Evaluation of the project "Integrated national monitoring and assessment system on forest ecosystems (SIMEF)"

Chile has a native forest that constitutes 18 percent of its continental surface area and over 60 million hectares of protected areas. The country is considered a global hotspot of conservation priority due to its endemism and a high degree of habitat loss. The loss of ecosystems could increase if economic development does not progressively adopt sustainability standards that create less of an impact on biodiversity. From August 2015 to May 2020, FAO implemented the project in order "to develop and implement an integrated monitoring and assessment system on carbon stocks and biodiversity in forest ecosystems (SIMEF) supporting the National Greenhouse Gases Inventory (INGEI) and the design of policies, regulations and SFM practices incorporating the REDD+ Programme and biodiversity conservation in forest ecosystems".

The project established sound foundations that improve the monitoring of the conditions of forest ecosystems and, consequently, more robust information is generated and with greater frequency. It is worth highlighting the creation of an interinstitutional structure that will support the continuity of the SIMEF and the creation of a digital platform with five tools. The SIMEF is, at present, a regular programme of the Chilean State with a governance system and with a permanent annual budget. Given this, the sustainability of the achievements made in the project can be maintained and strengthened. However, a low level of appropriation of the system at local level was identified, which could affect its sustainability.