Wolfgang Wagner , Richard Kidd, Sten Nilsson , Matthias Jonas, Christian Hoffmann

Verification of Land-Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry Activities as specified by the Kyoto-Protocol: The role of remote sensing and GIS within a scientific verification concept

Every international treaty requires a solid solution on verification (Cooper, 2000). Cur-rently for the verification of the Kyoto reports it is suggested that countries, which are parties to the protocol submit baseline data and their inventory mechanisms for external review. However, only independent observations can lead to meaningful verification. Particularly Europe, with a leading role in the post-Kyoto negotiations, should strengthen its position by establishing an autonomous European verification capacity of potential global outreach. This paper presents the key elements pertaining to a solid Scientific Verification Concept (SVC) and, based on this, further highlights of the use of remote sensing and GIS for a cost-efficient, practical independent mechanism to verify Kyoto Land Use, Land Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) activities.

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