Biodiversity can best be conserved when local people are motivated to do so. There is an urgent need for effective, community-based conservation frameworks to safeguard biodiversity. Our goal was to develop a major participatory monitoring program in 17 Protected Areas (PAs) of the Brazilian Amazon in partnership with the Brazilian Agency for Biodiversity Conservation - ICMBio. A five-step framework for the monitoring program is implemented: Articulation and Mobilization; Participatory construction of protocols; Capacity-building of local biodiversity monitors; Data collection; Collective construction of knowledge. Since 2013, 2,201 people were engaged in the project activities, 561 participated on local biodiversity monitor capacity-building. Community-based conservation is a promising idea, deeply rooted in participation. The application of the proposed framework will lead to an enhancement of biodiversity knowledge and local participation in management and conservation of the Amazon
