Forest Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Expert

Organizational Setting

Indonesia continues to strengthen its forest and land monitoring systems to support sustainable forest management, climate change mitigation, environmental reporting, restoration planning, and evidence-based decision-making. The Ministry of Forestry, through the Directorate of Forest Resources Inventory and Monitoring (IPSDH), is advancing the development and continuous improvement of national forest monitoring methodologies and systems, including the National Forest Monitoring System (SIMONTANA), the National Forest Inventory (NFI) 2.0, and related monitoring and reporting processes supporting national priorities such as FOLU Net Sink 2030, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), REDD , forest governance, and access to climate finance.

FAO supports these efforts through complementary programmes, including Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) and the MERANTI Project. AIM4Forests supports Indonesia in introducing innovative monitoring methodologies and geospatial solutions, improving the availability and interoperability of forest datasets, strengthening MRV and climate-finance readiness, and developing monitoring approaches that can support ecosystem restoration, and traceability systems for transparent commodities value chains. MERANTI complements these efforts through the strengthening of NFI 2.0, integration of field and remote-sensing data, quality assurance and quality control, capacity development, and continued enhancement of SIMONTANA. In this context, the assignment will support coherence and complementarity across these initiatives, particularly where they contribute to strengthening the NFMS, SIMONTANA and related monitoring methodologies and applications.

A key area of technical support is the improvement of land-cover monitoring and estimation methodologies. This includes strengthening baseline and historical land-cover information, improving accuracy assessment and uncertainty analysis, and applying statistically robust approaches to estimate areas of forest and land-cover change. Such improvements are important for national forest monitoring, FOLU-related reporting, REDD MRV, and emerging climate-finance mechanisms.

At the subnational level, FAO is supporting the Government of Riau through the GREEN for Riau Initiative under the UN-REDD Programme. The initiative aims to strengthen the technical and institutional conditions for REDD implementation, including the development of a subnational Forest Reference Emission Level (FREL), forest emission monitoring, activity data and emission-factor development, data integration, and institutional capacity for MRV. Recent FAO-supported activities have included technical training on forest data collection and uncertainty assessment and work to strengthen Riau's subnational MRV system and climate-finance readiness.

FAO is also supporting Indonesia's broader forest and landscape restoration agenda through improved restoration planning and monitoring approaches. For example, FAO has introduced SE.PLAN, a spatially explicit restoration planning tool within the SEPAL/Open Foris ecosystem, and also FERM platform for monitoring, data collection and reporting on restoration initiatives. Such approaches provide opportunities to strengthen the link between restoration planning, implementation, and monitoring.

Against this background, FAO Indonesia seeks to engage a Forest Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) Specialist for an eleven-month period to provide technical and strategic advisory support services across the relevant FAO-supported forest monitoring initiatives and to strengthen coherence between national and subnational monitoring approaches.

The assignment will contribute to strengthening the NFMS across three complementary dimensions: policy and institutional/governance arrangements; technical methodologies, tools and data systems; and application of forest monitoring information for policy, planning and decision-making.

Reporting Lines

Under the overall guidance and supervision of the FAO Representative in Indonesia, the general supervision of the FAO UN-REDD MRV Expert, and the MERANTI National Project Coordinator,  

Technical Focus

The Forest MRV Expert will provide technical support to strengthen Indonesia's National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), with SIMONTANA as a key entry point, and to support coherence between national and subnational forest and land monitoring approaches. 
Under the guidance of the designated FAO technical supervisors the incumbent will support data compilation and processing, desk-based technical reviews, preparation of draft technical documents, documentation of methodologies, and preparation of technical inputs for internal use and consultations with stakeholders. The Expert will participate in meetings, workshops, and other project activities, remotely or in person, at locations designated by FAO, as required.

The incumbent will provide task-based technical and operational support to FAO-supported forest monitoring initiatives and will work on assigned activities in accordance with established workplans, technical guidance, and instructions provided by the designated supervisors, and will prepare technical materials and documentation for internal review by FAO technical teams.

Tasks and responsibilities

Support the development of the SIMONTANA Improvement Roadmap

• Provide technical input to the development and refinement of the SIMONTANA Roadmap, including identification of priority technical improvements, data needs, methodological requirements, institutional arrangements and opportunities for improved interoperability.
• Support technical consultations with IPSDH and relevant stakeholders and contribute to the preparation and review of the SIMONTANA Roadmap and related technical recommendations.
• Support exploration of opportunities to extend the application of SIMONTANA/NFMS information to relevant cross-sectoral needs, including restoration, climate reporting, climate finance (i.e. REDD and TFFF), commodity transparency and other decision-making applications, as appropriate.

Support the improvement of SIMONTANA’s technical and methodological foundation

• Review and provide technical recommendations to improve SIMONTANA’s technical foundation, leveraging modern forest monitoring solutions and advanced remote sensing technologies to deliver more accurate, automated/semi automated, and consistent forest monitoring data.
• Provide technical input on enhanced minimum mapping unit to improve deforestation and forest degradation monitoring.
• Review available datasets and methodological approaches to update historical maps and align new time series data with the enhanced minimum mapping unit.

Strengthen sample-based area estimation and capacity

• Assist in compiling and processing data related to sample based area methodology, including the potential use of FAO tools and platforms to support more effective sample-based area methodology process, procedure and uncertainty assessment
• Support the development and/or refinement of technical guidance and practical approaches for sample-based area estimation.
• Support capacity-development activities for relevant government technical staff by preparing training materials, practical exercises, and knowledge-sharing documentation, as well as providing logistical and technical assistance during training sessions.

Strengthen national FOLU climate-change reporting and MRV

• Assist in reviewing and documenting national monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) processes and climate-change reporting for the FOLU sector, including relevant linkages with FOLU Net Sink 2030, REDD and NDC reporting.
• Assist in compiling and documenting relevant methodologies, data flows, and reporting processes, including identifying data inconsistencies and preparing supporting materials for internal reviewSupport technical consultations and coordination with relevant government institutions and FAO technical teams.

Provide technical support to GREEN for Riau Initiative and relevant subnational work

• Provide technical support to GREEN for Riau Initiative on forest and land monitoring and MRV-related activities including integration with the NFMS.
• Provide technical expertise, review and input, as appropriate, for the establishment of Riau FREL, including policy and technical documentation.
• Support the technical review of national and subnational monitoring approaches, using GREEN for Riau Initiative as a reference case to identify relevant methodologies, tools, and lessons learned that may inform broader monitoring and MRV objectives.
• Support the drafting of ART-TREES documentations including TREES Registration Document and TREES Monitoring Report, as well as related V&V process.

Promote the use of SIMONTANA/NFMS for thematic applications and decision-making process

• Support the compilation and preparation of technical materials related to the use of SIMONTANA/NFMS for thematic applications and decision-making processes.
• Assist in processing and organizing forest monitoring data and preparing technical materials using remote sensing, spatial analysis, FAO-developed tools and platforms, and other relevant monitoring approaches to support commodity transparency.
• Support the development or refinement of forest monitoring methodologies, indicators and data requirements needed to serve these thematic applications.
• Contribute to relevant technical consultations, pilot activities, workshops and knowledge-sharing activities that demonstrate and promote the use of forest monitoring information for these applications.

Other technical support

•     Participate in project meetings, workshops, field visits and technical consultations as requested by FAO.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements  
 

• Advanced university degree from an institution recognized by the International Association of Universities (IAU)/UNESCO in Forestry, Forest Resources Management, Remote Sensing, Environmental Science, Natural Resources Management, Climate Change, Geography, or another closely related field.
• At least 10 years of relevant professional experience in forest monitoring, National Forest Monitoring Systems (NFMS), SIMONTANA, National Forest Inventory (NFI 2.0), remote sensing, forest carbon accounting, REDD , and MRV.
• Working knowledge of English and Bahasa Indonesia
• National of Indonesia or resident of the country with valid work permit

FAO Core Competencies

• Results Focus
• Teamwork
• Communication
• Building Effective Relationships
• Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated experience in supporting the development or implementation of national forest monitoring systems (SIMONTANA), forest inventories (NFI 2.0), or forest monitoring methodologies.
• Advance knowledge and demonstrated experience in forest and land monitoring, MRV and remote sensing/geospatial approaches
• Demonstrated experience in developing or reviewing FREL/FRL and REDD MRV related technical methodologies and documentation, preferably in Indonesia or other tropical forest context.
• Proven experience working with government institutions and international organizations on forest monitoring, climate change, or natural resource management programmes.
• Experience facilitating technical consultations, workshops, and multi-stakeholder engagement processes, with strong ability to provide technical advice and translate complex monitoring/MRV requirements into practical recommendations and documentation.
• Previous experience with FAO or other UN agencies is an asset.