Community-Based Monitoring of Tropical Forest Crimes and Forest Resources Using Information and Communication Technology – Experiences from Prey Lang, Cambodia

The Concept, Practice, Application, and Results of Locally Based Monitoring of the Environment

“…For community members, it is relevant to spend time and efforts on natural resource monitoring if it addresses critical collective or individual needs. Access to natural resources is often a core component in the lives, livelihoods, and survival of communities, and engagement in the resource management process is therefore key to them (Funder et al 2013 , Brofeldt et al 2018 ). Moreover, involvement in monitoring can enhance communal cohesion and provide a joint sense of purpose (Cundill and Fabricius 2010 , Brown et al 2012 ).…”

“…In these monitoring systems, scientists took the original initiative, but local stakeholders play a central role in asking questions, identifying priorities, and designing the systems, and they also collect, process, and interpret the data (Danielsen et al 2014d ). Examples are communities’ and rangers’ monitoring of resource use and wildlife (Brofeldt et al 2018 , Constantino 2020 ) and, in financially wealthy communities, monitoring by volunteer wardens at nature reserves and by amateur naturalists.…”

Creating Synergies between Citizen Science and Indigenous and Local Knowledge

“…This means that IPLC can use both scientific approaches to knowledge making, if they are perceived relevant, as well as their own local knowledge practices, and potentially weave together both approaches (Brofeldt et al 2018 , Cuyler et al 2020 ). In a general sense, representatives of IPLC can be both scientists and ILK practitioners and potentially move between the two roles.…”

The Use of Digital Platforms for Community-Based Monitoring

“…There is rapidly growing interest in community-based monitoring (CBM) of the environment (Conrad and Hilchey 2011 , Kouril et al 2016 , Brofeldt et al 2018 ), with many CBM programs initiated to equip communities with better information for community decision-making (Wilson et al 2018 ). CBM is “a process of routinely observing environmental or social phenomena, or both, that is led and undertaken by community members and can involve external collaboration and support of visiting researchers and government agencies” (Johnson et al 2015 ).…”

“…These terms refer to the system of sensors and digital infrastructures that capture, store, and share large amounts of continuously collected environmental data (Baker and Millerand 2007 ). Digital devices, especially smartphone enabled apps, contribute to the development of citizen sensing —the involvement of citizens in environmental sensing activities—as a growing subfield of citizen science (Goodchild 2007 , Newman et al 2012 , Arts et al 2015 , Cooper 2016 , Brenton et al 2018 , Brofeldt et al 2018 , Mazumdar et al 2019 ).…”