and geospatial media

33. E-Government and changes in Europe • Lowers costs, brings faster service • Can make auditing and fact-checking easier • Can present new challenges of fraud and user verification

34. The UNECE and E-Government in land registration • The Challenges of Fraud to Land Administration Institutions (2011) • “Collaborating for secured ownership”, 29 to 31 May 2013, Uppsala, Sweden

35. E-Government and geospatial media

36. Summary The UNECE and geospatial data

37. THE BIG QUESTION Standardized data and processes are needed In order to achieve the international semantic interoperability required for success This will require close collaboration with a broad range of users, everyone working together around the same table. The tables are here, but where are the foresters, the farmers , the energy companies, the urban planners , and the government regulators ? Without them the geospatial industry will never reach its full potential

38. Thankyou Virginia Cram-Martos Director, Trade and Sustainable Land Management Division virginia.cram-martos@unece.org