The 'why', 'what' and 'how' of monitoring for conservation

Summary: This chapter offers a path through the rapidly expanding literature on monitoring in the context of conservation. It illustrates the importance of having a clearly articulated reason to monitor, discusses questions of what to monitor, and describes how analytical and technical advances are changing the landscape of conservation monitoring. It also stress that professional ecologists should not necessarily have a monopoly and that many types of monitoring can benefit enormously from the involvement of non-professionals. To make sure monitoring programmes get the 'why', 'what' and 'how' right requires close collaboration between those with a clear idea of what is needed (whether these are decision makers at the local, national or global scale) and conservation scientists (who can provide the technical and practical skills required). Such collaboration is essential if investment of valuable conservation resources in monitoring is to provide the maximum possible conservation benefit.