Community based forest monitoring improves decision-making

Organisation: Global Canopy Programme (GCP)

These projects among forest communities in North Rupununi, Guyana and in Acre, Brazil helped to inform the development of Forestcompass.org - an online knowledge-sharing platform that brings together experiences (22 original case studies from 19 countries) and hundreds of resources on community-based forest monitoring.

It provided the basis for engaging governments and community civil society practitioners globally to advance best practice, build technical capacity and accelerate its uptake in different forest policy frameworks.

The projects in Guyana and Brazil have shaped resource management decisions among communities - for example, by establishing measures to limit the use of non-traditional fishing and hunting methods that put pressure on fauna.

In addition, the results also generated an improved understanding about social-environmental changes in the communities, and provided a basis for negotiating and improving REDD+ policy development for their territories.

The findings highlighted the need to include ground data as part of governmental monitoring systems. For example, data collected by community members showed low participation rates by local commumities in key Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes. Results also helped identify illegal activities in the region and clarify local land use dynamics and forest cover change.

The model developed by this project has been replicated with other communities in Guyana, Brazil and DRC through a community-tocommunity training programme and through different technical workshops (Forest COMPASS, 2015). Forest COMPASS has also actively engaged and advocated for governments to implement community monitoring as a component of their REDD+ strategy, holding several high profile events at COP20, COP21 of the UNFCCC and the World Forest Congress XIV.

Why

Communities manage and/or own nearly a quarter of tropical forests and it is essential that they are empowered to engage in policy interventions such as REDD+. The project is aimed at ensuring the full and effective participation of indigenous peoples and local communities (Cancun Agreements, Decision 1/CP.16) in decisions that affect the forests they live in.

How the result was achieved

The project was developed collaboratively with communities, with the aim of balancing local and external monitoring needs, agreeing data sharing protocols and management processes.

Over 80 community members were selected from 16 Makushi and Wapishana villages in North Rupununi, Guyana, and from the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Acre State, Brazil to participate in a training programme on data collection and analysis, technology (smartphones), and interview and communication techniques.

This capacity allowed local communities to independently monitor socio-environmental indicators, such as access to health and education services, the presence of conflicts over land or resources, the perceived effectiveness of a policy, or local drivers of deforestation, that could inform both local village leaders and government decision making.

Using hand-held technology allowed monitors to collect a variety of information (e.g. photos, audio, GPS location) in a much faster and accurate way. Over 12,000 forms, from an estimated 1320 households, were collected across both project sites. This information has been key in establishing a solid baseline to evaluate the implementation of forest policies and safeguard adherence over time.