This article has been shared by the R & B Timbers group from FAO.

FAO and partners have launched a new knowledge sharing platform on forest and landscape restoration. The open-access platform is the first virtual space to provide access to a comprehensive database of key forest and landscape restoration resources aggregated from around the globe. "The platform is unique in that landscape practitioners can be guided through the entire planning, management, and implementation stages of a forest and landscape restoration project," said Douglas McGuire, Coordinator of the Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) for FAO.

The open-access platform will help users improve their enabling environments, institutional arrangements, organizational and technical capacities and other challenges often faced when designing, planning and implementing restoration programmes. Monitoring is critical in tracking progress of forest and landscape restoration efforts, communicating on results, and reporting at national and international levels.

In the context of a collaborative roadmap, of which a wide range of key organizations are part, the first section of the platform to be launched will be a monitoring module. This will include various tools, methodologies, and guidelines to assess the progress and success of forest and landscape restoration efforts.

The other modules that complete the platform will be launched throughout the year as they become active. Later this year, the platform will be complemented by the establishment of a number of widely-anticipated forest and landscape restoration communities of practice, bringing together experience, practical tools and knowledge from around the globe.