This, since 2005, was the first forestry inventory assessment-related training to be facilitated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Forest Service for the FSM states of Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap.
The target audience were foresters, resource managers and geographic information system specialists from the government and non-government sectors.
In addition to representatives from the four FSM states, partners from the Marshall Islands participated, while FSM and regional resource agencies assisted in the training.
“When we think of forests we associate it with high islands, we shouldn’t forget our outer islands that have similar issues as like our neighbors from the Marshalls. These forests are highly impacted by climatic change where they can contribute significantly to this training.” said Christian.
The training goals were:
• To educate and assist GIS specialists and resource personnel on the use of the Forest Service vegetation mapping, and kickoff the statewide assessment and resource strategy initiative; and
• To describe the FIA program, the data collected, and demonstrate how local resource managers can use the data in their own work.
