Issue 12 - May 2024
Who’s Counting is the quarterly newsletter of the Inventories and Nationally Determined Contributions Network (I&NDC Network). We summarise scientific progress, opportunities, resources, and events related to national agriculture inventory development, national agriculture climate targets, and international inventory capability-building activities.
In this Issue of Who’s Counting, we focus on some insights on the application of Remote Sensing techniques. If members have a particular region or issue they would like to be the focus of future Newsletters, we welcome you to get in touch (contact details at the end).
We encourage you to share this newsletter widely, and please subscribe to the newsletter below.
In Who's Counting this quarter
Jobs Board
- IICA Agriculture Climate Action & Sustainability Program seeking to fill a number of roles - Deadline May 19
Spotlight
- MethanesSAT- Launched March 2024
Events and Opportunities
- UNFCCC TER Exams - 2024 Schedule
- 9th International Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture Conference
- CGIAR Science Week
- 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29)
Best Practices
- New FAO report maps pathways towards lower livestock emissions.
Resources
- Remote Sensing for Agricultural Data
Jobs Board
IICA Agriculture Climate Action & Sustainability Program seeking to fill a number of roles - Two days left to apply!
Closing Date: 19 May 2024
IICA’s Agriculture Climate Action & Sustainability Program is seeking a suitably qualified person to fill the positions of:
1. Project Coordinator to provide the relevant project coordinating services to successfully implement the USAID funded CACCI-LAC “Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative- Latin American and Caribbean” project component in Guyana and Suriname.
👉 For more information access Project Coordinator ToR via this link : https://tinyurl.com/Project-Coordinator-CACCI-LAC
2. Multi-Country Facilitator to provide in-country support and coordination of project activities inclusive of consulting with, mobilizing, and building the capacity of national stakeholders involved in the CACCI-LAC project titled “Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative – Latin America and the Caribbean” component in Guyana and Suriname”.
👉 For more information, access Multi-Country Facilitator ToR via this link : https://tinyurl.com/Multi-Country-Facilitator
3. Administrative/Operative Support to support the effective result-based implementation, coordination, financial management, administration, reporting and communication of the CACCI-LAC project titled “Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative – Latin America and the Caribbean” component in Guyana and Suriname”.
👉 For more information, access Administrative/Operative Support ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/Administrative-Support-CACCI
4. Research Assistant_Suriname to retrieve, assess, organize, and report on scholarly and non-scholarly information regarding inter-institutional strengthening for climate action, the agricultural elements in the Nationally Determined Contributions, and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation Processes, Systems, and platforms related to climate change in Suriname and Guyana.
👉 For more information, access Research Assistant_Suriname ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/Research-Assistant-Suriname
5. Research Assistant_Guyana to retrieve, assess, organize, and report on scholarly and non-scholarly information regarding inter-institutional strengthening for climate action, the agricultural elements in the Nationally Determined Contributions, and Monitoring, Reporting and Verification, as well as Monitoring and Evaluation Processes, Systems, and platforms related to climate change in Suriname and Guyana.
👉 For more information, access Research Assistant_Guyana ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/Research-Assistant-Guyana
6. Nationally Determined Contribution Specialist to develop/strengthen an integrated action plan and roadmap for strategic advocacy and implementation of agricultural elements of the NDC for Suriname and provide support in building the capacity of technicians in Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification and strengthening monitoring and evaluation processes and platforms in Suriname.
👉 For more information, access NDC Specialist ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/NDC-Specialist
7. Governance/Social Specialist to conduct an alignment and inter-institutional trust analysis with targeted institutions related to NDC target setting and implementing the agriculture elements of the NDCs, facilitate the development/strengthening and launching of an Inter-institutional Agricultural Climate Action Working Group, and develop and pilot scorecards for monitoring and evaluating inter-institutional collaboration for implementing the agricultural elements of the NDCs in Suriname.
👉 For more information, access Governance/Social Specialist ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/Governance-Specialist
8. Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist to conduct a needs assessment of the existing Monitoring and Evaluation processes, systems and platforms related to NDCs implementation in Suriname and Guyana and strengthen the Monitoring and Evaluation processes, systems, and platforms in Guyana & Suriname through the building of technical capacity and provision of technical services.
👉 For more information, access Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/M-and-E-Specialist
9. Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Specialist to build capacities of technicians (agricultural, environmental etc.) for measuring, reporting, and verifying (MRV) GHG emissions from the agriculture sector and strengthen the use and comprehension of MRV of the agricultural actors in Suriname and Guyana.
👉 For more information, access Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Specialist ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/MRV-Specialist
10. Project Development Specialist to build the capacity of technicians to develop bankable concept notes related to climate financing for the agriculture sector and develop, write and validate two (2) country concept notes on strengthening the climate resilience of the agriculture sector in Guyana and Suriname, respectively.
👉 For more information, access Project Development Specialist ToR via this link: https://tinyurl.com/Project-Development-Specialist
Spotlight
MethaneSAT - Launched March 2024
On March 4, 2024, MethaneSAT was successfully delivered into space from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The groundbreaking satellite is designed to help protect the Earth’s climate by accelerating reductions of a powerful greenhouse pollutant, focusing first on oil and gas operations, a major source of methane. However, it can also be used to measure agricultural methane emissions, which are more diffuse and difficult to detect.
The MethaneSAT satellite will detect and measure methane in the atmosphere from a beam of sunlight reflected from Earth. Methane absorbs specific wavelengths in the spectrum of sunlight. An instrument called a spectrometer attached to the satellite will detect the resulting changes in the light that has travelled through the Earth’s atmosphere – these changes correspond directly to how much methane is in the air column.
Better understanding of agricultural methane emissions will provide much-needed evidence to feed into policy, underpin decision making and support actions to reduce methane emissions globally.
Events and Opportunities
UNFCCC TER Exams - 2024 Schedule
The Training Programme for reviewers of the biennial transparency reports aims to familiarise experts with the essential reporting elements and requirements of the ETF as well as the tools available to help them prepare for the TER.
To participate in the TER process, experts must be nominated to the UNFCCC Roster of Experts by their national focal point or intergovernmental organisation, complete the relevant training programme and successfully pass examinations before they can be invited to participate in a review.
The TER training programme consists of 4 courses:
- Course A: General and cross cutting aspects for the technical expert review under the ETF under the Paris Agreement;
- Course B: Technical review of national inventory reports of anthropogenic emissions by source and removals by sinks of GHGs;
- Course C: Technical review of the information necessary to track progress made in implementing and achieving NDCs; and
- Course D: Technical review of the information on financial, technology development and transfer and capacity building support provided for developing countries.
The exam period for 2024 is as follows:
Course A:
- Jan 29 - Feb 11
- Mar 25 – Apr 7
- Jun 24 – Jul 7
- Sep 9 – Sep 22
- Dec 2 – Dec 15
Course B:
- Mar 25 – Apr 7
- Jun 24 – Jul 7
- Sep 9 – Sep 22
- Dec 2 – Dec 15
Course C:
- Jan 29 - Feb 11
- Mar 25 – Apr 7
- Jun 24 – Jul 7
- Sep 9 – Sep 22
- Dec 2 – Dec 15
Course D:
- Jan 29 - Feb 11
- Mar 25 – Apr 7
- Jun 24 – Jul 7
- Sep 9 – Sep 22
- Dec 2 – Dec 15
9th International Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture Conference
Join the 9th International Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture (GGAA) conference, a gathering of leading scientists in the field of greenhouse gases (GHGs) from animal agriculture.
The conference will be taking place in Nairobi, Kenya in October 2025, hosted by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO).
At the 9th GGAA, you will have the chance to delve into cutting-edge research, connect with experts and participate in lively discussions covering GHG mitigation, measurement techniques, advanced modelling, and on-farm practices. You will get to discover insights into policies addressing agricultural impacts on GHGs and stay updated on the latest scientific developments. There will also be field visits you can join to: national parks, farms and rangeland sites, including ILRI’s Kapiti Conservancy and research station on the outskirts of Nairobi.
CGIAR Science Week:
Demonstrating how we build a sustainable and healthy future for people and the planet.
Our ability to feed the world in a way that protects people’s health without harming the planet is under severe threat. Climate change is wreaking havoc on the world’s food, land, and water, causing record levels of hunger and malnutrition. At the same time, our approach to growing, processing, trading, and consuming food is contributing to the problem. Without urgent action to transform our agriculture and food systems, millions more lives and livelihoods will be lost on an increasingly devastated planet.
2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29)
The 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP 29) will convene in November 2024 in Baku, Azerbaijan. This event will include the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 29), the 19th meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 19), and the sixth meeting of the COP serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 6) that will convene to complete the first enhanced transparency framework and the new collective quantified goal on finance, among other matters. The 61st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 61) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 61) will also meet.
Best Practices
New FAO report maps pathways towards lower livestock emissions.
The FAO launches a report on pathways towards lower emissions: a global assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation options from livestock agrifood systems. The report presents a comprehensive global assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from livestock systems, utilising FAO’s Global Livestock Environmental Assessment Model (GLEAM) based on the most recent available data. GLEAM also considers indirect emissions from upstream activities, such as feed and other inputs, and part of the downstream processes, including post-farm transport, processing and packaging of raw products. Drawing from an extensive literature review, this publication illustrates pathways towards lower emissions through a set of interventions on both the supply and the demand sides of animal production.
Resources
In this edition of Who’s Counting, we have broken down a range of remote sensing techniques which provide valuable contributions in identifying agricultural activity data, however - are also used much more widely:
Imagery/Photogrammetry
- Agriculture monitoring using SentinelHub
- Detection, identification and posture recognition of cattle with satellites, aerial photography and UAVs using deep learning techniques
- Automated aerial animal detection when spatial resolution conditions are varied - ScienceDirect
- Livestock detection in African rangelands: Potential of high-resolution remote sensing data
Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
- Research advances of SAR remote sensing for agriculture applications: A review - ScienceDirect
- Agricultural SandboxNL: A national-scale database of parcel-level processed Sentinel-1 SAR data
- (PDF) Remote sensing based crop inventory: A review of Indian experience
Hyperspectral imaging
- A systematic review on hyperspectral imaging technology with a machine and deep learning methodology for agricultural applications - ScienceDirect
- Recent Advances of Hyperspectral Imaging Technology and Applications in Agriculture
- (PDF) Hyperspectral Imagery Applications for Precision Agriculture
- Hyperspectral imaging using multivariate analysis for simulation and prediction of agricultural crops in Ningxia, China - ScienceDirect
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
- Applications of LiDAR in Agriculture and Future Research Directions
- Non-Contact Body Measurement for Qinchuan Cattle with LiDAR Sensor
- Intelligent perception for cattle monitoring: A review for cattle identification, body condition score evaluation, and weight estimation - ScienceDirect
Other
We welcome suggested content for the next issue of Who's Counting. Please email INDC.GRA@gmail.com for all suggestions.
