Through the review and analysis of policies and plans that support or hinder forest restoration, TRI Cameroon was able to extract beneficial actions and suggestions to be included in policy tools and raise awareness around FLR policies, especially amongst government officials, where understanding around FLR is not universal. This includes supporting MINEPDED in the elaboration of the framework of the National Strategy for Landscape Restoration in Cameroon in 2021, which provided the main axis on which the country can rely on to implement FLR and was meant to pave the way for a national FLR strategy. TRI has also contributed to the development of policy and scientific notes, which provide specific information on a given aspect of restoration and are used to provide more detailed recommendations on specific topics to government officials as a way to prepare the base for more elaborated policy tools. In 2020, a political note on multi-partner and intersectoral collaboration in FLR as well as a scientific note on the paradigm shift to FLR, were elaborated and published. These notes are also able to be used within the context of the implementation of policy tools, as their specificity can provide greater detail on how to successfully implement FLR strategy recommendations.

The implementation of this solution has only been possible thanks to a unique cross-sectoral partnership established in the framework of the Tech4Nature initiative in Spain. The partnership was composed of local authorities (Diputació de Barcelona), park technicians, rangers and managers (Sant Llorenç del Munt i l’Obac), nature conservation experts (IUCN Med), IT company (Huawei), GPS specialists (Parés&Bosch), and camera monitoring specialists (Miranatura). The partnership is continuously expanding, and it is expected that research teams and universities will join the partnership in the near future, bringing in their expertise and experience.

The skilled laboratory experts of AUT got extensive training in the specific sensitive PCR-based detection methodology in Germany (Karlsruhe) and Tirana (Albania). The methodology not only allows the detection of viruses and AMR, but also enabled the AUT to enhance the curricula for PhD students and researchers. Furthermore, results and information obtained from Albania extend the data bases of international institutions like WHO.

The capacities of the Agricultural University Tirana's laboratories had been extended by the microbiological laboratory for wastewater-based monitoring on COVID-19, viruses and AMR with a PCR-based real-time detection method. 

The Early Warning System is structured on three levels: the scientific level consisting of the participating water and wastewater utilities as basis, the political level with the Public Health Institute and the policy and strategic level with the inter-sectoral and inter-ministerial exchange The later were facilitated and national and international cooperations with research institutes and universities assisted.

The implementation of Albania’s early warning eystem on viruses and AMR is based on processes of enhancement local laboratory diagnostics, capacity development (laboratory planning, training), knowledge transfer and the facilitation of intersectoral and inter-ministerial cooperation.

• Early Warning System
• Facilitation inter-sectoral – inter-ministerial cooperation
• Enhancement local laboratory diagnostic: Research – sophisticated Technology – wastewater-based monitoring (epidemiology)
• Training

The objective of this building block is to provide technical teams with the biological parameters necessary to determine the current state of an ecosystem (level of degradation) and the desired state (healthy), in order to determine the appropriate restoration measures to be implemented in that specific ecosystem; for example, we will use the case of the Guatemalan dry forest.

The characterization of the ecosystem is done by documentary review and geospatial analysis, identifying the general-initial conditions of the ecosystem and its associations. Distribution / Climate / Soil Quality / Topographic Elevation / Flora Diversity / Fauna Diversity / Dasometric Characteristics of the Reference Ecosystems. For the dry forest, 3 associations were identified: 1) thorny scrub, 2) high dry forest and 3) riparian forest.

The definition of the levels of degradation is done by plot survey, comparing the successional states of the reference ecosystem with the dasometric characteristics obtained from the plots. In the case of the dry forest, three levels of degradation were identified: 1) pioneer succession, 2) secondary forest and 3) degraded forest.

Double counting in carbon projects refers to a situation where a carbon credit is claimed by more than one entity, without producing any additional carbon benefit. In simple terms, it occurs when two parties claim the same carbon removal or emission reduction benefits. Double counting undermines the integrity of carbon offset programs and the fight against climate change as it distorts the actual emissions reductions or removals achieved. It essentially dilutes the value and effectiveness of carbon credits.

The purpose of this building block is to develop agroforestry systems management policies in line with coffee growing and link them to the country's forestry development policies, responding to the challenges of the market and applicable international legislation.

In essence, it is necessary to promote incentive policies (economic and/or commercial) that stimulate agroforestry in coffee plantations at the same time, the value chains in the forestry sector as small timber.

This requires two main elements:

1. The ability to adjust forestry programs to accommodate agroforestry elements, without undermining coffee production but maintaining the spirit of the forestry policy.
2. Encourage intersectoral dialogue around the issue of agroforestry in coffee plantations, in order to identify points of technical and political coincidence.

To illustrate this building block, the case of the Forestry Incentives Program of Guatemala -PROBOSQUE- is used; which made adjustments to the modality of forestry incentives in the agroforestry modality, changing parameters to include the cultivation of coffee, having a greater impact.

The objective of this building block is to provide developers and implementers of ecosystem and landscape restoration projects with a tool that uses remote sensing, augmentation factors, and the integration of the two as a way to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration interventions on the ground.

To evaluate the line of impact of ecosystem services based on remote sensing, baseline data (baseline, management units and recent images) are collected and the differential between the initial and final year is calculated through: the definition of the increment tables, the normalization and adjustment of images, and the modeling of ecosystem services.

The increment factor approach is used for cropland and/or livestock where spectral indices derived from satellite imagery fail to accurately detect vegetation changes; and is calculated through: definition of baseline data, categorization of restoration practices and estimation of increment factors per implemented measure.

By executing this process, the area directly and indirectly impacted is available.