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International audience; Most biological invasion literature-including syntheses and meta-analyses and the resulting theory-is reported from temperate regions, drawing only minimally from the tropics except for some island systems. The lack of attention to invasions in the tropics results from and reinforces the assumption that tropical ecosystems, and especially the continental tropics, are more resistant to invasions. We have critically assessed biological invasions in the tropics and compared them with temperate regions, finding relatively weak evidence that tropical and temperate regions differ in their invasibility and in the traits that determine invader success and impacts. Propagule pressure and the traits that promote adaptation to disturbances (e.g., high fecundity or fast growth rates) are generally favorable to invasions in both tropical and temperate regions. We emphasize the urgent need for greater investment and regional cooperation in the study, prevention, and management of biological invasions in the tropics.

Changes in social and ecological systems can be economic, political or environmental. Assessing and monitoring these changes can lead to better-informed decisions regarding land management and strategies to adapt to those changes. Yet measuring multiple changes can be challenging because of the costs, requirements for multidisciplinary skills and local knowledge, and repetitiveness of the measurements. Participatory monitoring with local people is potentially powerful for reducing costs, by engaging local people who are highly knowledgeable, have close links with the environment being monitored, and live nearby. They can provide grounded information on changes and drivers of changes in their forest. Their presence in or near forested landscape makes them the ideal people to describe what is happening, for what reasons, and to identify threats. Second, their capacity to measure and report changes in forest cover to national levels can be built through training. They can use the results of their measurements to negotiate and take part in decisions related to changes in carbon stock at the local level. To address these challenges, our research looks at the conditions under which local participation in measuring changes can be feasible. Our study asks: What do local people know about the changes in their forested landscapes and other natural resources? In the context of those changes, what control do local communities have on their territory? What are their interest, skills, and availability for participating in monitoring? We focus on one specific topic, forest MRV (Measuring, Reporting, Verifying), and compare the conditions of participation of local people in measurement and reporting of changes in forest cover and quality. Our objective is to find ways to adapt the MRV methods to each local situation, to make it effective, efficient, and sustainable. In this conference we will share preliminary results from case studies in three provinces in Indonesia (Papua, West Kalimantan, and Central Java). (Texte integral)

This research is a collaboration between Conservation International (CI) Indonesia, the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), and the Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD) with funding from Agence Française pour le Développement (AFD) and has been implemented for two years since May 2010. The fieldwork was conducted in 6 villages in the jurisdiction of Mamberamo Raya Regency namely Burmeso, Yoke, Kwerba, Metaweja, and Papasena 1 and 2. Mamberamo was chosen because its 8 million hectare watershed contains a high level of biodiversity and a large number of plant and animal species endemic to Papua. It is also a designated low carbon development area. The research objective was to support the formulation of the land use plan through a participatory approach, taking into consideration local developmental needs as well as forest conservation. The methods used comprised interviews with key resource persons (village head, customary and clan leaders), focus group discussions (FGD), household and demographic surveys, participatory mapping and ground checks. Data was analyzed using SPSS, ArcGIS and Max QDA. The research objective also included developing current and future land use maps based on the perceptions of the local communities in the six research villages. However, information contained in the maps - especially related to village boundaries - needs to be corroborated with neighboring villages not included in the research. In addition to the maps, this research also provides information on the background of local communities (history of the villages, population, number of clansand groups, etc.) including the local perspectives on changes occurring in Mamberamo. We document how local perceptions compare with 10 years ago, what the local livelihoods are and how important the forest and natural resources are for fulfilling local people's needs. We also tried to understand how the local people guard and manage their natural resources and their territories, what activities and events endanger the forest and their livelihoods and how they cope with these perceived threats. Villagers have a diverse perspective on forest and natural resources including forest dynamics that are important for their livelihoods. Despite this diversity, all six villages agreed that forest is vital for their livelihoods. In Burmeso, to give an example, the villagers' perceptions are largely influenced by ongoing changes in-line with the development of a regency administrative capital. A comprehensive view of all six research sites has been summarized and compared with the perspectives of the local government authorities, i.e., the Public Services Units working on the regency's development planning. We would like to synergize and link ideas from the local government (Pemerintah Daerah, or Pemda) on land use planning with local community perceptions of the forest, natural resources, and traditional land use. We expect that the result of the discussions and negotiations between local government and local communities can be used for further development projects that would look at the financial, social, and ecological feasibility of a proposal related to infrastructure development (i.e., access to isolated villages). These issues were discussed in more detail during the final project workshop in Kasonaweja and could be discussed further with potential donors (AFD, USAID, Norway government).