In order for problems of salinity to be solved in perturbed mangrove ecosystems, as well as for fish production and migration to be optimized, it is vital that channels within the mangrove systems are properly cleared and maintained, even if this means cutting some trees. Clear and well-maintained channels permit the hydrological flows between salt- and freshwater sources in a mangrove to find a natural balance, favouring biodiversity. They also permit the movement of fish to and from the ecosystem in rhythm to those flows, as well as facilitating the natural expansion of the mangroves via greater seed dispersal.

CONANP is encouraging the fisherwives to diversify their families’ economic activities into:

- the production and sale of niche mangrove products, such as mangrove flower honey;

- the setting up of ecotourism activities, such as running tours inside the mangroves, bird watching trips.

CONANP is supporting this diversification in the following ways:

• Providing capacity development to these cooperatives in the area of touristic business development and administration
• Providing support for finding markets for new products. 

The benefit of CONANP’s approach is to provide the fishing communities with an adaptive capacity buffer in terms of multiple income sources, to reduce economic risks when fisheries are affected by tropical storms or when CONANP is working to solve the problem of river contamination due to upriver communities.The risk reduction approach also increases the link between the fishing communities and the mangrove ecosystems in terms of identity and belonging, by opening up more opportunities for its sustainable use.

Levels of community self-organization have been improved within fishing communities by strengthening their various capacities needed to define and self-regulate policies on sustainable fishing. This was done by:

-training on: fishing catch limits and productivity possibilities, how resources and fishing are interlinked;

- In the field, mentoring by NGOs on how fishermen can make group decisions and effectively plan the zonification of ecosystems into conservation and fishing/productive areas;

- Involvement of the fishermen’s wives and children in awareness-raising activities, leading to a strengthening of the learning process within families.

This has led to social cohesion within the zone, allowing the fishing cooperatives to negotiate and regulate amongst themselves to agree and enforce best practices for sustainable fishing; and increasing their capacity to find direct markets for their products, without the need for intermediaries. Being able to self-organize to the point of coming up with and implementing their own sustainable fishing solutions, made the communities owners of those solutions, which means the latter will be more likely to be maintained into the future.

CONANP has acknowledged that “without peoples’ interest, you won't get anywhere” in terms of promoting sustainable community use of local ecosystems. It is therefore not only important to raise awareness within local communities of the relevant connection between mangrove ecosystems maintenance, fisheries and local livelihoods, it is of vital importance to create a sense of identity and belonging of those communities to those ecosystems. Identity can be developed by raising the awareness of the benefits of sustainable management of the resources directly in terms of benefits to local livelihoods. However, identity can also be further strengthened by encouraging the self-organized engagement of all members of the community in not only making use of different parts of the ecosystem to sustain livelihoods, but also in engaging in its nurture and rehabilitation. The rest of the building blocks in this solution all aid this further development of identity of the local communities as a part of their local ecosystems.

The MACBIO project assists its partners in developing effective approaches to marine management. In 2015 the project was requested to support the design and development of open-source mobile solutions for data collection in locally managed marine areas in Fiji, among others. Thorough research and testing of existing platforms and proven examples identified Open Data Kit (ODK), as a suitable open source solution, especially in combination with KoBoToolkit.

App development and use is a strategic process. This guide aims to assist in this process, follwing the Digital Principles.

First objectives and types of apps are analysed, before looking at strenghts and weaknesses, as well as alternatives to smartphones and apps as technology. A guide on researching the existing app market concludes this chapter.

Secondly the enabling environment of app development is considered, from user centred development, over budget considerations and development options.

Lastly, technical aspects of app development are explored, dwelling on user needs, functionality, platforms, back and frontend, distribution and hardware considerations.

There is a wide spectrum of Smartphone Apps in (marine) resource management. This Block gives orientation in the app jungle, starting with definitions and background on smartphone and app usage, and the opportunities this provides e.g. for natural resource management.

Also, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, if the answer to “Isn’t there an app for this” is yes. A list provides an overview of different app types and examples from marine management and other sectors, with a special focus on the Pacific region.

Community bank members regularly contribute a small amount of money from net sales into a dedicated Environment Fund, which is used to help finance local conservation projects such as community-managed marine protection. The money gathered via the fund can be leveraged to secure additional funding from local government or NGOs.