In his keynote address, Michael Michener, Deputy Assistant Administrator of USAID’s Bureau for Resilience and Food Security said that SERVIR has demonstrated the powerful collaboration between NASA and USAID in bringing together science and technology to empower countries in monitoring and responding to their environmental challenges. He said, “We are committed to working with the Government of Nepal to seize the opportunities meaningful climate action creates, and we look forward to continuing our partnership to advance Nepal’s green, resilient and inclusive development.”
Similarly, Pema Gyamtsho, Director General of ICIMOD emphasized that the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region is a climate hotspot, and that regular monitoring of land cover and land use change is important for land use planning, sustaining ecosystem services, and building resilience to climate change.
During the event, Yam Pokhrel, Director General of FRTC, explained how the NLCMS works. He acknowledged the collaborators for their support in conceptualizing, and developing the software, and incorporating the latest methodologies in land cover mapping.
Nepal’s national forest cover data was last updated in 2015. The NLCMS will make annual data available, classified into 11 specific land cover types. System users can further customise these classifications to generate datasets that comply with national and international reporting requirements.
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