About Reforestation Commons

Reforestation Commons mission is to enhance community-driven tropical forest conservation and restoration programs with technology and information for monitoring, review and verification (MRV), and ground data to platform integration. We provide training and accompaniment in the use of mapping platforms, drones, and data collection tools to indigenous peoples and local communities/organizations. The kit of tools are low-cost and do not require previous GIS experience. These tools help communities plan, document, analyze, and communicate their activities. We also design systems to create greater transparency in forest landscape restoration and conservation impact for funders/investors and implementers alike.

Services Reforestation Commons Provides

• Direct support to help communities/organizations design MRV and mapping platforms tailored to their activities, reporting and communication objectives
• Facilite network-building and partnerships with donors, climate change financing mechanisms and markets that can be enhanced by data collection and sharing
• Support forest landscape conservation and restoration funders and investors design of transparency in project implementation and impact measurement

About Tom Bewick, Founder

Tom Bewick is an international tropical forest conservation specialist with over 20 years of experience in Africa, Asia and especially Latin America. Tom has worked directly with indigenous peoples and local communities to help build skills in land management systems, the use of technologies, fundraising and network building and strengthening. Tom has managed programs large and small in dozens of contexts, and is experienced navigating challenges on the community level in the Amazon rainforest, as well as in design and investment strategies as a regional director

Tom has worked with hundreds of indigenous and forest communities in South America, Africa, and SE Asia to accomplish reforestation goals through community outreach, capacity building, program management, and program evaluation. Tom Bewick is fluent in Spanish and GIS, has an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham, a Master's in Education from Fordham University, and a BA in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Tom has also designed academic studies, organized international conferences,

Tom Bewick founded Reforestation Commons in 2022 to provide expertise and direct technology support to organizations implementing forest landscape restoration. The technology and information to guide us in investing in and implementing restoration or conservation activities exists, but too often is it not in the hands of front-line stakeholders--specifically indigenous peoples and local communities. At the same time, investors and donors lack real-time information on the progress or metrics of their support or investment. Reforestation Commons is designed to help bridge this gap.