Regular monitoring of the NEPL NP’s ecotourism program is essential to ensure the conservation objectives as well as continuous visitor satisfaction and therefore the overall project sustainability. The NEPL NP ecotourism program monitors the following information:

• Wildlife monitoring is adapted to the ecotourism area and incorporates all or some of the following techniques: Camera trapping, GPS recorded all direct/indirect observations, Species recording of direct observations.
• Financial data is entered in the system for every tour and is analysed on monthly and annual basis
• Visitor Feedback data is collected from all visitors after every tour and allows to identify and improve tour services at the best delay as well as offers an opportunity to consider new ideas and further improvement needs.
• Visitor Arrival and Profile is collected from all visitors on every tour and allows to identify the visitor trends and profile and therefore better understand and communicate to the market, as well as identify new opportunities.

Two ranger stations are located in the two NEPL NP ecotourism sites. The law enforcement teams in the ecotourism area apprehend illegal activities, protect the tourism infrastructures and contribute data to the Ecotourism Benefit Fund calculation. In addition, the NEPL NP ecotours deliver benefits to the NEPL NP law enforcement program through the following activities: (1) regular presence in NEPL NP, (2) illegal activity identification (3) communication on the protected area's regulations to communities & visitors

A total of 24 Common Loon chicks were successfully moved from New York and Maine to southeastern Massachusetts as part of BRI’s Massachusetts loon translocation project conducted from 2015-2017 -- 

• 15 were reared in aquatic enclosures before being released onto Pocksha, Assawompset, or Little Quittacas Ponds (APC). 
• 9 older chicks were directly released after being transported. 

In 2017, an immature loon chick translocated the previous year was re-confirmed on the APC, marking the first record of a loon chick returning to the release site after its release year. 

As of spring 2020, nine adult loons returned to the lakes in Massachusetts to which they were translocated and captive-reared, and then from which they fledged. Their return marks a major milestone in the efforts to translocate Common Loons.

Chicks are reared for various lengths of time depending on age and how well they acclimate to the pen. Prior to release to the wild, chicks are given a full health assessment, and banded with a unique color and number combination. 

Once released, chicks adapt quickly, foraging on their own almost immediately. BRI biologists monitor the chicks daily when first released, then weekly until they fledge.

Project oversight plays an important role in implementing lessons learned, and there is a constant flow of information between our team in Congo and the UK office. Beyond the core team access to other key professionals is also continuously available, such as our UK veterinary team, should their advice be needed. Setting effective baselines at the start of the project is an effective tool when evaluating progress. The project has no defined end date, and future planning is always under review. Information and data gained through oversight and evaluation are key elements of future planning.

Camera traps are an important tool for monitoring and gathering information, and have been used by the team for a number of years. More recently we have been able to train, and equip patrol teams in using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART).

Effective collaboration with the relevant authorities in the Republic of Congo is a key element to the project. This is not limited to permission to carry out conservation work in country, but is also important for the long-term relationships required, including the joint patrols of the reserve and enforcement of laws and regulations that are essential for long-term management of a protected or conservation area. Team composition is also extremely important and the Aspinall Congo team are almost entirely Congolese.

After the system obtains fire event information from satellites, UAVs, ground cameras and forest rangers, it will immediately transmit the video image of the fire scene to the fire department, which will deploy firefighters to extinguish the fire according to the fire situation. Because the system can detect the fire event in time and report to the fire department, many fire events were extinguished when the fire was very small and did not develop into very large fire event.

Despite the strong dependence of the local economy on natural resources, the concept of ecosystem services is new to most of the actors intervening in the periphery of the Faro National Park.

  In addition, due to the lack of knowledge about natural processes, the loss of these resources has been noted, but their decline has often not been attributed to current practices.  Existing communal development plans focus on sectors such as water, agriculture and infrastructure, without taking into account the importance of ecosystem services.  A meeting and training enabled stakeholders from different sectors to discuss the challenges of conservation of ecosystem services and increase their knowledge in the field.

  In order to improve the process of drawing up plans and building the capacities of decision-makers at the local level, several workshops were organized with the aim of familiarizing actors with the “ecosystem services” approach and its application during the process.  planning.

The first step towards the development of a target group specific communication and capacity building strategy was a KAP analysis (knowledge, attitude, practices), which established a baseline, in terms of understanding the private sector´s knowledge about climate change, as well as its attitude towards the topic and the practices already in place. The analysis also included a capacity needs assessment, which served as input for ADAPTUR´s capacity building and training program. The findings were also used to train counterparts, consultants, and project members in better understanding the private sector and to improve their communication skills by using the right words, concepts and messages.

The training program comprised several topics about climate change vulnerability, climate-proof investment, cost-benefit analysis, national/subnational policies related to climate change, EbA solutions, public-private cooperation, financial mechanism, etc.

At the same time, a press campaign was launched in cooperation with local media and journalists. The ADAPTUR website was introduced with regular newsletters, best-practices, case studies and messages from industry leaders. It also contained a resources section with studies, tools and information material.