Abstract
There have been many calls for community participation in MRV (measuring, reporting, verification) for REDD+. This paper examines whether community involvement in MRV is a requirement, why it appears desirable to REDD+ agencies and external actors, and under what conditions communities might be interested in participating. It asks What’s in it for communities? What might communities gain from such an involvement? What could they lose? It embraces a broader approach which we call community MMM which involves mapping, measuring and monitoring of forest and other natural resources for issues which are of interest to the community itself. We focus on cases in México because the country has an unusually high proportion of forests under community communal ownership. In particular, we refer to a recent REDD+ initiative—CONAFOR-LAIF, in which local communities select and approve local people to participate in community-based monitoring activities. From these local initiatives we identify the specific and the general drivers for communities to be involved in mapping, measuring and monitoring of their own territories and their natural resources. We present evidence that communities are more interested in this wider approach than in a narrow focus on carbon monitoring. Finally we review what the challenges to reconciling MMM with MRV requirements are likely to be.
Highlights
The initial methodology employed is the review of literature on community participation principles and experiences in, not just REDD+ forest carbon projects, but, natural resource management in general
The second methodology is an assessment of community responses in a pilot REDD+ programme in Mexico that has been implemented by CONAFOR (Comisión Nacional Forestal— National Forestry Commission) in four communities in western Jalisco state
Monitoring biomass carbon stock changes implies dealing with an invisible product not directly linked to traditional culture or local indigenous knowledge, it is tough work in the field, a very high level of precision is demanded, there is a time delay of several years before seeing useful results in the REDD+ framework, and essentially, it provides scant incentives and less fun for the keen youth who energetically monitor the presence of jaguars or rare plants
Summary
The initial methodology employed is the review of literature on community participation principles and experiences in, not just REDD+ forest carbon projects, but, natural resource management in general. We observed and investigated the communities’ initiatives and reactions to the REDD+ programme, and in particular their stated, observed and derived rationales for local monitoring and measuring, and sometimes mapping (MMM). We have included findings and observations from other fieldwork areas in Mexico about communities’ own interests in observing and monitoring their resources and territories. From a qualitative analysis of these grounded findings and consideration of the literature, we identify five challenges to reconciling communities’ desires for doing MMM, with REDD+ interests in MRV. We first examine the motives of external actors to support and encourage community monitoring for REDD+ MRV, before moving to an analysis of what communities themselves are seeking and employing in their community-based MMM
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