Tropical deforestation and forest degradation monitoring is one of the central
elements for REDD+ implementation. Current schemes for monitoring are based on remote
sensing and field measurements. Since monitoring is a periodic process of assessing the
properties of forest stands with respect to some reference data, adopting the current
schemes for implementing monitoring at national levels is a challenging task. Recently, the
advancement in Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) and handheld
devices has enabled local communities to monitor their forest in an efficient and cost
effective way. In this paper we present a conceptual framework and process that aims to
simplify the forest monitoring capacities of local communities in developing countries.