Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+) is a policy mechanism now agreed under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from developing countries through the sustainable management of forests, while providing co‐benefits of biodiversity conservation and livelihood support. Implementation challenges include linking remote sensing and national forest inventories of carbon stocks, to local implementation and measuring carbon loss from forest degradation. Community‐based forest monitoring can help overcome some of these challenges. We show that local people can collect forest condition data of comparable quality to trained scientists, at half the cost. We draw on our experience to propose how and where local REDD+ monitoring can be established. Empowering communities to own and monitor carbon stocks could provide a rapid and cost‐effective way of absorbing carbon dioxide emissions, while potentially contributing to local livelihoods and forest biodiversity conservation.

The rapid global growth of conservation schemes designed to incentivize local communities to conserve natural resources has placed new importance on biological monitoring to assess whether agreements and targets linked to payments are being met. To evaluate competence in natural resource monitoring, we compared data on status and trends collected independently by local-community members and trained scientists for 63 taxa and five types of resource use in 34 tropical forest sites across four countries over 2.5 years. We hypothesized that the results would vary according to differences in the education and value systems of the monitors. We found that, despite considerable differences in countries, cultures, and the types of natural resources monitored, the community members and the scientists produced similar results for the status of and trends in species and natural resources. Our findings highlight the potential value of locally based natural resource monitoring for conservation decisionmaking across developing countries.

Background: Medicinal plant species contribute significantly to folk medicine in Colombia. However, few local studies have investigated whether species used are introduced or native and whether there is a difference in importance of native and introduced medicinal plant species. The aim of the present study was to describe the use of medicinal plants within two municipalities, Campo Hermoso and Zetaquira, both in the department of Boyacá, Colombia and to assess the importance of native and introduced plants to healers, amateur healers and local people. As local healers including amateur healers have no history of introduced species our working hypotheses (H_1-2) were that H₁: native and introduced medicinal plant species are of equal importance and H₂: healers and amateur healers do not differentiate in their preferences between native and introduced medicinal plant species.Methods: Ten villages were included in the study. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used including questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, in- depth interviews, and open talks. Voucher specimens were collected in home gardens and during field walks. For data analysis, we calculated use value indices and Jaccard index and tested for the above hypothesis using Spearman rank-correlation coefficients and Wilcoxon-Mann–Whitney tests.Results: Eighty medicinal plant species were described by locals as the most frequently used. Of these, 78 species were taxonomically identified, distributed within 41 families and 74 genera, which included 35 native species and 43 introduced. The highest valued families were: Asteraceae, Lamiaceae, Apiaceae, Rutaceae and Verbenaceae. The species ranked highest according to their Use Values, in both municipalities, wereMentha suaveolensEhrh.,Ambrosia cumanensisKunth, andVerbena littoralisKunth. Introduced species were more important than native ones in Zetaquira, while there was no difference in importance in Campo Hermoso. While healers relied most on the uses of native species, amateur healers were inclined to rely on introduced species. Medicinal plant administration in both municipalities follow the usual pattern: Leaves are used most commonly prepared by decoction or infusion and administrated orally.Conclusions: The high proportion of introduced plant species used in the local traditional medicines is similar to the results of a number of other ethnobotanical studies and emphasise the need for efforts to record and maintain traditional knowledge on native species.

Plukenetia volubilis (Euphorbiaceae) is an underutilized oilseed crop native to the Amazon basin, where it has been utilized by humans since Incan times. The large seeds contain approximately 45–50% lipid, of which approximately 35.2–50.8% is α-linolenic acid (C18:3 n-3, ω-3) and approximately 33.4–41.0% is linoleic acid (C18:2 n-6, ω-6), the two essential fatty acids required by humans. The seeds also contain 22–30% protein and have antioxidant properties. Due to its excellent nutritional composition and good agronomic properties, it has attracted increasing attention in recent years, and cultivation is expanding. When considering current global challenges, a reformation of our food systems is imperative in order to ensure food security, mitigation of climate change, and alleviation of malnutrition. For this purpose, underutilized crops may be essential tools which can provide agricultural hardiness, a reduced need for external inputs, climate resilience, diet diversification, and improved income opportunities for smallholders. Plukenetia volubilis is a promising up and coming crop in this regard and has considerable potential for further domestication; it has an exceptional oil composition, good sensory acceptability, is well suited for cultivation, and has numerous potential applications in, e.g., gastronomy, medicine, and cosmetics.