On 22 January 2026, ESA World Forest had a first convening of the project Advisory Board comprising members from the EUs Joint Research Centre-Land & Climate Unit (JRC), the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Global Forest Observations Initiative (GFOI) Secretariat, the Food and Agriculture Organisation and a visiting scientist from the MIT Media Lab. The main objective of the Advisory Board is to provide an independent, non-executive technical guidance to ESA and the project. During the meeting, the Consortium presented the current status of the Use Cases for the Early Adopters, as well as the tools and products planned for delivery. A lively discussion followed with Advisory Board members asking questions and providing initial guidance on both the Use Cases as well as tools to be provided.
An example of an important point discussed was the potential of further federate the tools though FAO. ESA has a Memorandum of Understanding with FAO, and within Word Forest there could be an objective to ensure compatibility with SEPAL. FAO noted that this may now be easier to implement, given the possibility to running code through a graphical user interface (GUI) within SEPAL, which could facilitate access for government institutions with more limited experience in executing code directly.
The Consortium look forward for holding regular meetings with the Advisory Board to receive continued guidance and technical input, and to jointly identify challenges and opportunities moving forward.