The process involved in Data for decision-making included gathering information by conducting participatory community Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and from key stakeholders, development of digital questionnaires, enumerators training on data collection, community data collection exercise and analysing the collected data to draw meaningful insights.

The data-gathering process involved participatory FGDs and engaging stakeholders, collecting information on the positive and negative impacts of Tsavo Trust (TT). This supported the development of a structured survey. The first Stakeholder meeting presented FGD findings, with participants providing additional insights. A digital questionnaire was created based on this input. Ten trained enumerators collected data from 156 households (approx. 950 individuals), achieving gender balance.

Community meetings shared survey results and ideas for addressing negative impacts. A second Stakeholder workshop gathered additional ideas. These components generated meaningful insights for decision-making.

These key components, including participatory discussions, stakeholder engagement, the development of a digital questionnaire, and data collection from households, were instrumental in generating meaningful insights for decision-making.

The building block emphasized the importance of using data for informed decision-making in conservation efforts. To facilitate this, the solution promoted the adoption of conservation technologies such as Survey 123, camera traps, and GIS software. The use of these technologies enabled more efficient and effective data collection and improved the planning of strategic patrols, while also incorporating intelligence data from community members. The adoption of GIS software and the Protected Areas Management System (PAMS) using the Survey 123 Mobile Data Collector provided tools to create hotspot maps, tables, and charts, making it easier to identify priority areas and plan targeted interventions. The use of data resulted in targeted conservation efforts, which improved the overall conservation strategy and highlighted the critical role of data in conservation efforts, and increased joint protection activities.

The solution trained 214 Village Game Scouts (VGS) from 19 adjacent villages to USNFR, including 32% women, on Human Rights, the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) handheld devices, and Participatory Management of the Nature Reserve. Additionally, the project provided patrol gear such as uniforms, gumboots, tents, GPS handheld devices, etc., to facilitate effective mobile camping patrol operations. The solution also supported joint foot anti-poaching patrol operations (which mentors local communities), mentoring local communities to conduct their own patrols in respective forest adjacent areas. The patrol teams consisted of TSF staff (22.3%), VGS formed from local communities (44.5%), and anti-poaching unit rangers (33.2%), with 10.4% women of all participants indicating increases in their participation. These efforts increased protection activities, reduced pressure from the forest, and ensured the sustained supply of goods and services that the forests offer. As a result, other villagers were willing to offer intelligent information on poaching incidents.

In order to meaningfully deploy the solution, it is essential to undertake training for all project and non-project staff that will be engaged. In the project, two groups were targeted for training; system administrators and field-based users. System administrators consist of management staff who would maintain the software and configure devices and additional applications while offering continuous training for field-based users. A training of trainers (ToT) was conducted for this group on the structure of the software, customization and implementation. The field-based users were the rangers who conduct daily monitoring routines and the would-be bearers of the mobile applications. Training for this group entails efficient use of mobile devices, mobile applications and submitting data.

This building block emphasizes the main solution to the lack of capacity of wildlife rangers. Doing this activity requires good planning and preparation to convene a successful training. The activity enhances the capacity of wildlife rangers so they would be able to carry out the enforcement, seabirds monitoring, and invasive species eradication activities effectively. This building block is very essential, therefore, the wildlife office continues to search for funding, as much as they could, to cover all the cost of these capacity buildings to ensure that all their rangers are well equipped to execute their responsibility. 

This building block emphasizes the major concern of the Government of Kiribati regarding the challenges in the management of the protected areas and seabirds. The Government of Kiribati, through the Wildlife Conservation Unit (WCU) of the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD), has been struggling for the past 30 years in managing the protected areas in Kiritimati Island. But through the development of this integrated management strategy and action plan, the Government of Kiribati is able to manage and address the identified or common environmental challenges that are affecting the health of the seabird species successfully and effectively.

The BC Parks Foundation and PaRx program conducted outreach and media events to raise awareness of the program and the link between health and nature. The launch of the collaboration with Parks Canada generated substantial media coverage, including from international outlets, thus raising awareness of the connections between nature and well-being, and the PaRx program. Parks Canada has also developed informational materials to help health-care providers connect patients with Parks Canada administered places, in so doing creating connections with the health-care community, increasing interest in health and wellness activities across Parks Canada destinations, strengthening engagement between health care sector and protected and conserved areas, and raising awareness of protected heritage areas in Canada.

PaRx and Parks Canada worked together to identify shared objectives around increasing access to nature and the connection between health, well-being and spending time in nature. This collaboration was formalized in a three-year partnering agreement, establishing that Adult Discovery Passes (valued at $72.25 a year) would be provided free of charge to PaRx to be prescribed by health-care professionals during the course of regular visits. The Parks Canada Adult Discovery Pass provides admission for one adult to over 80 Parks Canada administered places across Canada that typically charge a daily entrance fee for an entire year, including national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas. When prescribing Adult Discovery Passes to patients, health care providers are asked to prioritize those who live close to national parks, national historic sites, or national marine conservation areas, and who could benefit from it the most, such as those for whom cost of accessing nature may be a barrier.

The PaRx program is Canada’s national nature prescription program. Developed by the BC Parks Foundation, PaRx creates a framework to guide health-care practitioners in prescribing nature to improve patient health and wellbeing. The PaRx program features practical, clinician-focused resources like quick tips and patient handouts, in order to make prescribing time in nature easy and effective. PaRx prescriptions for nature recommend spending at least 2 hours a week in nature, at least 20 minutes at a time, in order to achieve the health and wellbeing benefits of connecting with nature.

The PaRx program design is based on studies suggesting that written prescriptions are better received than oral advice in motivating patients to make a change. Moreover, surveys indicate that health-care providers are consistently ranked among the most trusted professionals, increasing the likelihood that patients will adhere to recommendations to connect with nature for their health and well-being.

The Turtle Foundation maintains a very close relationship with the local conservation authority and the national police for several years. We provide extensive professional, financial, human, logistical and technical assistance to support the authorities' law enforcement efforts against sea turtle poaching.

The project includes the use of conservation dogs and modern night vision technology (drones and binoculars with thermal imaging technology) and their professional application within the framework of coordinated operational concepts and strategies. The operational concepts are developed in cooperation with the police, who partly accompany the operations or are on call in case our teams uncover a poaching case.

While previous strategies focused mainly on preventing poaching activities through the presence of rangers and volunteers on the beaches, the more proactive approach of the Dog & Drone team involves detection, intervention and prosecution of poaching activities.