At the heart of REDD+: a role for local people in monitoring forests?
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Date
2011
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Abstract
Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing
Countries (REDD+) is a policy mechanism now agreed under the United Na-
tions Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It aims to reduce
carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries through the sustainable
management of forests, while providing co-benefits of biodiversity conserva-
tion and livelihood support. Implementation challenges include linking remote
sensing and national forest inventories of carbon stocks, to local implementa-
tion and measuring carbon loss from forest degradation. Community-based
forest monitoring can help overcome some of these challenges. We show that
local people can collect forest condition data of comparable quality to trained
scientists, at half the cost. We draw on our experience to propose how and
where local REDD+ monitoring can be established. Empowering communities
to own and monitor carbon stocks could provide a rapid and cost-effective way
of absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, while potentially contributing to local
livelihoods and forest biodiversity conservation.
Description
Keywords
REDD, Climate change, Forest degradation, Locally based monitoring, Governance, Community-based management, Co-benefits