Documentation and dissemination of results

Using the elaboration of the World Heritage management plan as a space for dialogue

The process for the elaboration of the new management plan for the World Heritage property started in 2017, and several groups have been working on it for three years (2017-2020). The World Heritage Management Board is leading the process, with the collaboration of the cultural heritage manager in Røros, the representative of Sámi Indigenous people, urban planners from the different municipalities and counties within the World Heritage property and buffer zone, and the Director of the Museum of Røros. Hearings and meetings with the municipality boards in the 5 municipalities have been used for establishing this dialogue. More than 40 different parties were invited to the hearings including the counties, municipalities, museums, NGOs, persons involved in the Management Plans, private owners of land within the World Heritage property, and the Sámi Parliament. The Sámi were involved in the same way as the other stakeholders, and counting with representatives both in the World Heritage Board and in the administrative group.

The government requested to all Norwegian World Heritage sites to develop new management plans.
The World Heritage Coordinator was in charge of drafting the former management plan (2010) and had the will and mission to develop a new management plan for Røros.

1) During the hearing of the new Management Plan, many of the parties mentioned that the Sámi culture should be strengthen more than it already was. Most of the suggestions of the different parties were to focus more on reinforcing the Sámi relations and values.

2) Reinforcing the idea to include the Sámi culture as part of the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage site in the next years. Yet, the State Party needs to lead the process. Some municipalities want that some areas currently in the buffer zone (part of the Circumference) be integrated in the World Heritage property (Narjodet, agricultural area, and Dragås-Eidet, which is one of the melters outside Røros).

3) In order to work equally with different parties, there has been no special treatment for none of the stakeholders.

4) To integrate the different stakeholders feedback into the management plan, hearings were organized to consult about the arrangements for drafting the plan and later to consult on the plan itself.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Local

Subnational

Training high-school teachers on traditional knowledge and local culture

Ifugao school teachers harvest traditional rice from the terraces

SITMo

In order to integrate Ifugao culture in the formal school curriculum, teachers need to receive capacity building on the Ifugao culture. Teachers, most of Ifugao origin, have forgotten the value-system of their ancestors due to the modern education system. Some have been trained outside of the Ifugao region. The objective is to train teachers in integrating culture in mathematics, social sciences, and all courses, and design learning materials, modules which include the Ifugao culture as a cross-cutting theme. Teachers’ trainings on local curriculum development and coming up with learning modules are on-going.

The national government had undertaken a change in the education system to allow locally-based curriculums (IPED).

Ifugao culture does not need to be taught as a separate theme, but can be a cross-cutting theme for the whole curriculum.

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Local

Subnational

Creation of collaborative research projects on Indigenous and Local Knowledge

SITMo has developed partnership with local scientific institutions like the Ifugao State University, which is working with the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) designation and has established the Ifugao Rice Terraces GIAHS Research and Development Center. Furthermore, connected to this initiative, SITMo is working in cooperation with the Ifugao State University and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Chengchi University of Taiwan in the project “Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development”, where partner institutions are exploring together the sustainable safeguarding and transmission of their Indigenous knowledge through exchange and collaborative research, which would enable local communities to develop sustainably. A long-term partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been established in 2012 to undertake archaeological investigations in the terraces, leading to the establishment of community heritage galleries and publication of scientific articles.

GIAHS designation of the Rice Terraces (2004)
The local Ifugao State University is engaged in research and cooperation focused on the rice terraces, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation
The Department of Education embarked on a major overhaul of the curriculum where Indigenous knowledge and local Ifugao culture is to be integrated in all levels of K to 12. Research on traditional knowledge was required.
Common challenges with neighboring countries and other Indigenous communities

Involving research in the conservation of the Rice Terraces and the engagement of the youth and the community at large in the endeavor are mutually beneficial (for the research institutes and the local communities)
The interface of traditional knowledge learning through community elders and the formal schools through formally trained teachers can be conflicting at times so long-term strategies are to be put in place.
Administrative bureaucracy can be difficult for non-government organizations to work with government agencies and universities but patience is the key to success.

Planning phase

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Development of a participatory management plan

The parties of the Laponia Process envisioned to create a new management plan for the property using the values within three areas: the natural environment and its high values; the living Sámi culture and reindeer industry; and the historical heritage arising from previous usage of the land. This participatory management plan is based on a shared understanding of the World Heritage property by all stakeholders involved in the process and the implementation of the plan. Besides the governing institutions (municipalities, county, governmental agencies in charge of heritage conservation), important stakeholders to be considered and integrated in this participatory process are the Sámi villages which are organizations responsible for the reindeer husbandry within a specific area. It is a legal entity and they are organized through village meetings.

The platform for dialogue created with the Laponia Process.
Reindeer Husbandry Act (member of a Sámi village organization).
The constitution provides special protection to Sámi people and their rights.
The Sámi are the Indigenous people of Sweden (determined by the Parliament) which gives them a special legal status in Swedish law.
The Right of Public Access.
Willingness from the authority to try something new, new working methods for management.

Management plans where different stakeholders have to compromise all the time might be too unspecific. There can be themes in the management plan that the organization have no prerequisites to implement and then people will be disappointed if the organization is not working with them. For instance, in our management plan, there are sentences that state how we should be working with the Sámi language, and therefore, we are doing it to some extent. But language is not our main focus and then sometimes people may be disappointed with the results.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Establishment of an inclusive dialogue process: the Laponia Process

The Laponia Process was an approach to dialogue created and developed by a diversity of stakeholders in the Laponian Area World Heritage property. Since Laponia is a large area which consists of several protected areas, to establish a coordinated management system as a whole has been very challenging since its inscription in the World Heritage List. The County Administrative Board of Norbotten and the Sámi communities and municipalities of Jokkmokk and Gällivare started originally to prepare their conservation programs independently. The Laponia Process started by the initiative of the Governor of Norrbotten in 2005 including all stakeholders in a process of dialogue based on a set of common values, which would lead the parties to agree in crucial issues and the terms in which the Laponian Area should be managed. All decisions were determined to be taken by consensus, and new regulations for the national parks and nature reserves were requested. In 2006, the parties signed a common agreement which they sent to the Government, which contained:

A set of common basic values
Common intentions for a number of efforts
The establishment of a temporary Laponia delegation
Preparations for the start of a World Heritage management group with a Sámi majority on the committee.

The political will of the Governor of Norbotten, the Sámi village organizations through the association Midjá Ednam, the interest of the municipalities of Jokkmokk and Gällivare, and the endorsement of the SEPA were essential conditions for starting the process. The initiative originates in the acceptance of the different realities of the parties involved and the strong will to co-create a new management for the Laponian Area. Moreover, there was enough financing for the project and each group participated with the same economical prerequisites.

To be able to establish an organization based on consensus and develop a new way of management, one needs to listen to people and try to learn why they are thinking and doing like they are (it is norms and values that forms their ideas and practise) but also openly explain why one is thinking and doing in the way one is, because that also depends on the norms and values one has in life. This process takes time, and it is about learning new knowledge from each other and accept it. This is also a process one cannot do in the office, one needs to go out and meet people in their ordinary life regularly. It cannot be rushed or think it can be a quick fix. The Laponia Process took six years until all stakeholders involved could agree upon a common organization and management plan.

To do a process like the Laponia Process – you need to have time, financing, and the “right” people involved. Listen to each other. Time to take home tricky questions and discuss them with other representatives for the stakeholders, before decisions are made.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

Volunteer Work

Projects in this area offer young people the opportunity to contribute to nature conservation by getting involved in the following tasks:

Reforestation
Conservation of flora and fauna
Data collection
Tasks involving nature reserve maintenance
Bio-construction projects
Environmental Education and Communication

Young people in Paraguay are increasingly interested in conserving natural areas.
The #VolunteerParkRanger program offers a complete program for the development of the activities.
Partnership and communication with Natural National Parks of Colombia to provide information on the development of activities.

The first version of the #VolunteerParkRanger program generated significant interest that exceeded the ability of the program to manage itself adequately.

Bearing in mind the lessons learned during the first version, a limit was set for the numbers required and this was based on the following potential participation scenarios:

50 - 100
100 - 150
200 and more

This made the work more vibrant so that all interested young people were provided a work space and program.

Planning phase

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

National

Leadership Training

Yaxcabá Group

Yaxcabá

It is essential that the group has a leader who organizes and inspires young people to join the puppet program. The success of each activity depends on the leader being able to motivate his or her team, constantly innovate and seek growth opportunities for all.

1. Parental support. Some of these children are minors and without parental support it is difficult to form a group.

2. Support should be provided by organizations that are willing to support the leaders of each theatre group. The young people of Yaxcabá have previously participated in personal training programs offered by organizations working in the area.

Age is not an impediment, and in the case of rural communities, children are forced to grow and mature much faster than in cities.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Inclusion of results in the scientific and administrative framework

The Mayotte echinoderm inventory project has enabled us to develop resource management proposals. It has also enabled the resolution of environmental issues associated with echinoderms, notably through :

Participation in the revision of Mayotte's list of protected marine species.
Collaboration to increase the number of holothurian species included in Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Drafting a report for the health services on venomous echinoderms in Mayotte, to improve nature/society interactions.

This phase was made possible by the smooth running of the study phase, and therefore of the inventory of Mayotte's echinoderms. In addition, the researcher in charge of the study has a solid knowledge of the territory.

The main lesson is to take this research a step further and exploit it for the benefit of the global scientific community, but also for local application.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Global

Organization of livestock breeders into silvopastoral management associations

Ifrane National Park and Karfour Association

Extensive livestock farming

Parc National d'Ifrane et Association Karfour

Extensive livestock farming

Parc National d'Ifrane et Association Karfour

Sheep farming is the main activity in the area. The number of livestock far exceeds the forage capacity of the forest rangelands. As a result, it is difficult to respect the parcels set aside for regeneration. However, the organization of livestock farmers into associations enables them to benefit from indemnities compensating them for the use of the cleared areas. This helps to regenerate the Atlas cedar, which is in danger of extinction.

The compensation agreement is governed by a commitment from the associations to respect the set-asides for regeneration,

-The compensation received is invested in infrastructure and equipment for livestock rearing and the purchase of feed;

-The organizations enable us to plan integrated development projects that make the most of the natural resources of all the pastoral parks and involve all social categories, especially young people and women.

There is a risk that the compensation received by the associations will be shared directly by the farmers, without the expected investments being made;

The herders themselves may serve as laborers to implement the actions contracted between the water and forestry department and the associations;

The associations need to be monitored and coached from the outset, so that they can grasp the concept of compensation and develop it into development projects.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

National

Financial incentives

Local forest resource management structure

Parc National d'Ifrane et Association Karfour

The Department of Water and Forests manages forest resources through its decentralized structures, which are responsible for monitoring and applying reforestation and silviculture techniques. The regeneration of native species, in particular Cedrus Atlantica, is one of the most difficult tasks to achieve. The prohibition of grazing on plots of land designated as "closed" is a technique applied to ensure the success of cedar regeneration, but it is difficult to get herders to respect it without mobilizing funds to compensate them for the closed areas.

However, it was essential to organize the farmers into associations, and to provide them with guidance and raise their awareness, so that they could adopt the concept of compensation and develop it in the long term. This is what the Ifrane National Park has done, and continues to do as one of its main missions.

The Department of Water and Forests has been a legally recognized government body since 1913, operating within the framework of regulations established by the country in consultation with the beneficiaries. It receives funds and has the flexibility to establish agreements that frame development projects in partnership with stakeholders, civil society, cooperatives and associations......

-Repression alone should not be relied upon to limit infringements of natural resource laws.

Involving rights-holders and stakeholders in debates on natural resource management helps to identify optimal solutions and make the right decisions.

-At first, herders found it difficult to organize themselves into associations, and they also tended to share the compensation they received and consume it directly. But with the assistance and guidance of Ifrane National Park, the compensation received is being invested in infrastructure, equipment and the purchase of cattle feed. Increasingly, the focus has shifted to the design of integrated development projects aimed at improving the incomes of those entitled to them, and restoring and conserving fragile ecosystems, including the endangered Atlas Cedar.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

National