Most of the forested areas of the Kii mountains have been planted because this area has traditionally  been a place for logging. Trees are cut down every 50 to 100 years, and after the logging, people plant small trees. This traditional logging strategy has been done since the 16th century under a traditional technique such as seed collection, planting, planting density, thinning and felling especially in the Yoshino County, Nara Prefecture, where cherries are characteristic. Nara Prefecture has also introduced a tax for the conservation of the forest environment and is working with volunteers and private organizations through its municipalities to cut down abandoned forests. The abandoned forests have been replanted with broad-leaved trees instead of coniferous trees such as cedar and cypress, which are suitable for forestry, and mixed forests of coniferous and broad-leaved trees are being converted to forests that are free of human intervention in the future. In parallel with traditional tree-planting and harvesting, we are trying to maintain the forests and forest landscape in the Kii Mountains in a sustainable manner.

Through the whole process that the sacred places in the Kii Mountains were being designated as cultural heritage and natural heritage (as part of a national park), and later included in the Biosphere Reserve, to finally be part of the World Heritage property, the religious bodies were officially granted their protection and management following the traditional knowledge carried for centuries, based on religious beliefs and sacred values. For instance, due to their sacred character, primeval forests have been conserved under strict felling prohibitions by the different religious communities. The mountain landscapes are interpreted as materialized “mandalas” by Shingon Buddhists, and Shugendo practitioners reproduce “mandalas” by doing pilgrimage and performing their ascetic practices in these natural environments. For pilgrims, the Kii Mountains represent the paradise on earth. Another example is the Nachi sacred forest that has been designated as a “Natural monument” under the Law for the Protection of Cultural Property, and the management has been done by the Kumano Nachi Shinto shrine, as part of their sacred place. The Nachi waterfall is regarded as sacred. This means that the sacred waters cannot be touched or diverted.

Involving all stakeholders in the conservation of the Rice Terraces cultural landscape required the strengthening of existing networks, where the traditional knowledge behind the construction and maintenance of the terraces, carried by the Ifugao people played a pivotal role for their recovery and sustainable conservation. As a community organization where 99% of its members are Ifugaos themselves and based on the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM), a national NGO working on community development projects, SITMo had strong foundations for the development of alliances. It developed partnerships with the national authority and the local governments in order to involve local communities in the process of recovering the terraces and develop sustainable strategies for their long-term conservation. SITMo focused on organizing farmers in the different World Heritage clusters to discuss issues confronting the terraces in focus groups with the communities. All along, archaeological and ethnographic research has been conducted continuously by SITMo in cooperation with academic institutions namely UCLA, the University of the Philippines, and Ifugao State University.

The Laponia Process has used several traditional governance working methods. For instance, Rádedibme or councils have a central function in the management. These are open meetings held on important issues with the local population and diverse stakeholders, where local viewpoints and knowledge are expressed and taken into consideration for management. Searvelatnja means “learning arena” and is based on dialogue and learning. On a conceptual level this means that Laponia should be an arena where everyone can participate, a meeting place for several generations, cultures, languages and perspectives. By working together we learn from each other and share each other’s knowledge. How Laponia is to be managed is an ongoing process, where an unpretentious approach is adopted, in order to create a local management that integrates the interests of all parties concerned. Oassebielráde or Council of the Parties is the annual meeting for all the entities that manage the World Heritage property. This meeting does not appoint a committee: the parties themselves decide who will represent them in Laponiatjuottjudus. However, consensus is required when electing the chairperson. Consensus is sought as a process of joint decision-making where everyone must be in agreement before any decision is made. 

In addition to the resources that the territorial entities in Colombia must, by law, allocate to the conservation of water resources, different government and civil society actors have also become contributors of other sources of resources for this purpose through inter-administrative agreements that provide support both in technical and economic resources for the sustainability of the project in the areas, solidarity agreements with Community Action Boards, or collaboration agreements for the Integrated Management of Micro Watersheds.technical and economic resources for the sustainability of the project in the areas, the solidarity agreements with the Community Action Boards or the collaboration agreements for the Integral Management in Micro Watersheds Supplying Aqueducts and Areas of Environmental Interest, in addition to the environmental governing bodies and the municipalities.

Allocation of a percentage of departmental and municipal budgets to water conservation.

The Plan, which considers a 10-year time frame, was developed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) based on the implementation of the methodological tool "Planning for Conservation Areas" (PCA).

The plan has five programs, namely:

1. Conservation and Restoration Strategies

2. Sustainable use and management of biodiversity and its ecosystem services.

3. Knowledge and research

4. Empowerment

5. Articulated and shared co-management (participatory environmental governance).

Implementation of 50 conservation agreements, restoration of 600 ha of water protection strips and management with public institutions to include the area in the land-use plans of the municipalities.

Complementary conservation strategy led by civil society organizations that seek to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services with special emphasis on species connectivity (conservation target).

There is an important level of community involvement in the definition and management of sustainable development proposals due to the level of economic impact that this has on the lives of families.

However, it is important to strengthen this axis in order to guarantee the conservation of the protected area.