FCMC contributes to Workshop in Ecuador on Community-based Forest Monitoring
The focus of the workshop was community-based forest monitoring, with special emphasis on applications for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) systems for REDD+. The workshop was hosted by SilvaCarbon and the Ministry of the Environment, Ecuador (MAE), with support from FCMC, GEO GFOI, Rainforest Alliance, the Consortium for Sustainable Development in the Andes (Condesan) and other partners.
The involvement of communities in monitoring and reporting for REDD+ has been encouraged by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), but the exact role communities play in national REDD+ MRV systems remains unclear. The primary objective of this workshop was to share experiences and lessons learned from a variety of community-based forest monitoring projects and initiatives, especially showcasing Ecuador’s SocioBosque program, through which communities receive payments for conservation of forests and biodiversity from the Government of Ecuador. The location of the workshop in Tena was chosen to allow for a visit with a local community of Wamani indigenous people that participates in the SocioBosque program, and demonstrate a variety of community forest monitoring tools and techniques.
During the workshop, several presentations were made on case studies of community-based forest monitoring, including field demonstrations of biomass measurement, forest monitoring techniques, early-warning alerts on deforestation, and new technologies such as Android tablets/smartphones and drone aircraft monitoring of small forest stands. The final day of the workshop was dedicated to discussion groups during which the country representatives discussed the roles for communities in national MRV systems, the importance of consulting with communities while designing MRV systems, and safeguards. The workshop was attended by representatives from the Ministry of the Environment in Ecuador, UN-REDD in Ecuador, the Peruvian Ministry of Environment (MINAM), Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MADS), and the Institute of Hydrology, Meteorology and Environmental Studies (IDEAM) from Colombia, Mexico's Forest Service (CONAFOR), and M-REDD from Mexico. Rishi Das, Senior Analyst on MRV for FCMC and Kemen Austin from World Resources Institute (WRI) made presentations and participated in discussions and field activities during the workshop.
