The National Forest and Pasture Inventory (NFPI) is an ongoing process designed to provide accurate information about the size, distribution, composition and condition of our forests, forest lands, pastures and changes in forest lands over time. It is essential for the development and monitoring of policies and guidelines that support sustainable forest management.

The purpose of the National Forest and Pasture Inventory of Albania is to provide the necessary information for the design of strategies and policies for the sustainable use and management of forests and pastures.
The IKPK does not provide data on operational forestry planning or medium-term management planning.
The National Forest and Pasture Inventory (NFPI) provides data only at the national level and not at the parcel or forest economy level.

The first IKPK was conducted in 1953, and was repeated in 1968 and 1985, these inventories being conducted at the parcel level with generations.
The subsequent National Forest and Pasture Inventories in our country, conducted in 2004 and 2021, are based on statistical methods that provide data at the national level and not at the parcel or plot level.

The National Forest and Pasture Inventory generates data on forests, such as:
• Land Cover Categories in Albania
• Pasture area in Albania
• Forest Fund according to the form of Management
• Forest Structure by Forest Types
• The Naturalness of Forests in Albania
• Forests according to their Function
• Forest area by Age Classes and Development Phases
• Forest composition and forest types
• The volume of living trees and the volume of dead trees (found in the forest standing or fallen);
• Forests as carbon sequesters;
• Forests by health status
• Forest area by ownership

• The area of ​​pastures in Albania (in our country)
• Division of Pastures according to Grazing Seasonality (summer or winter)
• Classification of Pastures according to Vegetation Cover Composition
• Division of Pastures according to the Method of Use
• Pasture Area by Ownership
• Species composition and structure of pastures

The National Forest Inventory Fieldwork Manual is a document that contains information and instructions about the methods and procedures followed when conducting fieldwork.
The fieldwork manual includes details on the methods used to make field measurements and assessments, the mandatory data to be recorded, the technologies used, and the tools used for this purpose.
The field works manual is important to ensure that field works are carried out in an effective and safe manner.
This manual provides clear guidelines and standards that help field personnel obtain data and perform measurements accurately and in accordance with appropriate standards and protocols.
The Fieldwork Manual contains definitions and procedures used for the implementation of the IKPK. The manual also includes the assessment of forest and grassland vegetation following the path developed by the FAO Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) programme. It is based on the experiences of a number of National Forest Inventories, unified under the European IKP network.

Open Foris (https://openforis.org/), is an open source program, developed/recommended by FAO, which is used for recording data collected and measurements performed in the field. The indicators measured according to the Field Work Manual in the test area groups (clusters), are recorded on the tablet in the open foris program. Then the collected data, measurements performed and recorded on the tablet, for the IKPK test area groups, are sent to the central server, from where they are downloaded for processing.

The National Forest and Pasture Inventory (NFPI) has a total of 1100 sample area groups (clusters), distributed throughout the country. In these sample area groups, data is collected for;
– Information about measured trees
– Information about the bushes
– Renewal information
– Informacion për prodhimet pyjore jo-drusore
– Informacion mbi kullotat

In addition to what is mentioned above, what makes the completion of the IKPK mandatory is the Forestry Law (57/2020), Article 6 of this law is cited;
"The national forest inventory collects and assesses data on the extent and condition of the national forest fund. It aims to assess spatial and temporal changes in the national forest fund, providing quantitative and qualitative data, through a continuous and cyclical process, enabling periodic updating of the data."

The full cycle of national forest re-inventory is 8 years, inventorying 25% of the forest fund every 2 years.

The Agency is responsible for designing the methodology, organizing and directing the work for the forest inventory at the national level.