As global forest and climate experts gather at the Oslo REDD Exchange 2013 to ramp¹ up（斜升，加强） international efforts to protect carbon-storing forests in the developing world, a recent study by researchers at the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and European and Southeast Asian institutions finds that local communities -- using simple tools like ropes and sticks -- can produce forest carbon data on par² with（与……同等水平） results by professional foresters using high-tech³ devices. At the same time, the study found that nearly half of official REDD+ (Reducing Emissions⁴ from Deforestation and Forest Degradation⁵) projects, which pivot⁶ on（依据） the accurate measurement of carbon trapped in forests, do not engage communities in this data gathering⁷, despite assertions by the United Nations that these projects must ensure communities' "full and effective participation⁸." The authors of the paper -- the first-ever quantitative⁹ study of REDD+ community participation -- argue that locally-gathered data is not only accurate but also more legitimate¹⁰ and cost-effective in the long run. It also improves trust in REDD+ among local communities.

 

"Saving the world's forests requires us to close the massive gulf¹¹ 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."

 

The study -- Community Monitoring for REDD+: International Promises and Field Realities -- was authored by 22 scientists and was based on a study conducted in Southeast Asia's most complex, carbon-rich forests: lowland forest in Indonesia, mountain rain forest in China and monsoon¹² forest in Laos and Vietnam. It was published in a special issue of the journal Ecology and Society. The study is part of the EU-funded project Impacts of Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and Enhancing Carbon Stocks (I-REDD+).

 

To determine if communities can provide accurate monitoring of above-ground forest-carbon stocks, researchers trained community members in simple measuring tactics and sent them to 289 pre-selected forest plots to measure the number of trees, tree girth and biomass per hectare. Researchers then compared their measurements to those gathered by professional foresters using handheld computers.

 

The results showed strikingly similar results between community members and professional foresters across countries and forest types. This corroborates¹³（证实） a small but growing body of research suggesting that, when armed with the simplest of techniques and equipment, community members with limited education can accurately¹⁴ monitor forest biomass -- previously¹⁵ thought to be the domain¹⁶ of highly-trained professionals. The authors also state that data gathered by communities meet the high standards of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC).

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