With the researchers gaining their MSc degrees and PhD degrees over the first 3 years of the study, we were then able to start publishing papers and to entertain the idea of attending and presenting at international meetings. Meeting at a national venue (Russian biennial conference) led to European Cetacean Society conference presentations which then opened up the main Society for Marine Mammalogy Biennial as a platform for presentation.

In each country, a focal point supports awareness-raising through a poster in the national language, a radio spot and a T-shirt.

After developing several communications products geared to different audiences, we released the valuation findings at the International Year of the Reef Symposium in Belize City in November 2008. We also distributed findings in a six-page summary pamphlet for decision makers; several local partners also incorporated the results into videos shown to the Prime Minister and other officials at the gala event that evening. At the request of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT), we also produced a one-page document aimed at policymakers and have distributed it through PACT and other local partners. We also made Excel-based tools to facilitate replication of our valuation methods and data collection. These tools and users’ manuals, along with the full technical report and summary, are all freely available for download at our website. The Healthy Reefs for Healthy People Initiative, along with WWF, WCS, Oceana, and many other local NGOs, have used the economic valuation findings in their efforts to negotiate for tighter fishing regulations, new mangrove legislation, a ban on offshore oil drilling, and other conservation and sustainable management goals.

At the national level, the results from the Blue Carbon component, such as carbon budget for the mangroves of the gulf of Nicoya and an updated deforestation estimation, were presented to decision makers as a way to inform policy making on broader climate change mitigation strategies that target multiple ecosystem services.

Building this project within a larger regional project (incl. Thailand and Vietnam), enables the sharing of experiences among countries (fisheries market development, coastal protection) and facilitates the understanding of climate change as a global concern with localized solutions. Collection of effective solutions, good practices and lessons learned are shared at regional level under a regional platform. High level national officials are involved in field visits and local discussions to bring community-led examples of climate change adaptation to national attention.

Nusa Penida is a learning site. It provides a platform for training and field visits by governmental and non-governmental participants and MPA managers. Prepare outreach material, build a library, develop training and field visits. Train CTC staff and key stakeholder representatives, and conduct pre-and post-visit planning and review sessions for customization and quality control. Apply a small fee or in-kind contribution from programme participants.

As the concerned governments started implementing the Agreement during successive Meetings of Parties, it had become clear that the countries had no intention of creating a proper management body for the Pelagos Sanctuary, and that, as a consequence, management action was insufficient to contrast the existing threats to the area’s cetaceans (shipping, disturbance, noise and chemical pollution, etc.). This stimulated the NGO and scientific communities in France and Italy to exert pressure on government agencies and promote awareness action through the media and other means, the communication of scientific results, and the dissemination of a petition to increase the Sanctuary conservation effectiveness.

After the signature (Brussels, 1993) of a joint declaration leading to the designation of a marine mammal sanctuary by the ministers of the Environment of France, Italy and Monaco, negotiations for a trilateral Agreement started. After several negotiation meetings, an agreement text was developed and the Agreement was signed in Rome in November 1999. The Agreement came into force in 2002.

Reinforcement of embankments of the mouth of Lake Togo: construction of a rocky structure, paving of the street and creation of a parking area.

A vulnerability map was compiled after performing a field survey with use of Global Positioning System (GPS) technologies. This has allowed to identify the areas most vulnerable to erosion.