Integrating Forest and Carbon Monitoring and Training in Tropical Landscape Conservation and Restoration Projects

Another ELTI-related project should help boost and maintain the credibility of carbon offset programs. In programs like these, which offer people incentives to preserve carbon stocks, buyers need to be able to trust that trees being planted to offset emissions, for example, remain alive and in the ground years later. This trust depends on monitoring and verification, tasks potentially made more feasible by emerging technologies like drones, remote sensing, and AI. ELTI offers training to people who want to develop and monitor strategies to conserve and restore tropical forest landscapes, including courses specific to carbon markets. With this seed grant, ELTI can update its curriculum on carbon markets and project monitoring plus offer additional training opportunities in field techniques and these emerging technologies.