LUFASI having an isolated 20ha forest lodged in the middle of a highly commercialised and densely populated Lekki peninsula of Lagos burdens its health. The forest has a partially completed boundary fence, which has reduced the authorized entry by 40% . This along with the scheduled patrols stopped loggers and poachers from game hunting in the forest for business and traditional purposes. Although there are stringent rules regarding unauthorized entry, there is still encroachment by the nearby community members which heavily disturbs the forest and the biodiversity present. The public would either enter to get firewood, manage small farms within the forest or use it as a corridor to the other side of the park. The completion of the perimeter fence will minimize the intrusion to 96% and allow the density of the flora and fauna population to increase thereby creating an ecological balance in the forest. LUFASI invokes the importance of green spaces to their tourists and visitors through the construction of sustainable bamboo and Ekki walking bridges and pathways to give the park a more natural and aesthetic appeal. We want to further improve by clearing and developing more nature trails showcasing the beauty and importance of the forests to biodiversity and us humans.

For many, the concept of protected area has not yet been fully understood  in Nigeria and Lagos in particular. In this wise, LUFASI has taken a full responsibility in educating the public, especially the locals on the importance of protected areas and their ecological benefits for the  overall environmental sustainability of humanity. To this end, LUFASI develops creative tools for teaching about Climate Change (CC), Forest Conservation (FC), Plastic Pollution and engage in Community Outreach using the PA as a living laboratory where students and group visitors can learn. The CC workshop is an interactive learning, which informs students and group visitors of the critical challenges facing our Earth’s climate (caused by unsustainable practices such as the destruction of forests) and empowers them to take local action for global change. Forest conservation programme focuses on bridging the knowledge gap in our forest biodiversity and importance for ecosystem balance, and expanding green cover and natural habitats across Lagos state. Plastic Pollution practical workshops focus on reducing plastic use that has put the world under threat including commemorating global environment days to further enlighten and advocate for a healthy natural environment with focus on protected areas.

Camera traps are a new piece of technology for the field team. Training is a mixture of remote conversation and trial and error. I have used camera traps before but I am not able to get to the field to conduct training with the cameras. 

We are heavily using social media to share the findings of our project. Overall the response has been very good. Due to work and family commitments, we have had to take on a social media co-ordinator to further our cause. Currently, I am funding this project by myself but we are hoping that our online presence might later lead to some outside funding. 

The Silver Back Company Ltd is a social business company created by the Environment and Rural Development Foundation(ERuDeF) in 2013 to assist communities in ERuDeF's areas of operation commercialise products produce by cooperatives.

Proceeds generated through the Silver Back Company will be used towards the capitalization of the Forest Protection Fund (a community based conservation trust fund) and the ERuDeF Endownment Fund (designated to support the charitable activities of ERuDeF) and partly reinvested into the company.

A series of trainings for national decision makers was conducted covering topics such as FLR terms & definitions, strategies addressing drivers of degradation (e.g. wood energy), as well as financing options. Capacity building was conducted continuously and had a ‘training on the job’ character; it was aligned with concrete aspects such as FLR studies (ROAM study, financing options), the national FLR strategy and identification of FLR priority landscapes. ~40 relevant actors (universities, civil society, private sector) were able to provide their input in the form of questionnaires on how to define priority areas for FLR, which was a cornerstone of capacity building.

The training was complemented by the participation of national representatives at various FLR & AFR100 regional and international conferences; this enabled further knowledge exchange at global level to improve national strategies.

At present, capacity building focuses at the regional level; a training module has been developed and tested in Boeny region in April 2018 and will be adapted for application in Diana region. Additional trainings will be held for the Ministry of Spatial Planning, covering land governance.

Crowdfunding is a relatively new way of funding projects, the goal being to inspire individuals to want to help you achieve the project goals by donating to the project budget. There are several online crowdfunding platforms that work in different ways, some of which require a fee whilst others are free. We used a site that requires us to meet a set amount of our budget before funds were extracted from donors, if we didn’t reach that amount then the project would not go ahead. The crowdfunding site was easy to set up but requires you to write project details into sections. This should be easy because of already writing the project proposals and pitch packs. We were also able to embed the campaign video into this site. Once the site was set-up we shared it on all our social media sites and through our personal networks.

It is necessary to develop a strong, concise and attractive pitch pack, which is professional and clearly shows the project’s importance and budget. It is extremely important to make a clear pitch on how, by funding the project, the organisation or company will benefit. For example, for X amount of money the funder logo will be used on project t-shirts and the funder will be mentioned in all media coverage.  The pitch pack should include the project logo, and use visual aids to bring the point across. In this case we used images of Aldabra, it’s wildlife and the impact of the plastic pollution. Since we were distributing these packs in the UK and Seychelles it was vital to create each pack with the local context in mind, whether it was currency conversions or the use of particular quotes from recognisable figures. Alongside the pitch pack we created a campaign video which introduces the problem and the solution using strong imagery and a voiceover. With these steps completed, we could then plan the project launch. The aim of the launch was to garner a maximum amount of media coverage and engage as many individuals and companies as possible via a face-to-face event. We therefore organised events both in UK and in Seychelles, in which potential donors and supporters were invited.

The Kumamoto Ground Water Foundation was established by the City to financially support multiple projects and research activities aiming at groundwater conservation. The large part of the financial resource relies on contributions provided by the local governments and supporting members of private sector. The amount of contributions is determined in accordance with the amount of groundwater withdrawn by each government/company. The budget of the foundation used to promote activities for recharge, quality, and conservation of ground water. The Foundation also calls for cooperation from citizens and private companies in its own ways. Citizens and companies, for instance, can offset groundwater consumption by purchasing or consuming crops or meat grown in the groundwater recharge areas. The Foundation provides service to covert the amount of consumed product into the amount of water recharged by the consumption, and then issues a certificate that proves contribution to groundwater conservation. Companies can use this certificate to prove their efforts of conserving groundwater by attaching it to a report to be submitted to the prefectural government. Citizens and companies can also join their conservation activities by owing paddy fields in the recharging areas.

The ordinances and the master plan stipulate collaboration among relevant local stakeholders to establish a common system for conservation management. In line with the city ordinance, private companies that withdraw more than 30,000 m3 of groundwater annually are requested to form, implement and monitor a conservation plan. They also submit a report on the recharge of groundwater to follow the prefectural ordinance. Through this collaboration system, the governments have achieved multiple projects to recharge groundwater with involvement of different stakeholders. The prefectural government, for instance, took the lead in recharging groundwater by filling fallow paddy fields full of water in collaboration with farmland owners in upper basin region, agricultural cooperatives, and neighboring towns and villages. Furthermore, there are some companies participating in the projects as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility. Farmers are requested to use fertilizers and treat animal excrement properly in order to decrease the concentration of nitrate.