• Participatory Approach (PICAD Model): Livelihood development is guided by the Participatory Integrated Conservation and Development (PICAD), fostering "community ownership" of activities by involving villagers in problem-solving and encouraging their contributions (labour, materials). The management incorporates the Government's "Sam Sang" policy, which promotes the village as the basic unit of development and the district as the development manager. Empowering communities in resource management. Village Development Plans (VDPs) are crucial, guiding the allocation of support from funds like the WB LENS2 and LLL programs
• Eco-tourism Development: NNT NP facilitates community-based eco-tourism to provide socio-economic benefits to villagers with minimal environmental impact. 
• Community Outreach and Awareness (COCA): Programs are delivered to communities within the park to raise awareness about conservation issues and integrate conservation messages into local culture.
• Land Use Planning: Capacity building for district staff in Participatory Land Use Planning (PLUP) and GIS mapping supports the land use plans, ensuring that land use in and around the park is both productive for communities and consistent with conservation goals.

• Law Enforcement Program: NNT NP has a proactive law enforcement program focused on protecting wildlife and biological resources, with emphasis on endangered Annamite endemic species. This includes forest patrols (35,000 man-days pa) and operating checkpoints at strategic locations.
• Targeted Protection: Efforts are concentrated on 3 Biodiversity Priority Zones, based on global conservation importance and threat analysis. The zones are crucial for species like the Critically Endangered Large-antlered Muntjac, offering significant hope for long-term survival.
• Combating Illegal Activities: Strategies to reduce illegal poaching and trade through improved cooperation with neighbouring countries and intensive patrols along the Lao-Vietnam border. Adaptive law enforcement strategies are informed by "Patrolling Hit Rate" data.
• Long-term Wildlife Monitoring: The park has a wildlife monitoring program using 300 camera-traps deployed biennially to estimate trends in populations and distribution. This provides essential data for evaluating conservation effectiveness.
• Research Partnerships: NNT NP actively partners with specialized research organizations to expand knowledge of the park's biota and build staff capacity. Ongoing research includes programs for the Asian Elephant and Chinese swamp cypress.

• Legal Basis: The NNT NP's governance is structured through a hierarchy of legal instruments, starting with the Concession Agreement (CA), which established fundamental commitments for environmental and social management. This is reinforced by Prime Ministerial Decrees, including PM122 which have refined the legal status, roles, duties, and organizational structure of the NP. The evolution of these decrees facilitated the transition from a NPA to a National Park, and proposed changes to PM122, aim to align governance with Green List and World Heritage requirements. 
• Governing Body: The Nakai-Nam Theun National Park Authority is the responsible entity. It is governed by a Managing Committee, chaired by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment and including representatives from central and local government agencies, and NTPC.
• Operational Management: Day-to-day operations are carried out by the NNT NP Management Division.
• CA: The entire framework operates under the CA of the Nam Theun 2 Power Project. This agreement provides consistent annual funding for the NP.
• Decentralization and Collaboration: The structure facilitates decentralization of management to local authorities and emphasizes collaboration with Implementing Partners. This multi-level engagement ensures coherence and effective implementation.

Not only the involvement of the local population in the release event of the crayfish (as described in building block 3) is an important part of education and awareness-raising.

At the same time, the employees of the Wildnispark Zurich Foundation were comprehensively trained, on the one hand to be able to pass on the information to the park's visitors, and on the other hand to keep and breed the crayfish in the aquarium.

In the immediate vicinity of the Wildnispark Zurich visitor centre, the underwater life of the river Sihl is explained on information boards and illustrated in an aquarium. The aquarium is home to 7 native fish species and, more recently, a native crayfish species.

Work is currently underway on a comprehensive exhibition on the topic of water as a biocoenosis, which is intended to inform children and adults about the native aquatic inhabitants and raise their awareness of their protection. Interactive elements on crayfish will be an important part of this exhibition, which is due to open in autumn 2025.

After completion of the preparations (as described in building blocks 1 & 2), the reintroduction of the crayfish into a stream in the forest reserve Sihlwald began with the release event on 21/09/2024. A total of 40 adult stone crayfish (Austropotamobius torrentium) were released with the participation of the local population, the Friends of Wildnispark Zurich (Förderverein Wildnispark Zürich) and the Sihltal Nature Conservation Association (Naturschutzverein Sihltal).

The reintroduction will continue in 2025 and 2026 and further crayfish will be released into the streams in Sihlwald, totalling 150 individuals. 

All animals come from donor streams in the region and from breeding.

Firstly, an implementation concept was developed, consisting of the following parts:

• Reintroduction (see building block 3)
• Accompanying educational measures (see building block 4)
• Monitoring success (see building block 5)

One of the prerequisites for the reintroduction of crayfish in the Sihlwald is the authorisation granted by the Fisheries and Hunting Administration of the Canton of Zurich.

In order to raise the money required for the reintroduction and the educational measures, the association launched a fundraising campaign, which is still ongoing.

Weitere Finanzierung???

Strengthening and consolidating climate-resilient rural ventures requires financing products that support these initiatives from inception. Rural entrepreneurs often encounter barriers to accessing traditional credit financing, particularly during the startup phase of their business models.

In this context, non-repayable funds—also known as seed capital—serve as a vital tool. This financing enables entrepreneurs to prototype promising ideas that can become dynamic ventures, fosters an entrepreneurial culture in rural territories, and provides crucial support during the early "valley of death" phase of business development.

This building block focuses on developing open public calls for seed capital funds that incorporate climate change adaptation criteria across business models. The design of these calls must include clear eligibility requirements for climate resilience, adaptation practices, and profitable business models with measurable socio-environmental impact. This financing can particularly benefit ventures led by youth, women, and vulnerable rural populations—making it essential to consider these demographics in the eligibility criteria

The Development Banking System (SBD), a second-tier financial entity of the Costa Rican state, has the mandate to provide financing for vulnerable individuals in rural Costa Rica at favorable rates, particularly focusing on women and youth. Though there are existing institutional policies and strategies at national and territorial levels, there are large gaps in integrating climate change adaptation as an investment priority for financial entities. 

Until recently, climate change and the concepts of climate resilience and ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) have been largely absent from the agenda of SBD. However, by providing training and capacity-building on these topics, the SBD can now pave the way for the development of innovative financial products and the enhancement of existing ones. 

Additionally, developing monitoring and evaluation systems for financial products helps measure the impact of adaptation measures integrated into local enterprises' business models. This strengthens transparency and builds trust among the financial sector, beneficiaries, decision-makers, and international financiers.

Top-level athletes have an important communications platform at their disposal and can lead by example, making them key contributors to the Healthy Waters Alliance’s goals. By using this awareness-raising potential, they can help bring attention to the degradation of freshwater and coastal ecosystems, increase visibility of practical solutions, and drive greater public engagement and action. 

Appointing athlete ambassadors dedicated to the cause strengthens the movement. With the launch of the Healthy Waters Alliance, World Rowing have engaged Christine Cavallo (USA) and Martin Helseth (NOR) as the first World Rowing Healthy Waters Ambassadors, and are now looking to expand this into a global Athlete Ambassador Programme with representatives from each continent.

Athletes inspire action more effectively than generic messages, making initiatives more relatable and engaging. For example, Norwegian Olympian Martin Helseth led a powerful environmental initiative through the World Rowing – WWF Healthy Waters Alliance to inspire action across Norway’s rowing community. The project demonstrated how athletes can effectively engage the public and protect nature by addressing water pollution in the Oslo Fjord. The initiative includes two key phases: 

• Phase 1: Clean-Up Week (3–8 June 2025) – Timed with World Ocean Day, rowing clubs in Oslo conducted seabed dives, shoreline clean-ups, and environmental education to tackle local pollution. 
• Phase 2: Oslo Fjord Restoration Day (23 August 2025) – This phase will focus on habitat restoration and youth involvement, supported by the local NGO Marea.

Helseth’s leadership exemplifies how athlete ambassadors can lead grassroots environmental efforts with global impact, aiming to foster a new generation of nature protectors in rowing and beyond. 

The Healthy Waters Alliance connects the Rowing community with WWF communities worldwide to foster collaboration. Together, they co-create and jointly deliver local projects and initatives that protect and restore healthy waters through awareness and hands-on action, benefiting rowing, communities, and ecosystems. Working with WWF ensures that actions implemented by rowing communities are relevant from a nature conservation perspective. 

 Projects can be initiated by National Rowing Federations, clubs, athletes, event organisers, or WWF local offices. After contacting the Healthy Waters Alliance, through submitting their interest via an online form partners agree on a locally impactful project recognized by the Alliance. These projects focus on community engagement, nature restoration, waste reduction and other areas.  

  The rowing community benefits from the platform through access to educational workshops, working groups, global visibility of local projects, and healthier waters for rowing. In turn, WWF offices gain partners who help raise awareness on the freshwater & coastal ecosystems' crisis and promote solutions, while engaging with event organisers to drive visibility at major rowing events with wide media coverage.