The emergence of REDD+ has generated a plethora of data requirements for understanding and monitoring the dynamics of tropical forests regions, and also renewed demands to maximise the efficiency, effectiveness and equity of forest policy interventions. Community-based forest monitoring has the potential to contribute to these needs by complementing national forest monitoring systems and helping ensure the participation of local communities, while delivering a number of livelihood and conservation co-benefits. By drawing on empirical evidence from two pilot case studies in Guyana and Brazil, and from the broader body of evidence, this paper seeks to: (1) highlight the importance of community-based forest monitoring; and (2) discuss the barriers and opportunities for scaling up (i.e. integrating and replicating) these models as part of holistic, jurisdictional (national or sub-national), REDD+ frameworks.
