ForestLink Community-Based Real-Time Monitoring System, Congo Basin

Congo Basin countries have demonstrated for over 20 years that civil society independent monitoring of logging, agribusiness and mining operations can play a key role in meeting government commitments to curbing illegal practices, respecting community rights, and ensuring delivery of social obligations and payment of tax revenues. Independent monitoring faces many challenges, notably ensuring that information is transmitted in ‘real time’ from rural areas as illegalities occur and that these field reports are accurate, evidence-based and readily actionable by government control agencies.

TLLG is working with Rainforest Foundation UK and civil society partners in Cameroon, Ghana, DRC and the Republic of Congo to review the implementation of ForestLink Real Time Monitoring tool, a smartphone-based app used by trained community monitors to transmit SMS and internet alerts on illegalities. Through stakeholder engagement and assessment of governance and resourcing arrangements, TLLG is supporting the handover of the tool to national civil society monitoring networks and its institutionalisation in forest control agency processes, in the context of ongoing Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Voluntary Partnership Agreement processes and related legality and rights instruments.

ForestLink Real-Time Monitoring training event in Imbonga, DRC. © Rainforest Foundation UK

Client: Rainforest Foundation UK

Duration: May 2020 - October 2020