Documentation and dissemination of results

Alternative conservation-linked livelihoods

Developing working, alternative conservation-linked livelihoods is the lifeline of conservation initiatives that incur financial burdens.

The idea of initiating ecotourism as an alternate livelihood emerged while conducting biodiversity surveys. We observed that the communities especially the hunters and the youth had a keen eye to spot wildlife as well as good understanding of the forest in general. That's when the youth were trained in documentation of flora and fauna by experts. Sightings were recorded in field registers and this created a community of conservationists among the youth. By documenting unique, rare or special fauna, these surveys acted as a catalyst to attract ecotourists from far and wide.

Thus, the youth, along with the hunters dependent on hunting for subsistence from the three pilot villages, were targeted and trained as nature guides with other trainings in association with Air BnB and Titli Trust on hygiene and environment care in homestays, safety and security, housekeeping service, and food and beverage service, maximizing sales and managing money, and low cost marketing.

Through website and advertisements on bird and butterfly enthusiast groups in India, biodiversity meet's were organised to bring in ecotourists and promote ecotoursim.

Livelihood option in form on Ecotourism was successful to an extent. Not only did the presence of the visitors aided in boosting nature-based ecotourism, but also the biodiversity assessments further added to the knowledge of the faunal biodiversity. The visitors participated in the biodiversity surveys, stayed in local homestays in the villages of Sukhai and Khivikhu, tasted sumptuous local cuisine, watched the traditional Sema dances and engaged with the local community to understand their activities to conserve their natural resources.

The training of youth in biodiversity assessments and sustainable use of natural resources, as well as the training and capacity building of local community members as nature guides for ecotourism, has resulted in enhanced livelihood opportunities with the steady flow of tourists that are visiting this area to spot ‘bird and butterfly specials’. Now the communities take pride in actively conserving the local biodiversity and overall landscape. Many of the species that were rare to sight have made a comeback as communities continue to patrol and conserve their CCA.

However, these are very remote landscapes with very poor road connectivity and hence depsite having tremendous biodiversity and artisitc homestays, very few ecotourists rather the only hardcore bird watchers or butterfly enthusiasts have shown interest to visit these areas. In future, if the road connectivity is improved then it may lead to better opportunities of earning and promoting ecotourism for the local communities. This has further motivated the communities, including those from neighboring villages, to take up conservation and protect their natural resources

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Local

Building block 3: Project Learning Activities

Webinar – CityAdapt

CityAdapt

CityAdapt’s various implementation activities are carried out with demonstration sites to showcase benefits to surrounding populations and inspire replication. This includes demonstration sites for edible mushroom cultivation, urban gardens, roof rainwater harvesting systems, beekeeping, water infiltration systems, agroforestry, and other activities.

CityAdapt also emphasizes learning from project activities, especially for planning officials and communities to take ownership and help them continue after project end. It has therefore produced or is producing an array of knowledge products, including manuals, policy briefs, case studies, technical guidelines, and education material for children. A key aspect of this work has been highlighting NbS’ cost-effectiveness in comparison to conventional solutions (see story maps).

One key is a virtual class with 45 students that work on adaptation-related issues in their respective 17 countries. All the students reported an across-the-board improvement in their knowledge of NbS for urban adaptation. This class model will now be expanded to other regions. These learning components help to build the case for further NbS integration in urban planning and policy while spreading CityAdapt’s lessons to other actors interested in using NbS for their respective cities.

Key factors for this building block’s success are the baseline established by the vulnerability assessment, and the ongoing participation in activities by local communities.

Academic institutions with a local presence must be involved in the project, for example via master’s students’ thesis research. The academic institutions and their students need real-world projects for applied learning, and the adaptation activities need someone to carry on with monitoring and evaluation. This helps to ensure project sustainability and the continuity of project implementation and essential M&E tools. At the same time, local participation in monitoring (also referred to as citizen science in many contexts) is key for buy-in and ownership of activities, in addition to collecting useful data. School activities have been highly advantageous for generating local interest in project activities, as children take lessons learned home to share with their families. The pandemic has represented a major challenge to this effort, but the project has adapted, and created virtual educational games for children to play at home with their parents and teachers.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Addressing power dynamics and promoting engagement in collective action

The analytical tool to guide participation assessment of governance arrangements in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (adapted from López-Rodríguez et al. 2020)

María D. López Rodríguez

The “barometer of power”, one of the theatre-based facilitation techniques to address power dynamics between stakeholders used in a virtual workshop in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park

Maria Heras

Screenshot of the context-specific boundary object to call for collective action used in an online workshop in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park

María D. López Rodríguez

These three decision-making tools were crucial to address power dynamics and promote stakeholders' participation and engagement in collective action in the National Park:

An analytical tool to characterize types of governance arrangements in the protected area. Formal and informal governance arrangements were classified in terms of stakeholders’ responsibility (shared vs. concentrated) and influence (equal vs. unequal) into four types: prescriptive, informative, consultative, and cooperative. By applying this tool in the National Park we identified challenges for more socially inclusive conservation while enhancing existing participatory mechanisms and delineating new ones;
Theatre-based facilitation techniques to address power dynamics between stakeholders. By using them in a virtual workshop, participants deliberated on their roles and power relations around conservation governance and how these may be reconciled to improve collaboration;
A context-specific boundary object to facilitate collective action for conservation governance. Using this graphical tool in a workshop, participants assessed their level of willingness to put several strategies into practice. The tool visualized the results graphically as a proxy of the potential willingness to move from theory to practice.

The analytical tool to characterize governance arrangements requires data collection about the existing decision-making mechanisms behind each arrangement identified, the stakeholders engaged and how they are engaged;
The art-based approaches and context-specific boundary object require a process based on co-learning and knowledge co-production approaches through which stakeholders deliberate on power dynamics, conservation challenges and define collaborative strategies to address them.

Analyzing both formal and informal-based governance arrangements serves as a means to understand how participation in conservation decision-making is actually shaped within protected areas governance and how to improve stakeholder engagement given the context;
It is important to consider informal governance mechanisms to understand potential trade-offs because they can lead to both positive and negative outcomes for conservation;
Stakeholders’ responsibility and influence are key analytical axes to delineate participatory mechanisms in order to identify opportunities for more socially inclusive conservation;
Art-based methods are useful to incorporate power relations aspects into conservation debates;
Elucidating unequal relations for conservation governance offers opportunities to clarify stakeholders’ roles and their responsibilities and facilitate a better understanding of how these may be reconciled to improve collaboration;
The assessment of stakeholders’ willingness to be involved in putting the strategies into practice is a crucial factor to guide collective action.

Planning phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Article López-Rodríguez et al. 2020

Fact Sheet: Promoting inclusive conservation in protected areas

Article López-Rodríguez et al. 2020

Fact Sheet: Promoting inclusive conservation in protected areas

Elucidating visions and future scenarios for park management

Screenshot of the preliminary results from PGIS analysis conducted in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (Spatial data obtained with Mapptionaire)

Miguel Ángel Cebrián Piqueras

Streamline illustrations used to facilitate interviews and discussions groups in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park

Veronica Lo

Online workshop for participatory scenario planning in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park

UOC team

These three tools help to identify visions and elaborate future scenarios, in a participatory way, for protected areas management:

Participatory mapping (PGIS), a tool to visualize information in a particular geographical context focusing on a certain issue of interest. This tool was used in surveys to elicit the residents’ visions based on perceptions of landscape values and local knowledge;
Streamline, an open-source narrative synthesis tool that integrates graphics in the form of canvases and tiles, facilitating interviews and discussion groups in a creative and stimulating way. Streamline was used with stakeholders’ expressing their values and preferences for management actions, and sharing their knowledge of changes in the landscape;
Participatory scenario planning exercise, a deliberative process that was facilitated about plausible and desired futures through a two-day online workshop (due to the Covid-19 pandemic) with stakeholders. Based on the current socio-ecological conditions and the factors driving change, participants weighed up what could happen in the coming 20 years, discussed implications for biodiversity conservation and the quality of life of those who currently enjoy the ecosystem services it provides, whilst identifying the strategies to address them.

Inviting and giving voice to stakeholder groups that are often poorly included in social spaces to publicly debate about conservation;
Creating a collaborative process built upon dissent-based approaches to promote a transparent and horizontal work-space;
Building workgroups with a balanced representation between stakeholder groups, regions of the residence and gender, helps so that not only majoritarian voices are heard.

Local facilitators and collaborators were essential to approach a big sample of local residents in the surveys and the workshop;
Online processes require significant efforts and human resources to handle multiple platforms and technical issues simultaneously. Specific expert facilitation skills are required;
Scenario planning methodologies should more strongly consider different potential disturbances and how drivers of change in the near and far future can be affected by wildcard events such as a pandemic.

Planning phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Fact Sheet: Promoting inclusive conservation in protected areas

Gathering local knowledge and values

Interview with the co-director of the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park.

Veronica Lo

To facilitate place-based processes that foster inclusive conservation it is necessary to collect local/traditional knowledge, views, and values from multiple stakeholders. Some methods to gather such information were used in the Sierra de Guadarrama National Park:

Oral histories and historical datasets review to reconstruct how past visions and drivers of environmental impact have changed over the last 50 years and inform current and future conservation goals;
Interviews with local stakeholders on 1) how participation works in the protected area and potential barriers/opportunities for more social engagement, and 2) their visions for park management, the values and knowledge that underpin the visions, and their perceptions of landscape changes and the underlying drivers;
Face-to-face surveys with residents, including participatory mapping tools (i.e. Maptionnaire) about landscape values and ecological knowledge. Online surveys with local stakeholders to identify changes in their visions, values and perceptions of the landscape after the COVID-19 pandemic; and
Deliberative processes embedded in a participatory scenario planning exercise that used cognitive and emotional maps to collect collective knowledge of the protected area while capturing intertwined affective relationships.

Created an atmosphere of shared understanding, respect and trust with participants to facilitate collaboration along the process;
Clarified the project's goals and practical outcomes to manage expectations and stimulate participation; and
Co-designed with participants an outreach plan to better disseminate the generated outcomes while making participants realise about the impact of their engagement and fostering learning from others' experience.

Planning activities with stakeholders carefully to avoid overwhelming them with requests;
Developing activities according to the timetable, schedule and disruptive events situations (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic) that work better for most participants;
Using quantitative research approaches to gather context-based knowledge may result in biased information. A mixed-method approach based on quantitative and qualitative data can help avoid bias and get a more in-depth knowledge of the context;
Online methods work well and their implementation saves time and money when compared with face-to-face events, but are less effective in achieving good personal interactions;
Synthesizing and sharing the knowledge is appreciated by the stakeholders. For example, the knowledge gathered from individual stakeholders about landscape changes in the National Park was shared with the stakeholder group at a workshop with the opportunity for short discussions. Stakeholders indicated that they had learned and understood other peoples’ points of views on landscape changes and drivers of change.

Planning phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Article Cebrián-Piqueras et al. 2020

Fact Sheet: Promoting inclusive conservation in protected areas

Article Cebrián-Piqueras et al. 2020

Fact Sheet: Promoting inclusive conservation in protected areas

GIS-Based Monitoring

High Atlas Foundation staff monitor trees with local communities.

High Atlas Foundation

The HAF Tree Monitoring team collecting data in Bouchane, Morocco.

High Atlas Foundation

The HAF Tree Monitoring team collecting data in Bouchane, Morocco.

High Atlas Foundation

The HAF Tree Monitoring team providing technical support to a local cooperative Bouchane, Morocco.

High Atlas Foundation

The systematic monitoring of planted trees that is conducted by HAF and the gathering and registering of data of trees planted, including GPS locations, height, diameter, survival rates, and social benefits. The integrated tree monitoring system, called AKVO, was developed by Ecosia, a German organization which plants trees using revenue generated from their search engine. Trained in the use of this application, the monitoring team disperses throughout the regions, visiting the farmers and monitoring the trees that were planted during the previous planting season. Stored in a shared database, the information collected by the team in collaboration with local nursery caretakers will enhance informed decision-making at all levels of governance and across sectors by filling gaps in knowledge and precedence regarding practical application of resource management.

GIS-based monitoring is enabled primarily through community partnerships. Local residents are able to support the monitoring staff and the massive effort that goes into to the monitoring and data collection process. Without an extensive network across the country, it would not be possible to implement this system.

As a result of its monitoring actvities, HAF has developed an extensive database on tree survival, growth, and product yield from its fruit tree nurseries across several life zones that, combined with published studies, can develop trends in agriculture products and carbon sequestration by life zone as a function of climate conditions. Additional field work such as analyses of soil samples, measuring growth and precipitation, and doing so in all biozones, is vital in order to develop a database that covers all Morocco toward national impact. In addition, the procedures for analyses and guidelines for determinations in relation to planting, water consumption, impacts on food security, and measured advantages from renewable energy must be specialized.

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Entirety

Local

Monitoring Trees in Amizmiz: Another Way to Discover Moroccan Nature and History

Ecosia

Evaluating the contribution of stone tidal weirs in safeguarding biocultural diversity

Without doubt, stone tidal weirs contribute to marine biodiversity. In comparison with intertidal zoneswithout stone tidal weir, those with stone tidal weirs have host diverse marine species.

Once stone tidal weirs are abandoned, the less fish is caught. As the attention of local people shifts to destructive modern fishery, all aspects connected to cultural diversity would also be disappeared. In order to maintain coastal communities sustainable, they must not lose their biocultural diversity; stone tidal weirs could be served as an icon of such diversity as well. The UNESCO UNITWIN university network researches and studies how stone tidal weirs in safeguarding biocultural diversity.

The underwater cultural heritage of stone tidal weirs seems to have been an artificial womb for marine species and it is It one of the oldest fish catching methods for human beings. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis are necessary to research the role of stone tidal weirds as marine ecosystems. As for the latter, both archaeological and historical research is the most helpful.

When stone tidal weirs are studied, interdisciplinary collaboration between social science and natural science is really necessary. In the US, archaeology and anthropology are included in social science. Oceanographers or marine biologists provide natural scientific data upon biodiversity, while social scientists combine natural scientific data with social scientific one and use them for design and planning purposes.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Multi-national

Documenting the traditional ecological knowledge on fishing, ritual, or other communal activities connected to stone tidal weirs

The underwater cultural heritage of stone tidal weirs was originally born as a local fishing mechanism. The processes are based on a rich local traditional ecological knowledge, which brought on by members of local coastal communities. Traditionally, local communities used stone tidal weirs twice a month during the spring tide; a custom that has been preventing overfishing by locals. At high tide they sometimes functioned as fishponds.

The traditional ecological knowledge, for instance, on non-fishing periods, as well as that on fishery-related ritual activities such as beach opening ceremonies, is widely observed at coastal communities but it is rapidly disappearing before being recorded properly by anthropologists or archaeologists. As stone tidal weirs are easily broken by typhoons or high waves, frequent community-led repairing works based on traditional knowledge are absolutely needed. In case stone tidal weirs are abandoned, however, both communal spirit and traditional ecological knowledge would extinct.

The traditional ecological knowledge, which each coastal community owns, is not only the key for the conservation of stone tidal weirs but also for their wellbeing. Seafood from stone tidal weirs is sustainable and healthier than imported canned or processed food.

Through formal and informal partnerships between universities and coastal communities, educating younger generations with such knowledge is one of the important success factors in preserving traditional ecological knowledge.

Stone tidal weirs provide prosperity and sustainability for coastal communities, and documentation efforts support building local capacity and social capital for the long term.

Gathering data on them and their related traditional ecological knowledge is done both in the field and in archieves and libraries. As for the latter, such knowledge might have existed only in written archivel documentsas many communities have lost their traditions because of modernization and globalisation.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Multi-national

Creative science based education

People learn best through meaningful and fun experiences linked to evidence-based information that supports them to take action on plastic waste beach management.

Young people being the heart of sustainable development must be capacitated and supported to be the best version of themselves and make the change they want to see
Development of a mobile application to assist in beach clean-up to ensure that marine plastics have been removed from beaches in the cape of South Africa.
Pioneering the dirty dozen clean methodology to streamline monitoring and evaluation of marine plastic litter as well developing strategies in conducting beach clean-ups

Enhance the capacities of community members to be agents of change by empowering them with tools, knowledge, and resources to become change agents
A multidisciplinary approach must be employed when dealing with hardliners to ensure they are won over or facilitated to have a paradigm shift on the transition to a circular economy
Outreach and awareness are paramount to reach people with the right messages on streamlining circularity, upcycling on the development

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Creating a glossary of terms

Project meeting at the ICOMOS Headquarters

ICOMOS

The multidisciplinary approach taken by Connecting Practice, with its use of representatives from both natural and cultural heritage organisations, as well as local and international partners, has highlighted the differences in interpretation and understanding of applicable terminology and concepts. In many situations, seemingly similar concepts have accumulated slightly different meanings depending on their context. The terminology and concepts used in one disciplinary realm have different meanings in others or, conversely, distinct terms or notions in one realm play a similar function in another. The application of multiple vocabularies can lead to confusion and misunderstanding that can hinder mutual use across disciplines.

Establishing a common ground for terminology was identified as being helpful for the integration of concepts and practices to ensure collective use and understanding. In order to address this need, the Commentary on Nature-Culture Keywords emerged as a result of the work done in Connecting Practice. It is a compilation of terms and concepts divided into three clusters (biocultural approaches, resilience and traditional knowledge), with the goal of creating common understanding and collective use to assist future project activities.

This building block required the identification and limitation of keywords to a few distinct terms for research which were then grouped into thematic ‘clusters’. This provided an effective way of highlighting connections and overlaps. Investigation of the concepts’ origins and meanings, and their use in different areas of study, assisted in a better understanding of their complexities. As a ‘work in progress’, the Commentary provides flexibility and openness to modification, supplementation and expansion, which is important to its success.

The Commentary was compiled with the goal of creating a usable glossary of commonly understood terms and concepts for future work. The challenge of creating this was twofold: while these terms are multidisciplinary, evolving and involve complex processes for heritage globally, the document must dissect layers of meanings and terms sufficiently to assist professionals in conceptual aspects of heritage work. The Commentary identifies the many facets of the analysed terms, and potential consequences arising from uninformed use in the heritage field. By developing a preliminary basis on the meaning and origins of these terms, the Commentary aims to create a clearer exchange across disciplines and professionals. As an ‘open’ and ‘intermediate’ document, it will be enriched by additional references and terminologies, and expanded as new words and concepts are explored.

Connecting Practice acknowledges there are limitations, particularly regarding language, as only sources in English were consulted, limiting the range of terms and meanings that other languages may provide.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Global