Conservation oriented community forestry is essentially a participatory process that requires strong technical assistance on both policy and implementation. Expanding the property rights of local communities over resources and empowering them with knowledge, information, resources, technologies, and required skills for forest management and institution building are basic building blocks for the community forestry. Gender and equity concerns are addressed from the program design so that the poor, women, and marginalized receive fair benefits from the program.

Some of our programs involve coral transplantation. In Thailand it is illegal to touch or damage coral, so we had to seek approval for some of our programs.

To receive approval from the government involves first submitted a proposal for a coral reef restoration zone. Including with this proposal are the techniques for transplantation, the people involved and their experience and qualifications, and a long term plan for monitoring and maintenance.

The DMCR has fully approved our restoration related activities and we conduct transplant research and provide them with that data.

To achieve success in the sustainability of fishery resources, there must be active participation of various stakeholders: fishing communities, government sector, academia, civil society organizations and the market, among the most important. In 2019, COBI began monitoring the costs (monetary and non-monetary) associated with the implementation and development of fishery improvement projects. From this exercise, it was documented that generally at the beginning of the projects, philanthropy makes the largest economic investment through CSOs, while fishing communities make it in a non-monetary way (e.g. by making their boats available for the activities), and other actors also participate (e.g., government agencies or academia). The objective of community co-investment is that over time the fishing communities become organized and committed to continue paying the expenses associated with this type of project, and achieve greater financial autonomy. COBI and the fishing communities developed a written strategy with a five-year term, in which the communities commit to maintain a gradual percentage of economic contributions to achieve co-responsibility and autonomy of the project.

The strategy based on alliances allows connecting visions that lead to the development of actions oriented to a common objective, in this case, the restoration and conservation of the Central Park Natural Area and its zones of influence.

The activities that have made it possible to build this community network with actors from institutions and other CSOs have included on-site events related to their own projects, as well as training with expert advisors on restoration issues and practices outside the impact zone, but which make it possible to concretize and strengthen the technical learning necessary to continue with the project.

One of the most significant actions has been to collaborate with different social actors in the preparation of the Management Plan for the Natural Protected Area, which is a necessary and useful resource for conservation objectives and a multi-stakeholder action, as well as collaborations with transboundary associations such as the Arizona Desert Museum and Borderlands Restoration Network in an effort to improve the consequences of the impacts of exotic plants and implement restoration actions.

The purpose of this strategy was to involve the public in joint responsibility for the care and protection of the protected natural area. In the first stage, these actions consisted of removing all the solid waste that was in the area; citizen science workshops were also carried out to promote the care of the area's fauna and flora and knowledge of local species, as well as to raise awareness of the area. The neighbors of the adjacent neighborhood and the general public were also involved in the construction of a linear trail in the area of influence of the PNA, as well as in all the activities related to the maintenance of the area: removal of the invasive buffel grass in priority areas, continued cleaning, maintenance of the trails, and reforestation with native plants.

The objective of this strategy was to strengthen participatory management activities through environmental education. Tours of the natural area were conducted in which the general public was invited, as well as children's walks, theater presentations, family walks, night walks, and citizen science workshops.

These educational activities were led by actors from different areas: biologists, theater actors, members of the association, and naturalist tutors. All this to strengthen the links between specialists in the area of conservation but also to diversify the way in which specialized knowledge is presented to the general public.

The information and themes were aimed at informing about habitat conditions in the area, informing about the ANP, informing about invasive species as well as native species and strategies of minimum impact in natural areas.

There is a five-tiered process to becoming a WHS.

1. An initial online application that ensures there are no fundamental prohibitive issues. 

2. A candidacy review of the initial application is carried out by impartial representatives.

3. Technical advice to discuss and advise on areas for improvement and on how to submit an application with the greatest chance of success.

4. Final application including supporting evidence, a justification for the geographical delineation of the site and a detailed explanation of how the site achieves each of the criteria. 

5. If successful, Whale Heritage Site (WHS) designation. It must then prepare and submit annual reports explaining how criteria are met.

By going through the accreditation process, The Bluff had to show that they could ensure responsible, sustainable practices and livelihoods would be continually improved thus ensuring the health and welfare of whales, dolphins and porpoises and their ocean habitats. 

The building block is built on the principle that a community based initiative to protect cetaceans and their habitats is best done when owned by the local communities itself. It incentivizes, empowers and engages a community and its businesses so that they benefit directly from a healthy and thriving ocean. 

To coordinate and facilitate the development of a WHS initiative, a steering committee is formed by local stakeholders. These are enthusiastic, creative and passionate individuals who steer the process and help launch, maintain, and sustain the application process.

An effective WHS steering committee should be fully diverse and inclusive and representative of the community and include staff, volunteers, and community members. Its purpose is to serve as a mobilizing force, not a bureaucracy. Making the process meaningful and purposeful for everyone involved. Within the process there is guidance on establishing sub-committees or workgroups to focus on specific goals and activities. 

As well as leading and manageing the process of application, the steering committee must show continual improvement across the community with its various initiatives, through annual reporting as a measure of WHS's excellence.

The work of the Sanghatan is merely to empower the Van Gujjars within the Chaur by propagating techniques of breed conservation but are not directly involved with the day-to-day milk trade and profit. Nonetheless, the Sanghatan keeps a tab on the number of bulls, young calves, pregnant buffaloes, and those which produce milk on a monthly basis. Out of the 1528 buffaloes raised within the Chaur, around 475 buffaloes at present produce milk during this season. On a daily basis, a total of 700-800 litres of milk is collected in this season but this number rises to 1100-1200 litres in winters as it is the season when buffaloes give birth to young calves.

Value chain development and integrated market systems development were essential tools to link environmental restoration with economic resilience. Farmers were mobilized and organized into groups, associations and cooperatives; groups organized around selected value chains, with groups enabled to sign contracts and share resources and capacities. Improved bargaining was made possible due to the confidence in producing a harvest, thanks to sufficient water.