Environ. Sci. Policy 19–20, 33–48 (2012)

Countries active under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD+) scheme need to report changes in forest carbon stock. Yet many of them lack the capacity to implement a national monitoring system.

Erika Romijn, of Wageningen University, The Netherlands, and colleagues integrated different global data sources to assess the status and development of national monitoring capacities between 2005 and 2010 in 99 developing countries. They combined four indicators — national engagement in the REDD+ process, existing monitoring capacities, country-specific challenges with REDD+ monitoring and technical challenges for the use of remote sensing — to calculate the capacity gap. They found large capacity gaps in 49 countries, mostly in Africa, and small capacity gaps in only China, India, Mexico and Argentina, where forest area is increasing.

The researchers emphasize the need to design REDD+ monitoring systems and capacity building efforts based on the specific REDD+ characteristics and circumstances of each country. They suggest that countries with good existing capacities could have an important role in south–south cooperation.