This paper reviews research which has investigated community skills for carbon (and other natural resource) monitoring. The assessment focuses on the reliability of the data, the cost of community monitoring (CM) versus expert surveys, and the broader benefits and challenges of involving communities in the process. We identify the tasks considered necessary for carbon monitoring inventories. The review finds that CM is useful and cost-effective for REDD+ carbon monitoring. In particular, forest inventories communities can provide forest enhancement data unobtainable by other means at the scale required. CM is particularly helpful in assessing rates of forest degradation, and would densify a national forest inventory in community management areas. We conclude that communities can assess above ground biomass, monitor social and environmental variables, and store and transmit the data.
