Implementation | PANORAMA

Farmer managed natural regeneration management

A family managing a FMNR stand

Captured by Stevie matcheso

This is a landscape approach where farmers leave deliberately selected native tree species on their farm land either as tree stand or as co-exsisting with crops or both. The farmer manages the trees in such a way that they do not deprive crops of the growing factors. Otherwise the trees in the farm lands improve the soil fertility and structure, protect soil from erosion while supplies wood energy and livestock fodder to the farmer. The silvicultural practices include pruning, treaming, thinning and coppicing.

Availability of stumps in the farm land is an opportunity that hundreds of hactorage can be achieved within short period of time. Community involvement is almost obvious as the individual farmers become the primary beneficiaries of the technology unlike other solutions. The regenerants are independent of harsh conditions such as inadequate rains. The shoots start sprouting right in dry season as the mother stump has well established roots. Hence the technology never register unsuccessful results.

Farmer managed natural regeneration is a successful solution. As the regenerants originate from well established stumps which is native, the technology withstands unfavourable weather circumstances such just it is the promising, yielding and profiting project.

Partnerships

AREECA project officials and government interacting with Gomeza Community and pupils at Gomeza Primary School, Ntcheu, Central Malawipartners

Taken by contributor who authorized use

Although Gomeza Community used Self-drive to restore the forest reserve, the community attracted attention from government and non-governmental organisations. The partnerships led to provision of technical capacity building to the community on sivicultural aspects. Other insitutions also supported the community in their vision. This led to reduced resource need per institution to work with the community.

Accommodating
Cooperation
Joint planning

Prevent the duplication of efforts by close cooperation and joint planning

Building trust and improved networking are key elements of starting partnerships

Community Self-drive

The communities realised that they need to take actionin order achieve their dreams and support their ecosystem to retain its functions. They set up social structures and identified responsibilities in the form of positions and work plans. The community use volunteerism to carry out their duties nd drive the restoration efforts. They also formed their own by-laws to manage the Gomeza forest reserve, thereby adding not only social but also a regulatory framework set up to serve their needs.

Individual willingness
Working by-laws
Supportive local leadership (Traditional authority support)
Volunteering

Less financial inputs were needed to achieve great impacts

Community leading on conservation while government and other insitutions follow work well

Community-led initiatives more sustainable than a top-down approach

Implementation

Local

Subnational

Collaborations and partnerships

REFRESH

www.sfsmw.org

A conservation enterprise under the REFRESH Project provided business and technical backstopping support and developed strategic business alliances with other enterprises to leverage markets for our restoration effort beneficiaries.

Enterprise development ensured a well-set up enterprise leveraging on training.

Building our financial and credit history enables us to become an investment-ready enterprise to finance our restoration efforts and impact.

Implementation

Local

Assisted natural regeneration and soil and water conservation

Assisted natural regeneration stand

Captured by Stevie matcheso

This is the process where degraded forests are left deliberately to regenerate from the stumps, roots or seeds, but man comes in to undertake selected activities to allow the regenerants to grow vigour and health. The activities may include pruning, singling out, thinning, weeding or even fire prevention activities.

The building block has proven to be effective. The fact the the shoots are from well established stump supported by already grown roots, the regenerants grow very fast and become very resistant to harsh environment such as inadequate rains. Another factor is that the species are already in their native land, hence grow fast and successfully. The technology is cheap - Neither tubes nor nursery work and costs are needed.

It is cheap technology. No nursery work or costs are incurred, yet resistant to harsh growing conditions

Conservation of natural resources and contribution to socioeconomic development

Greenhouse planting process

Alex Armijos

The development of family gardens without the use of agrochemicals benefits the quality of natural resources and contributes to improving the quality of the diet of the Río Blanco community.

Selection of edible plant species for home gardens.
Preparation of organic fertilizers and maintenance of home gardens.

The self-consumption of products from the different gardens and greenhouses contributes positively to the community, as it reduces the dependence on traveling to an external market, improving the quality of life, by consuming chemical-free food and therefore beneficial to health, in addition to exchanging products or deciding to generate an economic benefit by selling the product.
The home gardens are spaces for experiences and practical examples of effective measures to reduce the impact of agricultural activities on the natural environment.
The development of conservation-friendly activities in the buffer zones of protected areas contributes to reducing pressures within the protected area, in addition to being a space to raise awareness among the population about the importance of conserving their natural resources.

Implementation

Local

Technical training on home gardens

Training for the production of organic fertilizers

Luis León

Based on the experience of the community and the RVSZ staff, home gardens are established to support the production of healthy and conservation-friendly food.

Preparation of a training plan agreed with the community.
Search for technical and financial support as seed capital to start with the establishment of home gardens.
Development of visits and field days for training and technical assistance to families interested in home gardens.

Through various technical trainings, we have improved the pedagogy to reach the community in a more precise and comprehensive way, solving doubts and generating new knowledge aimed at sustainable production in the buffer zone of the El Zarza Wildlife Refuge.
The park rangers and staff of the RVSZ strengthen the relationship with the community based on trust and commitment, which creates spaces of harmonious coexistence in favor of conservation.

Implementation

Local

Environmental education and awareness

Conducting surveys

Luis León

The inhabitants of the protected area's buffer zone need to know about the biodiversity that is being conserved and understand the benefits of proper management.

Identification of environmental and socioeconomic problems affecting the population of the Río Blanco community.
Selection of contents and preparation of didactic materials for the development of talks and visits to the community.
Participatory identification of measures or actions that can be implemented for the production of healthy and environmentally friendly food in the protected area.

The joint work between the community and protected area staff in activities such as community mingas strengthens relationships of trust and reinforces bonds of friendship, improving the relationship between these two sectors in the management of the protected area, strengthening participation as an important aspect of the area's certification on the Green List.
The participatory identification of socio-environmental problems makes it possible to find simple solutions that can be implemented by everyone without much effort.

Implementation

Local

Environmental education and awareness

Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve

Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve information material

Ministerio del Ambiente, Agua y Transición Ecológica, Reserva Biológica Cerro Plateado

Environmental education is a powerful tool that helps the population to learn in a practical and attractive way new knowledge that allows them to create an adequate environmental awareness about protected areas and their biodiversity.

Generate new knowledge based on research or local studies of species important to the protected area.
Elaboration of didactic material for environmental interpretation (triptych, posters, puzzles, primers) to accompany talks or presentations to the inhabitants of the buffer zone.

Knowledge about amphibians has allowed the park ranger staff to put much more emphasis on environmental education talks about amphibians and their fundamental role in nature.
The development of didactic material has made it possible to inform the public about the amphibian species that exist in Cerro Plateado Biological Reserve.

Implementation

Local

Interaction between conservation and population health

Nature conservation and its relationship with the quality of life and health of the local population.

Conservation and maintenance of functional environmental conditions are a priority to avoid emerging and zoonotic diseases.
Preservation of local knowledge and appreciation by indigenous peoples of plants and animals for use in local medicine and culture.
Management actions by protected areas to systematize and rescue local knowledge.

The relationship between nature and health is becoming more and more critical, there are many empirical evidences that diseases that affect humans through the relationship with wild species can cause outbreaks and new pandemics. In this sense, the conservation and maintenance of stable natural conditions and functional food chains can reduce this risk.

The risk of degradation affecting vulnerable people in local communities is very high, so protected areas are playing a critical role in conservation.