Towards an Operational Forest Monitoring System for Central Africa

Characterizing and mapping land cover and land use change in the rain forests of Central African is a complex process. This complexity is marked by the diversity of land use practices across six different countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of Congo), the lack of full and continuous cloud-free coverage by any single optical remote sensing instrument, and the limited institutional capacity to implement mapping and monitoring activities.