Implementation | PANORAMA

Ecoranger programme and DEA land user incentive programme

The DEA NRM land user incentive programme, along with co finance from CSA donors, allows CSA to fund alien clearing in priority catchments. Eco rangers then employed to work with farmers, on rotation grazing, they control grazing of livestock and ensure rotational grazing is enforced. They keep areas alien free, they help protect cattle through mobile kraaling and also gather data on cattle and biodiversity and monitor veld condition and determine when an area needs to be closed from grazing. They also ensure compliance with rested areas and report those not compliant. They also ensure protection of biodiversity against poaching. Also ecorangers play a crucial role in ensuring that alien invasive plants do not come back and are responsible for pulling out seedlings that grow back. It is their responsibility as well to rehabilitate degraded areas where erosion dongas are beginning to appear. Incentives for land owners include not only ecorangers but also vaccinations and access to markets through auctions. Springs and streams that have dried started flowing again after these approaches have been implemented.

•Traditional leadership as well municipality played a crucial role during implementation, without their support this would not have been successful •A process of community mobilization around the importance of sustainable land management and catchment management •Funding from DEA NRM for wattle clearing allowed rangelands to be made available •Funding by DEA NRM and donor funding for rangelands management by ecorangers ensured non return of wattle as well as ensuring sustainable and product

•Livestock condition improves within one year of this approach. •Market access for rural communities makes a huge difference to livelihoods and their engagement in the programme. •Wattle cleared areas have to be constantly monitored to ensure regrowth is combated. •Community engagement has to be ongoing. •Financial resources are very critical for the implementation of this EbA initiative due to poverty levels in these communities. •Implementation work should be based on indigenus knowledge systems (assisted in the design of the rotational grazing patterns) •The focus on rangelands for the benefit of rural livestock was critical. •Improving benefit of broader community through redmeat market access was key in order to get buyin from the broader community.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Entirety

Local

National

MNI restoration toolkit- Conservation SA

Vulnerability assessments and EbA priority maps integrated into local policy and planning that include an index for monitoring

Vulnerability assessments and EbA priority maps

CSA used the Lets Respond Toolkit and a facilitation resource they have developed to assist with the implementation of the toolkit in order to assist the Alfred Nzo District Municipality in mainstreaming climate change into their district and support the development of an enabling environment for EbA. CSA developed a Vulnerability assessment with the Alfred Nzo District Municipality which included ecological, social and institutional vulnerability to climate change. In the process the layers of vulnerability were translated into GIS and an overarching EbA priority map was developed which guides decision-making within the district. The VA also contains an index which is used to monitor the vulnerability over time. CSA then also assisted the ANDM to develop a Climate Change Response Strategy guided by the VA and the maps in order to develop key adaptation (and mitigation) priorities of which EbA was part. It was critical to then integrate this plan within ANDM and the use of the ANDM climate change committee was integral to this as well as for the monitoring of vulnerability.

Traditional leadership and municipality for planning; existent community of practice around NGO and restoration/conservation work at a catchment level such as the UCP-Programme: district level climate change committee which can assist in mainstreaming climate Change; National level 'Lets respond toolkit' for mainstreaming climate change at LG level support by by SA Local government association; tools and expertise to do VA, GIS EbA maps/ develop an index for monitoring

Lessons from working with lets respond and mainstreaming into local policy and planning: •Raising awareness about climate change and its likely impacts amongst local government decision-makers is really important – so they can see the relevance for their service delivery. It is difficult to address the unknown and usually much easier to address immediate needs and concerns (basic services), so linking climate change to existing activities, priorities, and budgets, and looking at what climate impacts might mean for these things, is really important and really possible. Another thing that helps is linking climate change to areas of responsibility in municipal planning and implementation that are already well understood. We need to mainstream climate change in a very strategic and targeted way into the key planning documents and management tools of the municipality, such as the IDP, and the various sector master plans.

Umzimvubu Partnership Programme

Socio-economic measures to promote sustainable land-use

Farmer field school

Blue Forests 2015

This building block includes development and introduction of sustainable aquaculture and livelihoods diversification (seaweed cultivation, crab & shrimp farming). –10 community groups are supported through farmer field schools and by providing resources to initiate new aquaculture management practices and livelihood diversification. –these improved practices will directly revitalize 300 ha of land for 300 households (based on a conservative estimate of 1 ha per household), increasing average aquaculture productivity with 50%, by adjusting pond lay-out and management, by reducing fertilizer and pesticide inputs, by making optimal use of mangrove services like water purification and by diversifying livelihoods activities. Based on experiences in Indonesia and Vietnam, income derived from the ponds is expected to have risen to 5000 EUR ha by year 5. –community funds will be established that: i) absorb savings from increased pond productivity (5%) in support of long-term coastal belt maintenance and up-scaling of sustainable land-use management measures beyond the project lifetime; ii) can absorb government support to local communities for coastal protection and sustainable land-use.

Communities have full ownership over enhanced aquaculture production systems and the hardware that will be put in place during and after the project. The reclaimed land will be managed as community-based protected areas (as agreed between communities and the local government), with opportunities for sustainable use of natural resources. The reclaimed mangrove belt will be formally owned by the government as per Indonesian law.

to be added later

Fish/shrimp farming Coastal Field School, a new hope for local farmers in coast…

Meet Abdul, a local champion of Building with Nature Indonesia

Construction of permeable dam structures as sediment traps and basis for mangrove rehabilitation

Permeable dam structures for sediment capturing

Photo by Nanang Sujana

Local women in Demak building Permeable Dams

Photo by Nanang Sujana

Technical measures to protect the coastline in Demak include restoration of the sediment balance using permeable dams and mud nourishments, alongside mangrove rehabilitation. – Grids of permeable dams are put in place to dampen erosive waves and to trap sediments, so that the disturbed soil profile is restored; – In this sheltered environment mangrove forests are rehabilitated. The mangroves stabilize sediment, further build up the soil and protect against salt water intrusion and flooding; This process is reinforced in the most severely degraded sites through sustainable sediment suppletions. Where needed agitation dredging and nourishment of sand banks may help shape the soil profile and shelter vulnerable parts of the coast.

Ownership and provisions for maintenance of the structures will be formalized during the project in co-management arrangements between communities and the local government. Communities will take full ownership over the structures ensuring their long-term maintenance. Maintenance costs will be covered via community-managed development funds.

The set-up was successful: we were able to trap up to 45 cm of mud and there are already Avicennia mangrove juveniles of 50 cm tall within 1.5 years. Some of the poles were damaged by shipworms and brushwood is disappearing – leading to the collapse of part of the dams during storm events. Some structures were damaged during the monsoon season. The pilot hence did its job: trapping sediment and the principle of the design is sound. We are now testing the best materials to use, for optimizing our design and providing lessons learned for scaling up. Other key lessons: place the poles deep enough, use sufficient fill material, add material frequently and keep the ropes really tight. We are developing guidelines on ‘permeable structures‘ to trap sediment for mangroves recovery as stakeholders want to replicate the approach Upcoming topics include system understanding, community planning, fish pond rehabilitation, mud nourishment and ecological mangrove rehabilitation (EMR).

Implementation

Local

Subnational

Building with Nature programme in Indonesia wins Dutch engineering award

New series of mangrove restoration works on eroded coast in Java

Building technical capacities on water monitoring, modeling and economic valuation methods

Field training on surveying and GPS coordinates locating tools, as a part of a training on the integration of drone technology into water management. Participants further developed this training and integrated it into the curriculum of Walailak University

Ngamsing/GIZ 2015

Key capacities for setting-up a sustainable river management, namely hydrological modeling, vulnerability assessments on future floods and droughts and economic valuation methods for identifying suitable ecosystem-based adaptation measures were built on the local and national level. The project introduced drone technology for monitoring the watershed and to improve modeling of future flood risks. A series of trainings, developed together with German research institutes and practitioners, was conducted, containing both theoretical background and practical application in the river basins.

• Sufficient technical and financial capacities of local research institutions • Motivation of single persons, that act as agents of change within their own institution and follow-up on the trainings/ implement the newly gained knowledge into their daily work.

International institutions/ experts need to be aware about the knowledge management as well as learning structures of the local institutions and be willing to adapt their own approach accordingly.

Implementation

Subnational

Utilization of local knowledge and ownership through river basin committees

The set-up of river basin committees, representing the population within a river basin as well as academia, government and others is crucial for the success of river management. The connection between the local population and the water resources, especially in the Tha Di river basin, is very strong. Within the local communities knowledge on changes in climate and natural disasters (flood and drought events) has been passed down from generation to generation without much written documentation. The concept of flood protection via living weirs originated from the local riparian communities and strong leaders with innovative ideas and the willingness to experiment different approaches for flood and drought protection. Combining this strong ownership with hydrological data from local universities and the administrative capacity from the regional governing institutions allows for a holistic water management approach. All these actors are represented within the river basin committees.

• strong community partnership and ownership • innovative ideas and willingness to experiment • willingness to contribute with resources (time, manpower, local material) • river basin committees are the bridge between local stakeholders and water management institutions of the government

The river basin committees (RBCs) in different river basins were at very different stages at the beginning of the project. Some were fully established, which allowed easier communication with the local population as well as cooperation between local stakeholders, public sector and academia. Other RBCs had not held their first meeting when the project started. Here local stakeholders took strong ownership over their water recourses, which allowed the project to progress while the RBC was still in the process of being established.

Implementation

Local

EbA Measure: Living weirs as flood buffers

Living weir

GIZ Thailand, 2015

The living weir concept is an EbA Measure, which is based on the knowledge of the local communities in the river basin and in line with the King of Thailand’s Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to apply technologies based on local resources and know-how. In a first stage a bamboo grid construction is constructed in the river providing structure for degradable sand bags containing a mixture of sand, coconut coir and manure. Along the riverbanks a combination of Banyan trees (Ficus bengalensis) and other leguminous plants is planted to stabilize soils. The wide rooting banyan trees are planted on both side of the weir, The roots that they are forming will nurture from the manure and will penetrate in the bamboo construction over the next decades to form a “living weir”. This technology entails several benefits such as improving ground water recharge, which can increase the crop yields, increasing biodiversity, such as increasing in fish habitat, variety of plants etc. and strengthen unity among related stakeholders. Terraces also allow fish to move upstream. Maintenance costs and efforts for this methodology are low and can be easily conducted by the local communities.

• Local acceptance & ownership • clarity on land tenure on construction site • stakeholder involvement, such as local people, (ideally with support from government and private sector) • natural materials that are available in the area such as bamboo, sandbags, tree seedlings etc. • working on voluntary basis, budget and material support by community at the first stage, support from the government and/or private sector at a later stage

- Being seen as a local wisdom, these measures have the full support from the local community and are financed and implemented by local stakeholders. This has gained them a lot of attention and interests from Thai government institutions. - However, there is a lack of scientific backup. This leads to construction without proper planning and without coordination with the local water management institutions. In the past newly constructed weirs were built in wrong locations at the wrong time, underestimating the river flow during an early flood season , which caused damage or even destruction of the incomplete structures - Raising awareness on physical and socioeconomic impacts of climate change has increased the acceptance of EbA measures by local stakeholders. However, further knowledge is needed to erase belief on false effects of EbA measures and to convey to stakeholders in which locations EbA measures are feasible.

Implementation

Local

Establishing transboundary guidelines for sustainable nature tourism

The aim of developing joint guidelines and working group for sustainable nature tourism is to protect natural diversity while allowing for recreational use of the protected areas. The Finnish coordinator began by collecting two sets of principles regarding sustainable nature tourism in Norway and Finland, i.e. the principles of Metsähallitus (Agency responsible for managing most protected areas in Finland) and the Sustainable Model of Arctic Regional Tourism (SMART). Joint guidelines combining these sets of principles were prepared, which incorporated input from entrepreneurs, nature tourism working group and the project Steering Committee. The guidelines were added to the Action Plan for nature protection and sustainable nature tourism in Pasvik-Inari Area, and they were published on the project web page.

First there were good, existing national guidelines for sustainable nature tourism available in Norway and Finland, and there was agreement in all countries that sustainable nature tourism should be promoted in the Pasvik-Inari area. Second, acceptance of joint guidelines by local actors (entrepreneurs, stakeholders and nature-protection authorities) was gained through a sustainable nature tourism seminar. Third, funds for a translator were needed when local people attended the meetings.

The guidelines have been used less than expected, and the focus is more on nature protection cooperation than promoting tourism. National guidelines for sustainable tourism in Finnish nature protection areas are renewed in 2016, and joint efforts toward nature protection and sustainable tourism should be reflected in the future Pasvik-Inari cooperation. During project implementation, the Russian border expanded and covered more area surrounding Pasvik State Nature Reserve. This reduced access for foreigners, tourism entrepreneurs, visitors, and Reserve staff. The international working group promoting nature tourism has not met since 2010. It proved to be difficult to get the entrepreneurs of small companies together. Pasvik-Inari area is remote and travel distances are long, while resources of the entrepreneurs and companies are scarce. It was decided that experts in the action plan working group are invited to the meetings when needed.

Sustainable Model of Arctic Regional Tourism

Principles for sustainable nature tourism in Pasvik-Inari Trilateral Park

Coordinating meadow management with local landowners

Private lands occupy a significant portion of the river valley within inholdings of Thayatal NP, which are dominated by meadows. The economic benefits for farmers to cultivate these meadows are too low to warrant raising of crops there. To prevent the establishment and spread of neophytes in the meadow areas, however, Thayatal NP staff coordinated with farmers to regularly mow these meadows. In turn, farmers were compensated monetarily.

The financial support of the mowing measures came from the Austrian government, who fosters environmentally friendly and extensive forms of agriculture protecting natural habitats in the frame of the ÖPUL-program.

Some of the farmers turned out to be a great help for the maintenance of the meadows and thus the control of the Himalayan Balsam. The established cooperation and contacts can prove to be relevant also in forthcoming activities.

Implementation

Local

Information about the ÖPUL-program on the official website of the respective Au…

Joint transboundary removal of an invasive plant

Invasive plants occurred on both sides of the Thaya River, which serves as the international boundary and the border between the two national parks. Plants were removed from both sides of the river by staff from the respective parks, and removal of plants took place following their detection by the monitoring effort. When the joint eradication project was originally proposed by Podyjí National Park, staff of Thayatal National Park were sceptical of the efficiency of the efforts to remove the invasive plant based on their knowledge of many unsuccessful eradication attempts in other areas. Thayatal National Park was therefore only willing to invest a small amount of resources initially to test whether the eradication efforts would work. After initial successes, Thayatal National Park contributed resources to conduct more substantial removal measures jointly with Podyjí National Park. As both parks are opposed to the use of pesticides, individual plants needed to be removed by hand and preferably during the adolescent life stages before seeds emerged. Otherwise, seeds could be spread during removal of the adult plants. Nevertheless, mowing measures proved very effective in places of larger stocks.

The removal process had been initiated by Podyjí before establishment of Thayatal National Park, which reduced the effort needed through the joint eradication. Second, geomorphology within the river valley section running through the parks is relatively unfavorable for rapid expansion of the plant. Third, removal of plants by Czech staff on Austrian soil became easier after Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004. Before, border police had to be informed every time staff crossed the border.

A big lesson learned for both National Parks was the need to cooperate across the state border and between the two protected areas to jointly implement nature conservation measures. This especially applied to the removal of invasive species in a river valley that is situated on the border.