| Overview : The GEF funded project PIMS - Promotion of environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient grid/isolated grid-based hydroelectric electricity through an integrated approach in Sao Tome and Principe", is implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in partnership with the Department of Natural Resources and Energy, Department of Forestry and Department of Agriculture. The project provides for the installation of small hydroelectric power plants, promoting the increase of renewable energies and the reduction of the use of fossil fuels, with all benefits derived. These include the reduction of financial burdens for the State and the transformation of the energy sector into an economically viable and environmentally friendly sector. But there are also other benefits that emanate from the forests and farmland of these river basins, which ensure the livelihoods of the populations and whose exploitation must be done in a careful way. Sustainable exploitation of the resources and benefits of forests and their equitable sharing will enable more harmonious and inclusive socio-economic development. In this context, monitoring of forests is fundamental to collect data and allow continuous monitoring of environmental variables, with the objective of identifying and evaluating natural resource conditions. As part of the Sustainable Forest Management component, this consultancy responds to a need identified by the Forestry Department of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. The expected result is the creation of a National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS), a tool associated with the geographic information system, which will enable the Forestry Department to monitor deforestation and degradation of forests, respond to aspects related to forest utilization, reforestation and cartography, as well as facilitating the technical and administrative processes related to the above-mentioned aspects. General Objectives The objective of the National Forestry Monitoring System (NMFS) is to provide the Government of São Tomé and Principe a tool for the sustainable management of the forests, based on a geographic database with different levels of access to users. The NMFS will support strategic decision making by systematic and repeated measurement and observation of forest resources and their management in order to supply the periodic delivery of valid, representative and relevant information on status and trends. | 
