RESOURCE EXTRACTION MONITORING

Monitoring resources, pioneering tools to strengthen enforcement and green practices

Video credit: James Morgan

Few Words About Us

Sustainability through innovation: We monitor environmental resources and pioneer green tools to make sustainability economically viable for businesses. Resource Extraction Monitoring (REM) is a non-profit organisation founded in 2003. We work with governments, civil society, donors and private sector to document illegalities but also to understand underlying governance problems and identify innovative solutions. Our approach is primarily field based to truly understand the nature of complex environmental problems.

Seeking solutions?

Man Bridge
2018 - 2023

Monitoring and Traceability for Cocoa - Forests - Charcoal

OTP
2015 - 2025

Open Timber Portal

REM works with WRI and Congo Basin Independent Forest Monitors to help produce more actionable data on illegal logging. This data can in turn help EUTR actors, including timber buyers, reduce their risks

Ivory Coast monitoring

FORESTS

REM's main area of work to date...

Two elephants holding tusks

WILDLIFE

Applying the REM monitoring approach to Wildlife

Shrimp fishing boat with nets out

FISHERIES

Pilot monitoring of fisheries in Sri Lanka

Power plant chimneys pumping out smoke

POLLUTION

Transfer of monitoring techniques to pollution issues

An NGO with a difference

What makes REM unique is that we specialise in independent government-mandated monitoring. Put simply, we investigate illegal activity in collaboration with government while maintaining our independence. With a mandate we are able to access information and places off-limits to most NGOs and thus carry out more in-depth investigations.

Our top priority is producing accurate, explicit and applicable information and systems to help solve environmental governance problems.

REM is not a lobbying organisation and has no political agenda, but we are proactive in our work. Transparency is not our final objective, it is only the start. After documenting illegalities, we follow cases through administrative and judicial systems. Where enforcement is weak, we work with government to identify and implement tailored solutions. Strengthening local civil society capacity is central to our approach to build effective long-term monitoring, particularly in countries with high biodiversity and low governance capacity.

Field monitoring

Solutions applied

1 Prise de pts GPS james cyrille haute sanaga, centre AEB 1828 mvongo ndé (3)

Global Impact

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INDUSTRIES

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COUNTRIES

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INVESTIGATIONS

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GOVERNANCE ISSUES ID'ed

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INFRACTIONS EVIDENCED

Our Results

Over 2000 forest infractions for 8 countries entered in Open Transparency Portal Database

REM entered over 2000 forest infractions documented by REM and monitors in WRI’s Open Transparency Portal.

March 2018

National monitors trained in 11 countries

REM trained over 15 years the 3 organisations currently leading IFM in the Congo basin, and over 20 IFMs in…

March 2018

152 forest investigation reports

REM wrote 152 forest reports providing evidence following joint investigations in all major forest titles in the Congo Basin with…

March 2018

Over 100 environmental enforcement officials trained in 3 countries

REM provided on-the-job investigation and legal training to forest law enforcement officials over 15 years.

March 2018

Evidence provided for €7.8 million of taxes unpaid

In a single year, REM documented €7.8 million of taxes (felling and area including debts) not paid in the Republic…

February 2014

Evidence provided for € 2.2 million worth of illegal timber

In the Republic of Congo, some of the severe infractions REM documented included illegal logging valued at € 2.2 million

December 2015