Success from the Ground Up? Participatory Monitoring in Forest

RestorationManuel R. Guariguata and Kristen Evans

Forest and Landscape Restoration “Principle 8”

Participatory monitoring… should be designed to generate the

information necessary for stakeholders to collaboratively assess

and adapt their planned interventions to evolving needs,

objectives, opinions and circumstances.

“Restoration becomes a linking pin between global interests and local needs; between production and conservation goals”

“Monitoring is often the last thing planned and the first thing cut”

The challengeConnect global monitoring needs and

capacities with local ones

Meet global targetsCompare/share progress across regions/projects

Provide accountability to fundersRemote sensing

Track progress to local restoration goalsEnsure benefits and incentives for locals

Catalyze learning and adaptation Use locally appropriate technologies

LOCAL

GLOBAL

Participatorymonitoring

Local people monitor what remote sensing cannot…

With appropriate training and crosschecking — they can reliably

Collect data on forest change, drivers and threats Generate evidence to gauge biophysical and socioeconomic

impacts

“Disaggregating” monitoring

•

Category Primary data gatherers

Primary users of data

Externally driven, professionally executed

professional researchers professional researchers

Externally driven with local data collectors

professional researchers, local people

professional researchers

Collaborative monitoring with external data

interpretation

local people with professional researcher

advice

local people and professional researchers

Collaborative monitoring with local data interpretation

local people with professional researcher

advice

local people

Autonomous local monitoring

local people local people

Local involvement is necessary to build the foundation for long-term restoration success • Creates sense of ownership, buy-in and trust• Increases speed and effectiveness of local decision-making• Catalyzes social learning and adaptive management

Lessons learned from our review

Lessons learned Local monitors can provide reliable, accurate

monitoring data with appropriate training, motivation and cross-checking

Local monitoring can be cost effective but requires investment at the outset

Planning and implementing a local monitoring system is a slow process

Generating and maintaining local participation can be challenging

Proposed guidance for setting up a scalable,

multi-site participatory monitoring system

1. Set up a monitoring system and a mechanism to oversee it

2. Dedicate funds for participatory monitoring

3. Make the monitoring plans at the beginning

4. Set clear goals, objectives and targets collaboratively

5. Identify a small number of shared indicators with options for additional indicators

6. Pick locally appropriate technologies that collect data adequate for decision-making

7. Communicate monitoring results in a meaningful way

8. Involve women and marginalized groups

9. Encourage social learning

A multi-level, multi-site, participatory monitoring system?

Share, analyze, learn, adapt and improve

with multiple iterations

Local Pilot SitesIdentify local questions/indicators

Develop/test methodsDefine appropriate incentives

Determine costsShare lessons-learned

National SupportDevelop communications planIdentify monitoring capacity

Develop training capacityBuild national network

Institutionalize

Global NetworkIdentify global questions/indicators

Dedicate monitoring budgetPlan data sharing infrastructure

Identify remote sensing approachBuild partner networks

Implementation

Monitoring many dimensionsWhat does success “look” like?

At the landscape….

On paper…

To local people?