Earth observation for sustainable development of forests (EOSD)-a national project

A group of forested nations agreed upon a set of criteria and indicators to measure the sustainable development of forests. Of the 83 indicators, remote sensing could measure in whole or in part about 25 indicators. Moreover, such measurements could also support elements of Canada's national forest inventory and reporting requirements for the Kyoto protocol on reforestation, afforestation, and deforestation (RAD). The authors have commenced a new project, EOSD, to monitor the sustainable development of Canada's forests from space. Two federal partners, the Canadian Forest Service and the Canadian Space Agency, are creating the ten-year project in cooperation with the provinces and territories. The project will support, with space based technology, Canada's priorities and international commitments for monitoring the sustainable development of its forests and for meeting core forest information needs of the Kyoto Protocol. The status and major changes in the composition, distribution, structure and function of forests over time will be quantified. The remote sensing observations will also form part of a three-stage new national forest inventory. It is intended that products and data will be widely available via intelligent information systems. This paper will describe the products to be produced, and outline the project implementation.