To effectively carry out conservation measures, projects require dedicated, skilled and trained people in the field and the community. The establishment of a local ranger program called “Caretakers” was identified by ECF as an important step in ensuring conservation objectives were enforced in the field and understood in the village. Caretakers are local people with knowledge and understanding of their local environment, the ability to communicate with locals and visitors, and self-motivated to protect nature. They are identified through the FPA process and later employed by CBOs. They are trained in conservation methods, equipped with communication equipment, uniforms and sometimes means of transport but do not have the legal rights of (governmental) protected area staff or forest rangers. They may inform and educate people, and report infringements to the relevant authorities. Caretakers assist with the monitoring of biodiversity, educate/raise awareness and perform CA management tasks. They are responsible for data collection, ongoing wildlife monitoring and the submission of progress reports to the ECF. Caretakers are a key point of contact (trusted and respected) in the community, and act as an example of the socio-economic benefits of nature conservation. 

Conservation Agreements (CAs) are binding grant contracts created and agreed upon by specific communities and the ECF. CAs set out clear, attainable and realistic conservation objectives and determine the scope of conservation measuresto be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives set by the ECF and local community use expert and local knowledge. Each agreement is tailored to the identified needs in the target community and the local landscape. These contracts bind communities to protect ecosystems but also assist traditional land users to use the land in a sustainable way. 

The communities that sign Conservation Agreements have been selected to do so because they show initiative, community involvement and potential through the FPA process and establishment of a CBO. In order to ensure the sustainability of the projects, the compliance of Conservation Agreements is monitored. Each community must submit annual technical reports. In case they fail to perform the planned activities, the payments under the agreement may be suspended until they meet the requirements, or subsequently terminated if they don’t comply for more than a year.

To effectively carry out conservation measures, projects require dedicated, skilled and trained people in the field and the community. The establishment of a local ranger program called “Caretakers” was identified by ECF as an important step in ensuring conservation objectives were enforced in the field and understood in the village. Caretakers are local people with knowledge and understanding of their local environment, the ability to communicate with locals and visitors, and self-motivated to protect nature. They are identified through the FPA process and later employed by CBOs. They are trained in conservation methods, equipped with communication equipment, uniforms and sometimes means of transport but do not have the legal rights of (governmental) protected area staff or forest rangers. They may inform and educate people, and report infringements to the relevant authorities. Caretakers assist with the monitoring of biodiversity, educate/raise awareness and perform CA management tasks. They are responsible for data collection, ongoing wildlife monitoring and the submission of progress reports to the ECF. Caretakers are a key point of contact (trusted and respected) in the community, and act as an example of the socio-economic benefits of nature conservation. 

The WWF Nature Academy cycle ends with a final event were all ambassador schools present the results of their projects and the protected area they are an ambassador of. The final event is hosted by one of the participating protected area and the goal of the events is to share success, lessons learned and promote networking among the ambassador schools and PAs. An important element of the final event is the press conference for local and national media.

During the academic year the ambassador schools share their results on the WWF Nature Academy Facebook page (a closed group for project participants), on their school websites and Facebook groups and they communicate them to the local media together with the protected area.

After the final event each ambassador school becomes a mentor to a new school participating in the academy and hands them over the “mentoring box” with suggestions, motivational messages and handmade souvenirs. In this way ambassador schools of the same protected area start to cooperate and in time build a school network of the protected area.  

Very important for the end of the academy cycle – celebrate the success at a thematic biodivesity party! 

According to Costa et al, “Brazil was the first country in the world to implement a National Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production”. It is therefore worthy of notice that the Policy has been widely implemented in the country, succeeding as a good example of a multi-sectoral public policy, despite the challenges it still faces. Furthermore, PNAPO has served as inspiration for Brazilian States (such as Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás, São Paulo and Amazonas), the Federal District and Municipalities to elaborate their own state and municipal policies, following the guidelines of the National Policy and adapting them to their own realities and necessities. Hence PNAPO is likely suitable to be transferred to other situations.

The National Policy (PNAPO) has been implemented in Brazil since 2012, aiming at fostering sustainable agricultural practices and healthy food consumption habits; empowering family farmers, traditional communities, women and youth; and promoting sustainable rural development through specific programs and financing for smallholder farming. It is a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder interdisciplinary policy on a federal level, whose initiatives have been implemented throughout the five Brazilian regions, with verifiable results.

Some programmes and initiatives currently included in the flagship of PNAPO already existed before its creation. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the policy and the creation of CNAPO, those programmes have been strategically articulated and integrated into PNAPO’s general objectives and working plan, guaranteeing more participative planning, implementation and monitoring processes.

One of the PNAPO’s main instruments is the National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production (PLANAPO), which must always include at least the following elements: overview/diagnosis, strategies and goals, programmes, projects, actions, indicators, deadlines and a management structure (Article 5 of Federal Decree 7,794).

Conservation Agreements (CAs) are binding grant contracts created and agreed upon by specific communities and the ECF. CAs set out clear, attainable and realistic conservation objectives and determine the scope of conservation measures to be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives are determined by the ECF and the local community using expert and local knowledge. Each agreement is tailored to the identified needs in the target community and the local landscape. These contracts bind communities to protect ecosystems but also assist traditional land users to use the land in a sustainable way. 

The communities that sign Conservation Agreements have been selected to do so because they show initiative, community involvement and potential through the FPA process and establishment of a CBO. In order to ensure the sustainability of the projects, the compliance of Conservation Agreements is monitored. Each community must submit annual technical reports. In case they fail to perform the planned activities, the payments under the agreement may be suspended until they meet the requirements, or subsequently terminated if they don’t comply for more than a year.

To effectively carry out conservation measures, projects require dedicated, skilled and trained people in the field and the community. The establishment of a local ranger program called “Caretakers” was identified by ECF as an important step in ensuring conservation objectives were enforced in the field and understood in the village. Caretakers are local people with knowledge and understanding of their local environment, the ability to communicate with locals and visitors, and self-motivated to protect nature. They are identified through the FPA process and later employed by CBOs. They are trained in conservation methods, equipped with communication equipment, uniforms and sometimes means of transport but do not have the legal rights of (governmental) protected area staff or forest rangers. They may inform and educate people, and report infringements to the relevant authorities. Caretakers assist with the monitoring of biodiversity, educate/raise awareness and perform CA management tasks. They are responsible for data collection, ongoing wildlife monitoring and the submission of progress reports to the ECF. Caretakers are a key point of contact (trusted and respected) in the community, and act as an example of the socio-economic benefits of nature conservation. 

In order to develop good quality fruit yields and to enable the association of fruit growing with vegetable or fodder production in the long-run, optimal fruit tree formation is vital. From the beginning of their lifecycle, fruit trees should be formed by pruning, binding up and spreading branches. For building up stable and light-flooded trees, skeleton and fruit branches should be clearly differentiated. In the later stages of its lifecycle, maintenance pruning is used to remove superfluous fruit branches, shoots and deadwood. This allows sunlight to penetrate the inward of the tree, offering the conditions to produce bigger fruits that taste better. When fruit trees become very high and quality of fruit decline, they can be rejuvenated through rehabilitation pruning. Adequate pruning also can prevent pests and diseases, as is ensures that the trees are not too dense, and wind can pass through. The surface of leaves will consequently dry quickly after rain or dewfall and consequently spores of diseases as powdery mildew will not germinate.

The main aim of IPM is to reduce the infestation of any pest below the threshold of damage. Purchasing chemical pesticides is often too expensive for subsistence farmers. Nevertheless, some form of pest control is still vital, since a serious infestation can lead to a total loss of harvest. In this regard, the project promotes applying IPM, which requires permanent monitoring of the fields’ phytosanitary status, so that adequate measures are taken timely. For ensuring a resilient orchard in the first place, phytosanitary measures and biological pest control should be applied.  Phytosanitary measures imply using certified seedlings, free from pests and diseases. Adequate pruning is important, for removing branches infested by die-back, and for prevention of diseases like mildew, as the leaves dry soon after rainfall or dew. During a pest outbreak, homemade insecticides can be prepared by mixing spices (chilli, garlic, onion, etc.) or toxic plants (walnut, tobacco, etc.) with soap, alcohol or oil. They can be applied for controlling insects, like aphids, thrips, and mites. Another measure for controlling pests consists of providing sources of fodder and hideouts for their natural enemies.