Supporting EUDR compliance with Whisp

May 13, 2024 — While a wide range of satellite-derived forest, land-use and tree cover maps are available publicly, these products often show substantial differences due to the varying definitions and land-cover classification systems they use. This means that no single definitive source of geospatial data can tell the whole story around any given plot of land.

This is why the Forest Data Partnership (FDaP) and the AIM4Forests Programme promote a convergence of evidence approach. Rather than relying on a single data set, stakeholders use multiple data sets together to capture nuanced information on a specific plot of land. These various data sets contribute to understanding what has most probably occurred at that location, reducing the impact of biases or errors present in any single piece of evidence.

To implement the convergence of evidence approach, FDaP and AIM4Forests have developed an innovative solution called “Whisp,” which stands for “What is in that plot?”. Whisp is an open-source API that can help to produce relevant forest monitoring information and support the due diligence process required under the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). Whisp applies the convergence of evidence approach to produce geospatial analysis that provides insight on what various data sets suggest is contained in any given plot of land as of the EUDR cut-off date of December 31, 2020. Each data set is chosen for its relevance to informing land use.

Whisp can be used by anyone who wants to produce land-cover information on given plots of land, including operators, third-party verifiers, and government authorities in producer and consumer countries. It is easy to use even for those with no geospatial knowledge, thereby enabling smallholder farmers to produce their own monitoring data with just a few clicks on their mobile devices.

Rémi d'Annunzio, Forest Officer and Forest Data Partnership Science and Data Lead at the Food & Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), presented Whisp at a recent event hosted by the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA), an association of stakeholders from the public and private sectors and civil society. During this event, Remi showcased how Whisp contributes to compliance with the EUDR and conducted a demo of the product.

You can watch the full recording of the event and Whisp demo here. To provide your views on what would be essential to have in Whisp to support deforestation risk assessments, please take this survey. It only takes five minutes to complete and does not require you to have watched the demo or have any prior experience with Whisp.