The consultant conducted a desk survey which included reviewing the existing C-CAM funding plan prepared in 2015 looking at the gaps, especially in light of the impacts of COVID-19; looking at similar organizations to see what mechanisms they have in place; focusing on the practicality of the implementation actions suggested in the plan to determine if the goals were achievable or realistic and what would be needed to make them more so as well as if the actions would achieve those goals. The consultant also had to look at what had changed since 2015 and consider what prevented the implementation of the plan at a more practical level

The SAGE Assessment is a participatory process involving all the key stakeholders of the conservancy.  Identification of stakeholders was carried out at the planning phase of the assessment. This stakeholder mapping was spearheaded by the SAGE consultant and involved Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA), Taita Taveta Wildlife Conservancies Association (KWCA landscape level Association working within Tsavo Landscape) and Amboseli Ecosystem Trust (KWCA Landscape level Association working within Amboseli Landscape). The following stakeholder groups were identified and invited for the assessment workshops: Conservancy management, Conservancy Investors, Youth, Men, Women and Board.  The  assessments were attended by a total of 99 participants.

Each assessment was followed by a synthesis workshop where each group selected two to three representatives to attend the synthesis workshop. The findings of the assessment workshops were presented at the synthesis workshop and ideas for action were discussed. A total of 46 stakeholders from two conservancies attended the synthesis workshop.

The engagement of all relevant stakeholders in the SAGE ensures that stakeholders are all heard and invested in the actions that they collectively decide on. 

Dogs have a highly developed sense of smell that enables them to locate hidden objects and follow traces of odorous objects. Thanks to their excellent ability to perceive acoustic and olfactory impressions, they are the ideal complement to humans in detecting difficult-to-see situations despite the darkness. Because of this profile, conservation dogs can provide valuable services in tracking and tracing poachers, for example. Dogs are also increasingly used for research, surveillance and protection purposes on sea turtle nesting beaches.

The training of the dog handlers and the conservation dogs is done by an expert dog trainer. The dog trainer spends at least 6 weeks per year on the project side and accompanies the team with online trainings.

The dogs' most important task is to search larger areas during beach patrols in order to detect unauthorised persons. Furthermore, they are specially trained to detect turtle meat and are able to find it in travellers' luggage at ports and airports, as well as in houses and cars. The dogs are also trained in mantrailing. This means that they are able to follow poachers who have left objects such as clothing, knives or ropes at the scene of a crime to which their scent adheres. This supports the local law enforcement authorities to track and prosecute poachers.

Implementation is the desire of any plan. It is the “boots on the ground” that counts. A portion of the equation is developing a protected area enforcement plan. Equally important is the capacity to implement. To determine ability to implement, an organization must carry out a self-analysis. The plan can outline fundraising needs: capacity needs, equipment and tools. Additionally, an organization can have a buildup period for implementation showing donors the full picture of desired impact.

Enforcement involves more than just one organization. The entire process in development and implementation of an enforcement strategy must be participatory. Ultimately, stakeholders must be involved as they can have a positive or negative effect on outcomes. In this case local government agencies are crucial to be involved (i.e coast guard, police, military, government agencies). Equally important are community members of influence who can become stewards educating on legislation and the protected area rules ultimately to help reduce poaching. Additionally, the value of strong community support is the fact that they can become “eyes on the ground”.

One of the main objectives of the project was to transfer the seed bombing method developed by XGraines, and adapting it to the material, human and knowledge resources available within tribal communities. This action required the implementation of several training workshops, following a preliminary phase of identification of all locally mobilizable resources. The experiments were carried out directly with the participants, who were able to contribute to the implementation of the method in a co-constructed process that could guarantee the proper appropriation of this technique. A main local referent was trained throughout the process and will be able to pass on this acquired knowledge in the future within the community.

This process involved peer-to-peer learning among the different sites of the project beneficiaries, to learn from one another, adopt some good governance practices and adapt to their local situations such as how to structure good benefit-sharing mechanisms.

This building block assisted in developing actions to address the governance challenges, communication of information, training, and ensuring ongoing mentorship and coaching for the Community Resources Boards in the implementation of governance actions. The key issue of this stage was creating opportunities for having a shared vision and collective actions.

Enhancing governance and conservation in biodiversity protected area management requires robust stakeholder participation and collaboration by all the actors in the protected areas. This was key as the shared resources made it possible to accomplish the project implementation within the schedule and timeframe.  This process also involved stakeholder analysis and their contribution to the governance of the site. Shared vision planning and established mechanism for continued coordination.

A brief site-level profile (baseline) was developed to assist in understanding the governance gaps and issues in the targeted protected areas. In this case, a SAGE too was identified to assist with a quick assessment of governance issues.  This process also helped to identify key stakeholders relevant to the implementation of the project at the site level.