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Management for the identification of biodiversity and participatory and motivational management for the restoration of Protected Areas.

Secretariat of Environment and Agricultural Development Envigado

SILAPE participation

Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo Agropecuario Envigado

In addition to the formality and territorial planning related to the Local System of Protected Areas, the municipality, based on environmental management, developed the following components as a highly important strategy:

- Promotion of incentives for community and landowner participation to restore natural protective vegetation that improves ecological connectivity and functionality.

- Awareness-raising and education actions to promote knowledge of the biodiversity of municipal ecosystems and the importance of SILAPE as a strategy to conserve this functionality and strategic ecosystems.

- Identifying the biodiversity of the different groups as fundamental knowledge to take actions for their conservation and encourage participation in conservation and conservation decisions in land use planning.

- Actions to protect endangered fauna in sites of connectivity disruption and vulnerability of highly important fauna species. Includes implementation of aerial wildlife crossings (61 installed).

- The knowledge of local biodiversity based on technological tools that generated videos and clear images made it possible to see the important and abundant biodiversity of species, thus allowing unusual conservation decisions to be made in a territory that is part of a Metropolitan Area with high urban growth.

- The environmental management of the Secretariat of Environment in the different periods of governance has included the issue of Protected Areas as a component of high importance.

- Ecosystem conservation depends on local enthusiasm and identification of the importance of biodiversity and strategic ecosystems.

- Management plans and conservation proposals must be included in land use plans.

- Protected area management should be approached from a regional perspective so that each municipality takes the model and implements it in its own municipality with a logic of connectivity and ecosystem globality.

- The participation of research institutions in the biodiversity identification process and in the formulation of protected area projects is of great importance; it avoids doubts about the importance and certainty of the proposals.

- Community participation motivated by the evidence of biodiversity and the functionality of ecosystems is of great importance to keep alive the enthusiasm for its dissemination and knowledge.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

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Local

Conservation Management

La Zahina Waterfall

Walk

Butterfly

Toucan

This solution combines several actions:

Preservation and conservation in an integral manner the biota and other natural attributes existing in the Mamoní Valley Reserve, without direct human interference or environmental modifications.
Recovery of altered ecosystems and the necessary management actions to recover and preserve the natural balance, biological diversity and ecological processes.
Protection and monitoring of the area using SMART equipment, GPS and drones with the help of strategic allies.
Collective work is a fundamental principle in this solution since we depend on all the actors to achieve the objectives. Due to this support work we have been able to map the forest cover of the reserve and detect deforestation.

We protect 5,000 hectares of biodiverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
The solution is contributing to sequestering 650,000 tons of carbon.
The roots of the trees we conserve and protect prevent landslides.
The solution protects the headwaters of the Mamoní River, Chepo's main tributary.
The solution ensures the protection of the biodiversity of the Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena ecoregion.
The reserve has 14 species of felines (melanistic jaguar), tapir, and the king gallinule, among others, some of which are endangered species.

The good relationship we maintain with the environmental authorities in Panama has given us recognition as a conservation organization and for two consecutive years we have received the Environmental Excellence Awards.
The organization's committed work team has allowed us to achieve many accomplishments both locally and internationally.
Having strategic allies that since 1990 have been helping the organization both financially and professionally has contributed to the development of many of our conservation initiatives and leadership programs.
Environmental education in the communities is crucial as it will allow them to understand the value of forest conservation, develop the link with Mother Earth and perform sustainable actions with the environment.

Building Blocks de Geoversity

Agreement 009 whereby the Local System of Protected Areas is adopted and implemented.

The Municipal Council of Envigado adopted Agreement 009 which aims to contribute to the identification, conservation, management and proper management of strategic ecosystems and protected areas in the jurisdiction of the municipality, articulating these actions to departmental, regional and national management scales that strengthen human sustainability through the effective achievement of conservation objectives.

Inclusion of the Local System of Protected Areas in the Land Management Plan in order to promote land uses that favor the protection and conservation of the associated fauna and flora.

Importance of knowledge of the biodiversity of species to value local ecosystems and make it known by different means to promote the interest and ownership of institutions and the community in conservation.

Local conservation is successful when it is based on internal initiatives that integrate institutions and the community and is supported by knowledge, participation and norms that motivate or encourage the protection of ecosystems.

Land use planning and ecosystem conservation strategies should be closely related in order to define congruent conservation projects and decisions that are supported by national norms.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Entirety

Local

acuerdo_no.009_2016_silape_compressed_1.pdf

Development or Adaptation of an Investment Vehicle

History and structure of the organization

Source of funds: debt swap, environmental offsets, other donations

Governance with cross-sectoral/civil society participation

Investment programming oriented in PREP and concretized or PDLS

Trust, autonomy, transparency, cross-sectoral participatory/representative governance.

Political priority in restoration

Professional management according to international standards, transparency

Transformation of the investment strategy: from isolated, one-off projects to sustainable financing of local processes with local participation in planning and implementation.

It might be interesting to study the FIAES documentation or interview the technical staff. Especially the lessons of the change from the programming system to the PDLS.

Implementation

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National

Development of a National Program

Prioritization of ecosystems, areas, measures/activities

Political priority, existence of financing mechanisms, coordination of territorial and cooperating actors in the prioritized areas.

Importance of creating financing mechanisms or linking existing mechanisms to PREP implementation.

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National

Building Relationships With Local Stakeholders

Interacting with Stakeholders in Kundacheri Village

Nagachandan Honnur/CWS

Interacting with Frontline Workers in Martalli Village

Mohana Kumar/CWS

Before conducting workshops, we build connections with local key stakeholders who are at the frontline of managing zoonotics and human-wildlife conflict. First, we contact the state health ministries. Currently, we have support from the Directorate of Health Services in Goa and the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Karnataka. We then identify districts for conducting workshops and obtain permissions from the District Commissioner, District Zilla Panchayat CEO, District Health Officer, and Forest Department officials. So far, we have done this in 10 districts. We also meet and get permissions from taluk (sub-district) officers including Taluk Executive Officers of Panchayats, and Block Medical Officers. Next, we identify the Village Gram Panchayats where we will conduct workshops and get permissions from Panchayat Development Officers and Primary Healthcare Centers. Lastly, we visit and invite local prominent citizens or organizations relevant to our program such as previous partners, teachers, child development program officials, veterinary officials, and farmer cooperatives. We use these interactions to understand local health and infrastructure challenges. Based on our findings and the local ecological and socioeconomic context, we adapt the content of our workshops.

1. We take local socio-economic and ecological conditions into consideration.

2. We take notes on local cultural perspectives towards wildlife.

3. We obtain information on local health conditions such as accessibility to healthcare, interest levels in visiting primary health centers, major deterrents to availing these facilities, prominent diseases which we should talk about, etc.

4. We analyze past disease outbreaks or human-wildlife conflict incidents from the village which can be used as examples.

Some of the challenges that we faced while working with remote, rural communities were:

1. Mobilizing stakeholders to participate in our workshops due to the remoteness of locations and the COVID-19 pandemic

2. Scheduling workshops and coordinating with diverse groups of participants, their COVID-19 duties, local festivals and other events

3. Travel to and from the workshops for both staff and participants in remote areas with poor travel and communication infrastructure (such as lack of mobile phone connectivity)

We have now learned that while meeting with stakeholders and inviting participants it is essential to take everyone’s availability into account, consult as many people as possible about the date and time, and hold the workshop in an easily accessible and centralized place. During the course of project implementation, we have also developed several best practices for ensuring workshops are relevant to the local context. Different socio-cultural practices of local communities (some of them tribal) are taken into account while conducting workshops.

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Subnational

Capacity Building for Field Staff

Capacity Building

Anubhav Vanamamalai/CWS

CWS Field Staff

Nagachandan Honnur/CWS

For program implementation, we recruit field staff who conduct the workshops, deliver the content to participants, and collect evaluation data. Each team works in a specific region of the Western Ghats. We select people who are local to the area and can speak in multiple languages such as Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Tamil, and Malayalam. Once staff are hired, we teach them to disseminate the workshop content and ensure they understand the intended impact of each session. We train them in first aid using demonstrations and real-life examples. We also teach them best practices for community engagement and ethics. So far we have trained 1 Program Manager, 6 Project Coordinators, and 13 Educators for Wild Surakshe. Having well-trained, passionate, and dedicated field staff has been instrumental in allowing us to cover 11 PAs. Wild Connect, our app for offline data collection, has also helped us streamline data management making it easier to manage the program. These factors will be key for scaling to 69 PAs over the next 3-5 years. Currently, our teams conduct the workshops in local languages (eg. Kannada) but enter data on the app in English. We plan to incorporate multilingual services on our app.

1. We choose field staff based on past experience, enthusiasm, educational background, community engagement skills, and the ability to work with government staff.

2. We teach staff public speaking skills and go over the delivery of each session multiple times. Emphasis is placed on learning how to capture the attention of large audiences and make concepts easy to understand.

3. We ensure that staff members are trained based on established research and guidelines by experts.

4. We train field staff at frequent intervals and provide continuous feedback.

1. The field staff need to be trained not just on workshop delivery, but also on how to interact with government officials and community members.

2. Previous experience with community engagement and public speaking should be taken into consideration while hiring educators.

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Subnational

Community conservation of bonobos and southern Basankusu forests through local development

Tilapia nilotica fish farming project

Production étang piscicole des tilapia de l'OP ACEWAMOTO

Sheep from the OP ACHAEBO in Bokeka in their pasture.

Sheep pilot project

Les moutons de l'OP ACHAEBO de Bokeka dans leur pâturage

Mondjondjo I community awareness campaign in the presence of our Japanese visitor, Dr SAKAMAKI

Awareness activity

Sensibilisation communautaire des communautés de Mondjondjo I en présence de notre visiteur Japonais, le Dr SAKAMAKI

In order to enable community-based, participatory and inclusive conservation, local development is a very important and relevant component in the implementation of our actions.

That's why we decided to initiate an approach centered on local communities living near the biotopes we are promoting for the conservation of bonobos and their associated habitats. By responding favorably to community needs and feelings, and by supporting them in the rational, reasoned and sustainable management of their natural and acquired resources, we have achieved success rates of up to 85% for our solution.

The various micro-projects put in place (goat rearing, pig rearing and pilot fish farming; family vegetable gardens; micro-trades and others) have been replicated by the beneficiary associations and by 75% of the inhabitants throughout the project area, and have helped to increase the income of local communities, enabling them to meet their material, financial and food needs. So far, this has been an effective solution to the problem of preserving biodiversity in general, and bonobos and their habitats in particular.

Involving local communities in socio-economic surveys and environmental awareness campaigns,
Support for micro-projects implemented by local beneficiary communities,
The commitment of local communities to the sustainable replication of these micro-projects,
The involvement of local authorities in supporting GACEBB in its actions,
The dedicated and willing involvement of GACEBB's technical team (animators-accompanists).

Taking charge of projects implemented on the basis of the consents (CLIPs) of the local communities themselves,
Always be a structure that works in communion with local communities,
Not dictating to communities what values they should live by, but always listening to them and accompanying them,
Favoring an information and training approach to promote their socio-environmental awareness in favor of threatened species and their habitats, as well as in their own favor (eco-development).

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Entirety

Local

Ceci est le rapport annuel des activités menées en 2015

Celui-ci résume les activités menées en 2016

Conservation through ecological monitoring of primates and other large fauna species

The 4 Bokeka trackers (Nkoso/Ikela forest) with GACEBB leaders

Ecological monitoring

Les 4 pisteurs de Bokeka (forêt Nkoso/Ikela) avec les animateurs de GACEBB

Image of a bonobo nest in the Soolo block (Etate Forest)

Bonobo Ecological Monitoring Activity (SEB)

Prise en image d'un nid de bonobo dans le bloc Soolo (Forêt Etate)

To achieve community-based, participatory conservation of bonobos and their associated habitat, we believe it is essential to monitor primates, i.e. bonobos and other species of small monkeys, as well as other species of large fauna. To this end, the NGO GACEBB is working with local communities to select Community Trackers (CTs) with proven expertise in the forest in question to carry out ecological monitoring of these species, and to record on a pre-established form whether the numbers of the flagship species (the bonobo) are increasing or decreasing, and also whether human pressures are decreasing or increasing, as well as ascertaining whether or not other species of large fauna are present.

The involvement of the local communities concerned, the commitment of the chosen Community Trackers, the commitment of the local authorities to support GACEBB in its actions, GACEBB's implicit response to the needs (felt to be priorities) of the local communities expressed during the socio-economic surveys and the dedicated commitment of the GACEBB team despite the meagre salary are just some of the factors influencing the success of our actions.

Let communities express their consent to any action,
Encourage the involvement of all social groups in your conservation actions,
Strive at all costs to remain a local structure, i.e. one that listens to local communities, responds to their expressed needs and applies transparency in project management,
Always be proactive in knowing how to support communities in the face of current challenges (disappearance of biodiversity, resurgence of the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, etc.).

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Entirety

Local

Ceci est le rapport annuel des activités menées en 2017

Godrej Infotech Limited (GITL)

Godrej Infotech Limited (GITL) is part of Godrej & Boyce Mfg Co Ltd. It is specialised in software development. It was commissioned by Wetland Management Department (WMS) for Mangroves app development. GITL received information, images, app framework, concept note and other guidence from WMS. GITL developed app and provided to WMS Dept. WMS Department piolt tested app with select stakeholders and received users feedback. This feedback was incorporated to finalise app information, design and user features.

Technical expertise of GITL in mobile app development

Mobile app needs to be user friendly, lighter in size. It needs to be pilot tested with select users for feedback. The feedback needs to be incorporated for app enhancement.

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