With training, local communities can accurately and cost-effectively measure forest carbon
Provided two to three days of training, forest communities can accurately and cost-effectively measure biomass and other data needed to assess REDD+ projects, finds a new study published in the journal Ecology and Society, mongabay.com reported.
The research was conducted with communities living in lowland rainforest in Indonesia, mountain forest in China and monsoon forest in Laos and Vietnam. It found that local communities using simple tools can gather forest carbon data "on par" with professional foresters using advanced, high-tech gear.
The study also argued that community forest monitoring is cheaper than professional monitoring in the long-term.
"We're convinced that engaging communities is ultimately the most cost-effective approach,” said Subekti Rahayu, an analyst at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) who was one of 22 researchers involved in the study. "The small extra cost would be largely offset by its benefits to both local people—who would earn wages and gain training from these activities—and larger global efforts to address climate change."
The research suggests that forest monitoring could be a key way to involve local people in REDD+ projects that aim to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
"Saving the world’s forests requires us to close the massive gulf between international promises and realities on the ground,” said Finn Danielsen, the study’s lead author and senior ecologist at the Nordic Foundation for Environment and Development in Copenhagen, Denmark. “Our research shows that if more REDD+ projects were to include community monitoring, we would see a more just global effort to fight climate change that meaningfully incorporates insight from people who depend on forests for everything from their incomes to their food—and are eager to protect these precious natural resources as a result."
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