Uncertainty in the goals and objectives of forest conservation undermines management effectiveness and creates uncertainty in the purpose and design of biodiversity monitoring programmes.

Many biodiversity monitoring programmes are essentially surveillance exercises that fail to deliver useful guidance for management because they are viewed as an end in themselves, and are not purposefully designed in the context of the wider management process.

Monitoring done badly can be worse than no monitoring at all as it carries the risk of generating unreliable knowledge, squandering limited resources and eroding credibility in the practical value and relevance of the entire monitoring process among both managers and scientists.

Limited resources mean that most monitoring programmes represent a trade-off between the quality of sample data and the need to ensure the long-term feasibility of the programmeme.

Inconsistency in terminology has presented a major challenge to efforts to communicate the purpose and objectives of biodiversity monitoring to both participants and end users.