This project establishes forest carbon stock baselines, assesses historical and current carbon emissions, and enables countries to
monitor and predict the effects of natural resource and land-use policies.
Geographic Region
Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia
Contributors/Partners

Woods Hole Research Center

American Museum of Natural History

Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Users

Forest ministries in Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia

Jane Goodall Institute

Green Belt Movement
Earth Observations and NASA Products Used

MODIS (Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)

SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission)

GLAS (Geoscience Laser Altimeter System) aboard the ICESat (Ice Cloud and Elevation Satellite) spacecraft

ICESat-2 (future, second-generation of the laser altimeter ICESat mission)

NASA Dinamica model
More Information

Carbon Stock Corridors to Mitigate Climate Change and Promote Biodiversity in the Tropics

SERVIR AST Research Reveals New Benefits of Conserving Biological Corridors

Corridors for Carbon and Critters

Corridors to Survival: Charting a path to Combat Climate Change in the Tropics

REDD+ Should Finance Corridors between Protected Areas, Argues Study

WHRC Fights Climate Change and Preserves with GIS and Lidar
Access Product
http://whrc.org/mapping/pantropical/habitatcorridors/index.html
Carbon stocks in Africa have been highly depleted because of the high demand for agricultural land and fuel wood consumption
from a growing population. High carbon density forests in Africa are mainly found in isolated protected areas or mountain
regions and have lost connectivity. Countries in Africa, like many tropical countries, are now developing their strategies for
REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), including activities that result in conservation or
enhancement of forest carbon stocks and sustainable management of forests, to decrease forest-based emissions. Many of these
countries lack basic information for developing and implementing their carbon assessment and evaluating impacts of REDD+
associated policies, including information on the extent of forest area, the rate at which forests are being cleared and/or degraded,
and the carbon amounts associated with these losses. These countries also need support in conducting integrated assessments of
the most promising approaches for reducing emissions, and in identifying the policy options that hold the greatest potential.
Application Purpose
This SERVIR Applied Sciences Team project 1) demonstrates practical solutions for national and local carbon assessment and
REDD+ implementation; 2) helps countries identify appropriate policies to achieve sustainable development goals through
scenario modeling and determination of where carbon emissions could be minimized; and 3) demonstrates that NASA Earth
science products and derived models can assist countries with their terrestrial carbon assessment and forest conservation
strategies.
Application Uses
Measures include establishing forest carbon stock baselines, assessing historical and current carbon emissions from deforestation
and degradation, and enabling countries to monitor and predict the effects of natural resource policies and efforts to mitigate
negative impacts of land use and land-use change. In addition, the project identifies corridors of high forest carbon stock to be
preserved and potential areas to be replanted in order to sustain biological diversity. Through annual workshops for park and
forest managers and local and international nongovernmental organizations, the project provides training and capacity-building in
the use of maps, tools, and models.
A project of the SERVIR Applied Sciences Team under NASA’s Earth Science Division’s Applied Sciences Program. Principal
Investigator: Nadine Laporte, Woods Hole Research Center Inc.