Female rangers play an important part in the conservation of black rhinos in the Kunene and Erongo regions of Namibia. They are equally willing and able to conduct patrols and are fully supported by the custodian conservancies.

The aim was to obtain as much data as possible on the water quality of three of the archipelago's main rivers and three main ponds. Thanks to the multiparameter probes already in use at the federation, we were able to take initial measurements of water quality, including temperature, dissolved oxygen and conductimetry (quantity of dissolved salts), which are fundamental to fish survival. At the same time, we determined bathymetry for all or part of the three ponds targeted by the projects. Finally, we applied a method to characterize the physical state of the watercourses, including the banks. All these data were then analyzed for the project. At the same time, a great deal of mapping work was carried out during the winter months (due to the impossibility of carrying out field work).

After staying afloat and fulfilling government health requirements, the island was reopened earlier than expected to ecotourism. Staff were trained by health officials on maintaining safety during visits, and signage directing visitors to observe hygiene and other protocols put up. The entire team on the island was vaccinated. As part of a digitization process, Nature Seychelles provided an online payment option for ease of ticketing. Tour operators were contacted and apprised of the health authority's requirements before the reopening.

Additional manpower was provided by students from two institutions - the Seychelles Maritime and Seychelles Tourism Academies - on work-based attachments. A total of 10 students came to the island. They were extremely useful, taking the place of paying volunteers from the Conservation Boot Camp, which also collapsed in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions for travel. One of the students was eventually employed. Another budding partnership was formed with the Seychelles Coast Guard to whom the staff reported illegal fishing boats. And finally, once the government allowed for a resumption of ecotourism, partnering tour operators began to bring visitors back to Cousin Island.

In the case of Sehlabathebe National Park, the analysis of the data and the priority actions for improvement  identified during the processes are feeding directly into the management plan for the area. This gives the outputs from the assessment more legitimacy, as they are 1) jointly identified by all relevant stakehodlers and 2) embedded in the formal government processes of managemen planning. The management plan can be used as a tool for resource mobilisation amongst donors and priority actions can then also be monitored through the monitoring of the management plan implementation.

The effective management of the Reserve depended on the willingness of core staff - 8 wardens and 1 science officer - to remain on the nature reserve despite the countrywide lockdown and restrictions. This staff chose to stay on the island to carry out MPA activities instead of being at home with their families. For context, Cousin Island is relatively remote. Staff live on the island without partners or families, and have the opportunity to get off the island over the weekend. However, during the Covid-19 lockdowns, their limited movement was further curtailed by restrictions.

The purpose of this building block is to ensure that the broader communities are involved in the conservation efforts through activities that they are passionate about i.e youth through sports, school children through reading programmes. This helps to improve the connectedness that the local people have with the rhinos and they value the rhino more. 

After obtaining the permanent status of the Mangabe Protected Area in 2015, the first management plan was developed and implemented. In August – December 2019, we already ran community consultations on what should be included in the new management plan. In 2021, we ran three workshops to update the management plan. The first workshop involved MV team members and the regional representatives of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. The aim of this workshop was to write the updated management plan and to prepare the following workshops. Following the protected area management law, the updated management plan was presented, discussed and approved at regional level on 19-20th August 2021 involving regional and local authorities. In the end, Madagasikara Voakajy team made relevant changes according to the feedback received. Then, to comply with the law, the management plan was validated at the national level during a meeting of the protected area management committee on 22nd October 2021. The updated management plan includes the valorization of natural resources and improvement of human well-being. After doing relevant changes from participants ’feedbacks, the updated Mangabe management plan was ready to share with relevant authorities on January 2022.

An excellent communication plan/network with different stakeholders was initiated across different levels. From the inception of the project, the community and other stakeholders were constantly capacitated on how the project is going. A relay of relevant vulture conservation and policy issues was achieved to the target stakeholders within the communities and KAZA TFCA.

Among the solutions identified, the data sheet guide was a priority tool, to bring together all the knowledge in a popularized, easy-to-use work that could be accessed by all. It was therefore necessary to collect all species data, images of each phenological stage and production data. It was also necessary to select a suitable range of species.

This guide was developed in collaboration with the tribal beneficiaries. Through workshops, participants contributed their user perspective on a first version of the product. These workshops provided an opportunity to discuss the format (modular binder), design (font and colors) and paper, as well as the content (vernacular names, choice of species, specific needs).

The final version was then circulated to the technical experts for review and validation before being sent to print.