CommFor

Initiative on the Forest Economy

About this app

Effective governance of forests and communities requires accurate, inclusive, and accessible data—yet collecting such data in remote landscapes is often limited by cost, technology, and lack of local involvement. CommFor bridges this gap by enabling communities to collect, analyze, and visualize high-resolution data using just a smartphone.

Designed for offline use and multilingual access, CommFor empowers users to map forest boundaries, identify tree species using image recognition, estimate carbon storage, and document water bodies, income levels, and livelihood patterns. It also includes a discussion forum to foster peer learning and collaborative problem-solving.

By democratizing data collection and analysis, CommFor shifts forest governance from a top-down model to a participatory, bottom-up approach. The platform aligns local insights with global sustainability goals—supporting informed decision-making on forest health, climate resilience, and community development.

Key Objectives:

Enable widespread, smartphone-based data collection in forest communities

Use advanced tools to generate high-resolution estimates on biodiversity, carbon, and livelihoods

Support community-specific reports and visual maps to guide planning and policy