A new $7.1 million (£5.5m) project that will help developing countries tackle climate change through better forestry management has been launched.

It will directly benefit 26 targeted nations across Asia, Africa and Latin America and more broadly around 185 countries and territories that are part of the global network of National Correspondents for the Global Forest Resources Assessment.

Efficient monitoring of and reporting on forests and land-use change is essential for tracking progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and as countries adopt climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

The project will focus on upgrading FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment reporting platform which was launched in March 2018 and has been used for the collection of data on the status and trends of the world’s forest resources.

The upgrade is expected to allow for more transparent reporting and easier access to the reported data.

An e-learning course will also be developed on transparency in the forest sector for government staff, with the aim of making it broadly available to universities, private sector and intergovernmental organisations.

The project is co-funded by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF), which are providing $5.2 million (£4m) and $1.9 million (£1.5m) respectively.

Hiroto Mitsugi, FAO Assistant Director-General, Forestry Department said: “Many developing countries lack the capacity to generate reliable forest data to report on their climate achievements. This project will provide an essential platform for more transparent forest-related data, helping countries to compile, analyse and disseminate better data in line with the Paris Agreement’s requirements.”