Effective communication

Communication played a key role in the success of this project. KWCA held a number of virtual meetings from the planning stages to the assessment stage. The choice for virtual meetings was necessitated by the covid-19 pandemic and the associated government measures to control its spread including  country lock down thereby disrupting mobility and physical meetings. Some of the virtual calls included planning meetings, inception meeting with the conservancy members to enhance a shared understanding of the project scope and manage stakeholder expectation. Virtual meetings were also held to create awareness of SAGE to the key stakeholders, and to also collaboratively map out the conservancy stakeholders.

The lead consultant, with support from the assistant facilitators, spearheaded the translation of the SAGE principles and questions to the local language for wider uptake especially by the stakeholders who were only proficient in the local language.

  • Translation of the tool to the local language made it possible for wider participation
  • Recruitment of assistant facilitators from the local communities and who were proficient in the local languages provided opportunities for productive participation by the stakeholders especially conservancy members.
  • Translation of the tool to the local language made it possible for wider participation 
  • Effective communication is key in fostering a shared understanding of the project scope, as well as ensuring successful project implementation 
  • The use of local language is an effective strategy  to ensure comprehensive local participation and buy-in,  especially when the target audiences are only proficient in local languages. 
Building relations and trust with local actors

Issues of poisoning are sometimes sensitive and people might be reluctant to share much-needed information. To gain their trust, the implementer approached the local government authority and signed a Memorandum of Understanding which enables us to work in the area. Another engagement meeting was done with the local leadership (chiefs, headman) to discuss our intention in the area as a conservation organization. These steps increased our transparency as an honest organization. Building on these strong relations and trust with local communities is essential to ensure that they share such information.

Time and the human capacity for repeated visits to spend time in the communities to build long-standing relationships of trust over time were enabling factors.

Long-term investments with communities are needed, taking into recognition that they have different cultural and social issues happening in the communities. Effective communication is essential to build the trust of the local communities.

Stakeholder engagement

The SAGE Assessment is a participatory process involving all the key stakeholders of the conservancy.  Identification of stakeholders was carried out at the planning phase of the assessment. This stakeholder mapping was spearheaded by the SAGE consultant and involved Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA landscape level Association working within Tsavo Landscape) and Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (KWCA Landscape level Association working within Amboseli Landscape). The following stakeholder groups were identified and invited for the assessment workshops: Conservancy management, Conservancy Investors, Youth, Men, Women and Board.  The  assessments were attended by a total of 99 participants.

Each assessment was followed by a synthesis workshop where each group selected two to three representatives to attend the synthesis workshop. The findings of the assessment workshops were presented at the synthesis workshop and ideas for action were discussed. A total of 46 stakeholders from two conservancies attended the synthesis workshop.

The engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the SAGE ensures that stakeholders are all heard and invested in the actions that they collectively decide on. 

 

  • The collaborative identification of the stakeholders made it possible to exhaustively map all the key stakeholders
  • Clustering of stakeholders according to common interest created safe spaces for all (especially women and youth) to openly  and productively  dialogue on the governance status of the conservancies
  • The self-assessment character of SAGE tool fostered community ownership of the process and the identified actions for implementation
  • Effective stakeholders engagement plays a key role in ensuring shared understanding of  project scope as well as  fostering a collaborative approach to project implementation
  • Clustering stakeholders  according to interests is a key ingredient to unrestricted and productive discussions especially by those who may be marginalized  in terms of governance and decision making processes
  • Effective stakeholders engagements enhances ownership of project implementation processes and products

 

Building up: Implementation and Monitoring—role of self-analysis, fundraising and tools

Implementation is the desire of any plan. It is the “boots on the ground” that counts. A portion of the equation is developing a protected area enforcement plan. Equally important is the capacity to implement. To determine ability to implement, an organization must carry out a self-analysis. The plan can outline fundraising needs: capacity needs, equipment and tools. Additionally, an organization can have a buildup period for implementation showing donors the full picture of desired impact.

Adequate financing and resources are needed for implementation and monitoring. If you have these then tracking and monitoring provides the results needed to show the benefit of an enforcement plan.

The enforcement strategy is a plan, implementation is determined by other factors such as resources. The plan can be a fundraising tool as it clearly outlines desired state and needs.

Adopting and adaption

This process involved peer-to-peer learning among the different sites of the project beneficiaries, to learn from one another, adopt some good governance practices and adapt to their local situations such as how to structure good benefit-sharing mechanisms.

 

The beneficiary communities shared similar governance challenges, and sometimes the same landscape and were familiar with common issues.  Through sharing of the lessons at the various sites and joint implementation and peer-to-peer interaction were an important part to share the success stories and challenges.

 

Governance challenges are similar across sites in Zambia and require enacting national policies and legislation to support efficient community-led conservation. Community based natural resources management approaches are crucial to successful management of protected areas.

 

Collaboration

Blue Parks relies heavily on collaborations with other conservation NGOs, communications and marketing professionals, government leaders, MPA managers, scientists, and local ocean champions. Growing the network of Blue Parks and amplifying the Blue Park standard for conservation effectiveness requires many partners.

Blue Parks has benefitted from the contributions of many partners. These collaborations have been made possible by a growing awareness that MPA coverage alone is not sufficient to safeguard biodiversity -- that we need to fully implement high quality MPAs in order to see conservation outcomes, and most MPAs are not yet well implemented.

 

These collaborations have also grown out of Marine Conservation Institute's long-standing history as a trusted partner among marine scientists, conservation organizations, and governments.

Nurturing collaborations across multiple sectors (government, NGO, academia) requires clear communication. We have found that regular, though not too frequent, outreach and communication with these partners keeps the collaborations active, and that these communications are most effective when they are designed for the audience, so we often send separate communications to partners in different sectors.

Support government strategies for a sustainable wood energy value chain

To shift from unsustainable to sustainably produced charcoal and alternative fuels (e.g. briquets from agricultural residues) they need to be competitive in the market. This can only be achieved with government support by regulating charcoal production and enabling competitive prices. These include the setting up of a formal sector and a sustainable forest management system (see building block 2).  

The government of Ghana sees the need of reducing forest degradation through charcoal production and has set ambitious policy actions in the updated NDCs to achieve efficient and sustainable charcoal production. The government is also working on a national regulation for the production of charcoal and has included further measures like the promotion of efficient cookstoves and the establishment of woodlots in different strategies.

In the development of regulations and strategies for sustainable charcoal production, it is important to include the different stakeholders, especially the local communities and charcoal producers. They need to see the benefits of a formalized sector and regulation system and need to be supported to adapt to it. Besides that, it is important to develop alternative income sources to achieve the promotion of alternative fuels and a reduction of charcoal production. 

Elaborate follow-up activities early in the process

The effectiveness of training is increased if follow-up with participants is ensured. This allows the organisers to check on the feasibility of follow-on activities discussed during the training and can account for the follow-up needs[NM1]  of the participants. Follow-up activities can range from webinars to on-site activities in the respective countries

 [NM1]Needs: unclear. = if something has not been understood or if there are follow up questions, or resources needed or something of the sort?

If so: see suggestion for possible re-formulation.

To design appropriate follow-up activities, the content of the training needs to be defined (see Building Block 2). The diversity of activities also depends on the support structure in the countries. If partner (health or climate) projects are in place in the respective participating countries, this allows for greater diversity in follow-up activities that can be conducted.

  • Consideration to possible follow-up activities should be given already during the planning process;
  • It is advisable to launch a survey to ask for participants interest and preference;
  • The creation of a What’s App Group is a quick, easy and cost-effective way to stay in touch with participants and continuously share relevant documents and news with them.
Leveraging local livelihood strategies

Integrating FMNR with livelihood activities is strongly recommended. For example, alternative livelihood development activities can support FMNR uptake by reducing household dependence on unsustainable timber harvesting for subsistence and/or sale. Complementary livelihood activities to support FMNR outcomes include: 

 

  1. Agricultural development activities that promote sustainable intensification and/or diversification of smallholder agricultural production. Combining trees on cropland and pasture with conservation agriculture practices has proved to increase crop yields and improve livestock productivity.
  2. Market development activities that support more profitable marketing of products produced by smallholder farmers. They enhance the adoption and sustainability of FMNR by increasing smallholder incomes, thereby reducing the need for households to adopt coping strategies that can further damage the natural environment and reduce biodiversity.
  3. Energy-saving solutions (e.g. clean cookstoves) that support FMNR by reducing household demand for wood, thus increasing the likelihood that trees that can regenerate will not cut down or felled for their wood in unsustainable ways.

Complementary livelihood activities, preferably those based on trees (e.g., agroforestry and woodlands), can offset short-term fluctuations in household and community resource availability and income that might otherwise undermine FMNR success by increasing pressure to use and cut trees.

Implementing complementary tree-based value chain development activities, such as beekeeping, can improve FMNR uptake and sustainability by increasing its benefits and economic value to households and communities. In addition, FMNR can increase crop and livestock production by enhancing soil fertility, reducing soil erosion, improving water availability and increasing fodder.

Cross-country technology transfer & capacity-building

The institutional capacity to support EbA technology transfer has been built through training and the joint development and implementation of the Long-Term Research Programme (LTRP) in partnership with local universities, for measuring the short- and long-term effects of EbA interventions. The activities included establishing monitoring sites, conducting research activities, collecting data, and publishing findings as technical reports, research papers, bachelor theses, master theses, Ph.D. theses, and peer-reviewed papers.

 

In Nepal, for example, the development of EbA interventions started with assessing local practices and determining whether these practices can be improved or upscaled before introducing new approaches. Based on these findings, the Chinese and South African experts designed possible interventions together with the local expert and advised on their implementation and monitoring against project indicators and targets.

 

The technology transfer also took place through inter-regional capacity-building, with the EbA experts, and the project coordinators regularly meeting through the steering committee, workshops, training, site visits, and conferences. 

  • The LTRP needs to be based on rigorous practice to help form the basis for appropriate and effective decision-making regarding adaptation.
  • The willingness of academic institutions to get involved in practical research projects that will improve the evidence for up-scaling EbA.
  • The creation of a platform, if possible available in all relevant languages, can help disseminate all this knowledge and facilitate discussions between countries.
  • The language barrier can be an issue so having interpreters or having tools and platforms translated can help.

Early capacity-building in countries helps to share scientifically sound data and lessons learned. There are many environmental, economic, and social variables involved in getting EbA to be sustainable, and it is important to document good practices, as well as lessons and challenges from the pilot sites.

 

The project design enabled all three countries to employ a long-term research programme (LTRP) in partnership with local universities. Together, they measured and reported the short- and long-term effects (ecological, hydrological, and socio-economic) of EbA interventions. With this strong data collection and research component, the project identified lessons that can inform the scaling up of EbA.

 

The technology transfer and capacity-building activities can be further facilitated by hiring professional interpreters during expeditions, visits, and workshops to overcome language barriers and to increase the benefits of cross-country collaboration.