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Infor Showcases Chile's Advances in Forest Monitoring at International Meeting in Guatemala

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With the goal of strengthening regional scientific cooperation and advancing common methodologies for ecosystem monitoring, the Forestry Institute (Infor) actively participated in the second in-person meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean National Forest Inventory Network (Red IFN-LAC), held in the city of Antigua, Guatemala.

The Chilean delegation was composed of researchers from the Los Ríos branch, Dr. Gerardo Vergara and Rodrigo Sagardía, who represented Infor in a series of technical sessions focused on the development, standardization, and application of tools for forest data collection and analysis.

Dr. Vergara, who is also the manager of Infor's Los Ríos branch, presented the paper "Biodiversity Inventories: Methodologies, Results, and Scope," where he shared the progress of the Biodiversity Inventory being developed by Infor in Chile, highlighting the importance of robust data for decision-making in conservation and sustainable management. "Participating in this Latin American meeting was a great opportunity to showcase our work, exchange experiences with other countries, and open possibilities for collaboration in joint projects," he stated.

Meanwhile, Rodrigo Sagardía presented on "Best Practices and Challenges in Using Volume Equations for Estimating Forest Stock in Formation," a national experience that sparked interest among delegations from countries just beginning their own inventories. "Chile's experience in data collection generated significant interest, especially among those starting these processes. There was consensus that inventories are a key tool for more accurately monitoring our ecosystems and advancing their conservation," he affirmed.

The meeting focused on advancing the harmonization of forest data at the regional level, including joint assessments of biodiversity indicators, the development of shared metrics, and coordinated planning among countries. This technical and collaborative work aims to support the reports of the Global Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The event was organized by Red IFN-LAC, in collaboration with FAO and the Institute of Forest Sciences (ICIFOR) of INIA-CSIC. Its realization was made possible thanks to funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the CBIT-Forest project, as well as the United Kingdom via the Aim4Forest program and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

With the participation of delegations from 18 Latin American and Caribbean countries, the meeting reaffirmed the region's commitment to transparency, sustainable forest resource management, and strengthening scientific cooperation networks amid increasing pressure on natural ecosystems.