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The 'Essential Monitor’s Guide for Prairie Water Retention' is a technical guidebook published by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) in February 2024. It provides a framework for monitoring the water quantity and quality of water retention projects—natural infrastructure designed for flood and drought mitigation, water quality improvement, and biodiversity enhancement. The guide details the necessity of water and contaminant mass balances, recommends specific monitoring tools and equipment, and explains how to use rating curves and automated samplers to collect data in the challenging environments of the Canadian Prairies.

This executive summary evaluates the initial progress made one year after the September 2014 signing of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF). It introduces a monitoring framework to track ten specific objectives aimed at halting natural forest destruction by 2030 and restoring degraded lands. While the report notes new initiatives and commitments, it concludes that overall progress remains slow and requires further intervention.

This executive summary, published in November 2015 by Climate Focus and partners, establishes a monitoring framework and provides an initial assessment of the New York Declaration on Forests (NYDF). Signed in September 2014, the NYDF consists of ten goals aimed at reducing annual greenhouse gas emissions by 4.5-8.8 billion tonnes by 2030. The document reports that while new initiatives and commitments have emerged in the year following the declaration, overall progress remains slow.