Is a regional initiative that aims to improve forest monitoring and management in the region. It covers five countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Uganda).
Following an initial prototype phase (2017-2018), OFESA is now in a consolidation phase (2020-2022) which entails two activities: first, creating a coherent governance framework which incentivizes and enables participating countries to share, use and analyze data; and second, ensuring that countries and regional organizations are provided with the information they need when they need it.
Ongoing activities include collaboration with various ministries and other regional and country-level actors to understand their needs, strengthen their capacity to collect data, and address gaps and data quality issues.
OFESA is jointly led by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD). This initiative is funded by the European Union.