The nature of this Project sought to create a biodiversity finance solution for South Africa's protected areas that was built on tax law. In order to succeed in this venture, it was central to have a tax specialist undertake the Project. Previous attempts to introduce biodiversity tax incentives in South Africa had failed due to incorrect tax structuring and lack of practical tax testing. In both the amendment of national tax legislation, as well as the actual appropriation of the tax incentives on behalf of landowners, a skilled tax practitioner, who understood both detailed tax law as well as the environmental policy and legislation that the tax incentives linked to, was required. The very unique nature of this work required a niche skill set to ensure its effective and efficient implementation. This biodiversity finance solution could not have been introduced without a tax specialist. 

Introducing South Africa’s first biodiversity tax incentive required the support and assistance of a very effective and cohesive community of practice within South Africa’s national biodiversity stewardship initiative. The tax incentives relate directly to South Africa's protected areas declared on private or communally owned land. This context required the support of the implementers of these types of protected area declarations to facilitate this unique biodiversity finance solution. The implementers of biodiversity stewardship in South Africa range from representatives of national and provincial government, NGOs, and various experts and specialists. They work together in a collaborative community of practice which provided its full support to the tax incentive work. The novelty of the tax work, as well as the numerous components of the Project that required simultaneous success, required the direct support, advice and assistance of the community of practice. This support facilitated Building Blocks 1 and 2 and ensured that the Project deliverables could be achieved in the most conducive environment possible.

The Project launched a number of pilot sites across the country to test the use and applicability of biodiversity tax incentives in different contexts. The pilot sites enabled the Project to engage with the people directly impacted by the tax benefits. The pilot sites covered parastatals, international companies, communities, and individual farmers undertaking different commercial activities. The sites also covered different biomes and biodiversity priority areas. This grassroots engagement was a crucial building block as it took the policy engagement of the Project, as well as the achievement of amending national legislation, and practically tested its impact on the ground. To determine what impact the tax incentives would have on landowners declaring protected areas, landowners themselves needed to be engaged deliberately. This grassroots engagement effectively illustrated the financial and tangible benefits of the incentive. These pilot sites also showed that the new biodiversity tax incentive was applicable to all types of legal entities in South Africa and could be applied to a varied array of commercial and private enterprises and activities.  It effectively applied the tax impact to landowners and showed that it was successful and replicable.

The success of introducing South Africa's first biodiversity tax incentive into the protected areas network began with the amendment of South Africa's Income Tax Act. Without the tax incentive being lodged into national fiscal legislation, the solution would never have been possible. This first successful step required the building block of: National Policy Engagement. Amending the Income Tax Act required deliberate engagement with key national ministries and departments, primarily: the Department of Environmental Affairs and the Ministry of Finance. Institutional support was provided by the Department of Environmental Affairs and the department endorsed the tax work at a national level. This allowed for direct engagement with key environmental fiscal policy makers within South Africa's National Treasury. This engagement was direct, open, collaborative and positive, and allowed for the formulation of South Africa's first tax deduction aimed at supporting and benefitting taxpayers formally protecting South Africa's natural heritage in the public interest. 

Ecologically, diversity allows for a balanced ecosystem where different species help to accelerate or inhibit the growth of one another. Socially, diversity allows for integrative consideration and equal participation in a public food forest. In either setting, diversity creates conflicts and a dynamic equilibrium to make sure that no species or a specific group of people occupy all the benefits by excluding the others.

Diversity may be in terms of sex, age, race, occupation, financial status and many more. As the Beacon Food Forest is located on a public land in Seattle, one of the most culturally diverse cities in the United States, we are advised by the City government at the initial stage of the project to showcase our design map of the Beacon Food Forest in communities of different cultures. It was a necessary step to gain diverse support and proof that this project is not only in the interest of one group but many different groups of people. By valuing these diverse cultures, we ended up getting vast emails of interest and even seeds and plants that are unique to these people’s homeland (foreign but not invasive), and of course the City government’s approval to proceed the project.

A successful solution requires a strong community where all are given enough knowledge (aka. power) and trust to fully engage themselves. Beacon Food Forest is co-founded by two local residents but the active engagement from the wider community is the true reason why it is still growing and prospering after 6 years. Hence, building a strong community that is empowered with knowledge, skills, and trust is the key for the Beacon Food Forest to sustain.

Community empowerment allows each individual in the community to acquire knowledge and skills needed to participate in the decision-making process of Beacon Food Forest. By providing educational opportunities and by offering leadership opportunities whenever possible (e.g. during workshops, work parties, maintenance events, discussions, and meetings), we allow participants to gain confidence and trust, and then develop a passion and a sense of responsibility towards the land and people which Beacon Food Forest stewards. It is so essential that we do this because for any solution to be carried on, the solution has to be something in which everyone can and is willing to engage themselves in.

The current habitat mapping layer is a source of information regarding the up-to-date distribution and quality of habitats all over the Czech Republic. 

More information is available in the English summary of the publication at the following link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/47048702_Mapovani_biotopu_v_Ceske_republice_vychodiska_vysledky_perspektivy

Czechia has developed tailor-made methodology on habitat mapping that is carried out as a field inventory in the whole country. Only trained experts are involved in the process, and all results are verified. 

The result is a country-wide habitat layer giving fine information about each natural and seminatural habitat occuring in the country. That is now one of the most important datasets on which the national nature conservation builds its strategy and plans measures both inside and outside of protected areas.

For the successful application of the approach, sustainable and integrative forest management needs not only to be piloted and practiced on the ground but also integrated into national strategies, development plans, and long-term forest management planning and monitoring. Consequently, it is equally important to work with forest tenants on the local level as to mainstream the approach on the national level.

The Join Forest Management approach has been anchored in the Forest Code of Tajikistan in 2011. This builds the legal basis of the implementation and accelerates the further dissemination to other parts of the country. Since 2016, a more integrative forest management is practiced for which an inter-sectoral dialogue has been established. This inter-sectoral dialogue facilitates to address environmental, economic and social challenges beyond the mandate of the forest agency. Forest monitoring and management planning are being strengthened through support to the forest inspection unit. Only if a forest management planning system and a forest monitoring structure are in place, an approach such as the integrative forest approach can be out scaled throughout the country and mismanagement, corruption, and wide-scale violations of regulations (e.g. grazing on forest plots) prevented. 

The project’s communication strategy was aimed at the local population through press and social media. It was important to produce press releases and invite journalists to report on the project, as was communication through the internet and social media.

A regular programme of activities aimed at the general public, including volunteering activities, was developed. These activities allowed locals (and sometimes visitors) to participate in and learn about conservation activities taking place in the protected area, as well as learning about Azorean biodiversity.

In the end of 2007 the Priolo's Interpretation Centre was opened. Its mission is to raise awareness for the “Priolo” and its habitat, the Laurel Forest. It contains an exhibition that tells the story of Azores bullfinch, explains the conservation actions developed on the ground and talks about the biodiversity of the protected area and of the Azores archipelago. The Priolo’s Interpretation Centre increased the communication capability of the project. This centre provides information for visitors to the protected area and promotes educational activities for schools and the local population. This centre also has a small souvenir shop and donation box, gathering some funding for the implementation of the project.