Forests provide a number of ecosystem services, which REDD+ activities including afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration have the potential to promote. On the other hand, REDD+ could be detrimental to biodiversity and ecosystem services if locations are poorly chosen or management poorly planned. Whilst some responses to management can be estimated based on ecological principles, to assess actual changes in the delivery of ecosystem services, monitoring is essential.

This report summarises the steps needed to design a system to assess and monitor change in ecosystem services resulting from afforestation, reforestation and forest restoration projects or programs. Design of a monitoring scheme involves identifying how the results will be used, selecting appropriate indicators, defining a methodology for obtaining data and calculating indicators, and deciding how frequently monitoring will be undertaken.