Implementation | PANORAMA

Collaborative and Comprehensive Training

WAB-Net brings together stakeholders from diverse sectors and backgrounds to participate in uniquely detailed and thorough capacity-building and hands-on trainings. Field teams consisting of ecologists, government officials representing health and environmental ministries, and students and academic faculty are trained to carry out research while keeping themselves and the bats safe. A bat ecologist will spend several weeks each year in the field teaching the team how to capture, handle, sample, and release bats with biosafety considerations woven throughout each step.

A bat ecologist familiar with the unique aspects of the taxonomic group and biosafety practices works in collaboration with regional project partners to design standardized field protocols and subsequently implements the field trainings in each country. This uniquely hands-on approach to training field teams ensures the standardization of field protocols across cultures and disciplines in the region.

WAB-Net serves as the central coordination point for these trainings across the Western Asia region. There is a wide diversity of stakeholders participating, including in their backgrounds and areas of expertise. WAB-Net facilitators learn from the individuals they’re training, creating more culturally relevant lessons. By bringing lessons from one country to another, WAB-Net can enable conversations and collaboration over areas of shared interest, furthering partnerships that would have otherwise been politically difficult to build.

Crisis Prioritization

Throughout the first months of 2020, there was an overwhelming amount of confusion and stress surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide. In the face of this drastically changing reality, the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group was able to come together quickly and efficiently to identify researchers’ needs, gather relevant information, and create an essential set of guidelines. A rapid mobilization of the global network of great ape specialists was able to translate the publication into multiple languages, disseminating this crucial tool to people working in the field across multiple regions.

The Primate Specialist Group’s active and participatory membership was key to their successful prioritization of work in the face of an unprecedented and deadly pandemic.

As the COVID-19 crisis swept the globe many people sought further purpose in their work. The members of the Primate Specialist Group were motivated by the sense of urgency gripping all walks of life and wanted to take action in a positive way. These guidelines were essential not only for people to safely continue field work, but also for the members looking to find meaning during a particularly bleak time.

Knowledge Synthesis

There was existing guidance on how to observe and interact with great apes while protecting both their health and that of humans. While previous guidelines addressed other respiratory diseases, there were no COVID-19 specific protocols as research and information were only just beginning to become available. The working group gathered intelligence from a wide array of sources, ensuring they were capturing the most up to date and relevant details, and synthesized it into a cohesive, clear document.

The guidelines previously published by the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, and the group’s passionate memberships, were key enabling factors to the working group’s ability to quickly create COVID-19 specific protocols. Being able to draw directly from peer-reviewed resources streamlined the process and allowed the group to confidently create new guidelines despite the lack of COVID-19 information available at the time.

The working group drew knowledge from beyond just great ape primatologists. While their expertise was a guiding factor throughout the process, inviting other people to contribute ensured a diversity of knowledge bases were captured in the guidelines. The peer-reviewed COVID-19 information available was still lacking at the time, and broadening the contributing pool of experts lead to a more comprehensive and useful set of guidelines.

Operating scheme for ecotourism services

The ecotourism services concession program in Colombia's National Natural Parks (PNNC) began to be implemented in 2005, with the objective of providing better attention to visitors and allowing the park to focus its efforts on conservation activities. The concessionaire's operations are based solely on the provision of ecotourism services, maintenance and improvement of infrastructure, provision of assets, and environmental sanitation, all under legal regulations and with monitoring by PNNC. In addition, the ecotourism offer is based on the natural, historical, and cultural attractions that make Gorgona NP an interesting destination.

Creation of a regulatory framework for private participation in ecotourism services in Colombia's National Natural Parks" in 2005.
Existence of a general infrastructure for lodging, cleaning, waste management, food services, and nature tourism.
A business model that recognizes the volume of visitors as an element that can favor conservation.
Need to generate connectivity in the region and reasonable access to the Sanguianga-Gorgona region.

It is important to advance in the more effective incorporation of the community, which can produce more benefits to the parties, with a less hotel-like vision, establishing a well differentiated management for operators and seasons, with the purpose of balancing costs for all parties.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Design of experiences based on natural, historical and cultural attractions.

Sea Turtle Training

Cristian García

The design of experiences based on natural, historical, and cultural attractions is intended to promote environmental awareness and convey the importance of conservation of the marine protected area. The process for designing these experiences is based on national guidelines and advances in the knowledge of Gorgona NP, including continuous dialogue with visitors and stakeholders in the territory. Subsequently, the information is analyzed in an integrated manner, and interpretation scripts are developed for terrestrial and marine environments that are made viable through operational and logistical support according to the capacities of Gorgona NP. Some experiences that have been identified are: Enchantments of the Deep and Cultural Heritages and the Enchanting Island. Finally, the positive and negative impacts of ecotourism activities are monitored and satisfaction surveys are conducted.

Resolution 1531-1995 regulates activities in the PNNG, for the entry, stay, and permitted and disallowed activities of visitors.
Definition of tourist carrying capacity for the three main beaches of the PNNG, with total average estimates between 80 and 120 people, and restrictions for specific trails. For the 9 main dive sites, total averages are between 27 and 60 divers per day, depending on weather conditions and operational capacity.

Need for updated information on natural attractions based on traditional knowledge, monitoring and research.
Implementation of global, national, regional and local ecotourism priorities, according to the dynamics of the territory.
PNN officials' knowledge of the territory for the educational processes of trail interpretation.
Among the aspects to improve, it is important to provide continuity to the administrative, technical, and operational processes, which should be balanced between the needs and expectations of the communities and the development of the nature tourism sector.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Entirety

Local

Linking policy and management to the World Heritage Convention and the Outstanding Universal Value

OUV key values of the Wadden Sea World Heritage

Common Wadden Sea Secretariat

Wadden Sea Management Cycle

Common Wadden Sea Secretariat

The purpose is to add World Heritage-specific criteria and values to complement the existing nature conservation management, thus emphasizing that the World Heritage designation is the utmost international acknowledgment for a natural area.

The Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention (§ 111) state that an adaptive management cycle of planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and feedback is among the elements of effective management. In the SIMP development process, the existing TWSC management instruments (activities, policies, plans, and strategies) are organised and visualised in the corresponding phases of the adaptive management cycle (see graph).

To assess existing and potential positive and negative effects on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Wadden Sea World Heritage, ten key values were identified from the three criteria met by the Wadden Sea (method used in the Climate Vulnerability Index). A rapid expert assessment of the positive and negative effects of the SIMP key topics on each of the ten OUV key values supported the discussions of potential management activities (see graph).

An index-based rapid assessment of the vulnerability to climate change (Climate Vulnerability Index -CVI) using the OUV key values was done in 2021.

The World Heritage Convention sets out the duties of the State Parties, their roles in protecting and preserving the sites, and provides operational guidance on the Convention’s implementation.

TWSC was established in 1978 as a tool for cooperation and coordination of nature conservation. Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands have built independently, and jointly a comprehensive management system addressing key aspects.

Although much has already been achieved and the work towards important milestones is underway, there are still challenges to be faced.
On one hand, rapid expert assessments results of the positive and negative effects of the SIMP key topics on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) key values, in general, coincide with the results from the discussions and views of the policy and site managers. On the other hand, in-depth studies that can be reviewed and updated regularly are preferred if resources and time are available. To solve this, the Trilateral Wadden Sea Cooperation (TWSC) chose to integrate these assessments with the Quality Status Reports updated periodically by experts.

Implementation

Multi-national

Climate Vulnerability Index

Art Photography

Documenting traditional food from Waluguru indigenous tribe

Tengeneza Generaration and Davie Masanja

We document and promote our work through art photography. Pictures are powerful, as they are visual materials that people can see. They make messages around conservation more impactful among the community members we work with.

We engage professional photographs to join and document expeditions. So far, we have a portfolio of more than 17,342 pictures.

Keen to involve artists in supporting conservation work.
Revisiting our local traditional conservation methods involved working with artists and cultural practitioners.

Art and culture is a tool Africans have always used and continue to use to educate wider communities to love their nature.
Visual art is the best tool to send a message faster and more powerful to communities, especially young people.
Art and culture reconnect personally to his/her roots.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Strong Partnership

TEG photo with Government officials

Tengeneza Generaration

We established strong partnerships with the Nature Reserves government authorities (Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TFS), as well as with the Department of Natural Resources and Tourism and Youth Development. They provide continuous support, whether it is the use of a vehicle, the delivery of permits, recommendation letters, or waive camping fees to our team and skills.

We also maintain good partnerships with local communities, who propose new activities, and new camping sites to extend the eco-tourism offer and support in installations of sign boards. EAMCEF provided funding $10,000 to support ecological and cultural tourism by empowering the Choma community found adjacent to the Uluguru mountains. Nafasi Art Space provided training in developing art program and fund $1000.

Report and continuous activities updates sharing with stakeholders.

Updating about and involving others in our work and cooperating with our partners have improved and shaped positive impact to our communities. For example they have formed an ecotourism group called Choma ecotourism group to manage ecological and cultural tourism development.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Team determination

Some team members

Tengeneza Generaration

Our work involves self-motivation and self-financing. TEG team determination to support the conservation of biodiversity and empowerment of youth living adjacent to nature reserves includes organizing online exhibitions and online behaviour change campaigns. With or without external support, TEG staff have volunteerly engaged with donors, government officials, and communities in designing the program, fundraising, and implementing it.

TEG founders and Alumni internal support in skills development trainings, in conducting baseline surveys and reflections on issues relating to conservation, in connecting with stakeholders, and financing of some of the activities.

As a youth organization we have been growing by first willing to invest in ourselves, in our credibility and capability before attaching donors and partners. TEG Team and TEG alumni’s determination was our only asset to do that.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Restoration model for agroforestry plots and mobilization of local skills

Training of young mentors (ambassadors) to implement the agroforestry restoration scheme

F4F-GIZ-DFS

With a view to perfectly replicating the restoration model in the field, with the aim of having a single basis for assessing the plantations of beneficiary households and the contribution of local expertise, the F4F project has set up a group of actors known as "Encadreur ou Ambassadeur". These are 23 young people from the project's 5 cantons who have been trained and equipped in the restoration model. Their task is to support each beneficiary household in carrying out planting activities. The households' contribution (20%) consisted of site preparation work, finding stakes and staking, planting and maintaining the seedlings. The project plans to award prizes to encourage the best households.

Local skills available within the grassroots community
Good understanding of the restoration model by beneficiary households
Agreement of landowners

An agreement between the farmer and the landowner is essential before any action is taken in the field, otherwise there is a risk of sabotage and vandalism of the plantations.
Guaranteeing security of tenure for landowners
A definition of the key to the distribution of usufruits linked to the exploitation of border plantations.
Involvement of transhumant Peulhs in restoration activities (awareness-raising and compromise on grazing management), as Cajanus cajan is highly appreciated by cattle.

Implementation

Local