The Forest Management Bureau (FMB) through the DENR – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) / Global Environment Facility (GEF) Biodiversity Corridor Project, in partnership with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), conducted the Trainer’s Training on FAO Ex-Ante Carbon-Balance Tool (EX-ACT) in Support of the Carbon Accounting and Monitoring of the DENR GEF 6 Projects on October 2-4, 2024 at The Ritz Hotel, Davao City, Davao Del Sur.

This training serves as an introduction to the EX-ACT Tool, a land-based accounting system developed by the UN-FAO to quantify the amount of released or sequestered greenhouse gases (GHG) before, during, or after the implementation of any nature conservation-related projects. It was facilitated by Mr. Bipin Pokharel, Regional Technical Advisor from the UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub, who has several years of experience with the tool.

As highlighted by the FMB Director Arleigh J. Adorable in his opening remarks, integrating the EX-ACT Tool with BD Corridor and FLR Projects can be a valuable asset for informed decision-making in addressing environmental issues such as biodiversity loss, deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity, and pollution.

The Department, through FMB and BMB is currently implementing projects funded by GEF, the Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) in Central Luzon and CARAGA and Biodiversity (BD) Corridor in MIMAROPA, Davao Region, and CARAGA,  respectively.

The event was participated by selected personnel from the following offices: FMB, BMB, National and Regional Project Management Units, FASPS, MGB, DENR MIMAROPA, DENR RXI, DENR RXIII, DA-BSWM, UNDP, and BARMM. It was also attended by representatives from Caraga State University and Davao Oriental State University.