A Model Biodiversity Monitoring Protocol for REDD Projects

Abstract

Emerging international standards for Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) projects require a demonstrated biodiversity benefit and a biodiversity monitoring protocol. Guidance for an acceptable protocol is proposed specifically for tropical forests, focusing on technologies that are widely available, rigorous, and aimed at important indicator taxa for forest function. Two techniques, camera trapping for large and mesoscale mammals and acoustic monitoring for bats, are proposed as current technologies that meet the criteria for a model biodiversity monitoring protocol for REDD projects.Keywords: REDD; biodiversity monitoring; bats; climate change; deforestation ResumenRecientes estándares internacionales para proyectos de deforestación y degradación con emisiones reducidas (REDD, siglas en inglés), requieren tanto de un beneficio demostrable en biodiversidad como de un protocolo para su monitoreo. Algunas pautas para un protocolo aceptable son expuestas, específicamente para bosques tropicales, basadas en tecnologías ampliamente accesibles, rigurosas, y enfocadas en taxa indicadoras importantes para la función de los bosques. Se proponen la captura de imágenes de mamíferos medianos y grandes a través de cámaras instaladas en el bosque, y el monitoreo acústico de murciélagos, como técnicas actualizadas que cumplen con los criterios de un protocolo modelo de monitoreo de biodiversidad para proyectos de deforestación y degradación con emisiones reducidas (REDD).Palabras clave: REDD; monitoreo de biodiversidad; murciélagos, cambio climático; deforestación.

Toward an integrated monitoring framework to assess the effects of tropical forest degradation and recovery on carbon stocks and biodiversity

“…Waldon et al . () proposed a standardized protocol for monitoring biodiversity for REDD+ using camera trapping for large vertebrates and bioacoustics for bats. Camera traps have several advantages: they are cost‐effective over time; they can operate day and night (infrared), all year round, in nearly any landscape; batteries last for months; photos are automatically date/time stamped; and images can be linked to data analysis tools (Waldon et al ., ).…”

REALU vs. REDD+: Carbon and biodiversity in the Afromontane landscapes of SW Ethiopia

“…However, uniform international standard MRV methods for biodiversity under REDD+ have not been established yet (Ehara et al, 2013;Gardner et al, 2012;Roe et al, 2013;Waldon et al, 2011). The main reason is that so far no reliable single metric of biodiversity exists, unlike for carbon stocks where metric tons of carbon per hectare is commonly used (CBD, 2014;IPCC, 2006).…”

Automated Sound Recognition Provides Insights into the Behavioral Ecology of a Tropical Bird

“…In comparison with classical survey methods [7,8], automated acoustic surveillance has many advantages [9]. For example, automated acoustic monitoring (a) can be used for studying various taxonomic groups of sound-producing animals continuously and independently of the time of day [10–14]; (b) allows the detection of elusive, rare, and threatened species [15,16]; (c) facilitates temporary inventories and long-term monitoring studies [17–19]; (d) supports presence/absence surveys as well as the estimation of species richness [20], population density [19,21–24], and bird colony size [25]; (e) is suitable for virtually all terrestrial and aquatic habitats, including vast and remote areas and rough terrain [26–28]; (f) causes minimal disturbance to the surveyed animal communities and ecosystems [29]; and (g) provides a permanent record of detections that can be archived, disseminated, and re-assessed by peers [30]. Furthermore, sound recordings can be wirelessly transmitted via existing mobile communication infrastructure or custom-built networks [31] and analyzed remotely [18,32–36].…”