Monitoring | PANORAMA

Review phase

Manual for implementation of HMP

Capacity building on financial management

Training session to build local capacity

KMFRI

Committee members were trained on book-keeping, basic audit process, budget planning and selection of tenders for constructions. Using partners such as the National Bank of Kenya (NBK) to train new committee members and regularly provide refresher courses for existing members has been essential to enable the Bank to grow more independently, save cost, and retain modern banking operations. Youth, especially local students, were involved to assist in drafting proposal writing and record keeping, applying what they learn at school.

The Association members were trained on writing and submitting applications for World Bank funding through HMP, which is critical for future funding or to obtain development loans. They also learned to develop their Strategic Plan 2018-2022. This strategic planning has enabled the Association to have clear focus of where they want to go. Although., there is need to start developing a new Strategic Plan for the next cycle, where partners including Base Titanium, relevant County Government department and NGOs operating in the area can be mobilised to assist in the process.

Capacity building and infrastructure support has been provided by partners.
The need to have a local bank nearby in order to reduce the cost of travelling long distance for banking.
Opportunity is being created for local students and youth to appreciate banking as a profession and to consider it as a career in the future.
Obtaining loans no longer require a laborious process with long distance travel to a major town such as Kwale or Mombasa.
The County Government can now channel funds more effectively and fast to the local Community Cased Organizations via KKCSA.

Training of Trainers - Use locally built capacity to train others and replicate projects in the neighbouring communities.
When trainers emerge from among the community following effective capacity building campaigns, they are appreciated locally and emulated easily.
Knowledge learnt in various aspects of financial management and banking opens up new career possibilities for the young, which were previously obscure such as book keeping, of foreign such as Information Communication Technology (ICT).
Locally nurtured capacity through training of trainers is more effective because the lessons can also be conducted in the local language.

Mobilizing Community Members through Local Leaders

Mama Zainabu, Committee member

KMFRI

KKCA Committee Chairman, Mr. Mwabudzo with the recently recruited members list

KMFRI

Kinondo community recognised the need and importance of coalescing around a common vision in order to attain self reliance and improve their livelihood. They realised that while it is important to retain a strong leadership in the top management of the Bank, it is necessary to rotate members of the Committee regularly to enable members to introduce new ideas. The opportunity is available for any capable individual to join the leadership committee. This is done democratically by holding regular elections. In order for the bank to thrive, Committee members are encouraged to create awareness and to encourage local people and those from the wider Msambweni Ward to join KKCSA to save and obtain loans and related services.

Community share common values in culture, faith and tradition, and they are also affected by similar challenges.
Goodwill from the community living in Msambweni Ward and its neighbourhood.
Community engagement and empowerment.
Bank covers multiple needs for all categories of the local people.
Limited inclusion and involvement of political sentiments.

Knowledge of the local languages, culture and tradition is crucial for implementing processes.
Delay in approval processes is caused by limited number of experts from relevant departments in the County and National government.
Inclusion of the community project in the annual County Integrated Development Plans (CIPD) contributes substantially in ensuring project sustainability.

Budj Bim Ranger Program

Budj Bim Ranger Programme is a key component of the institutional arrangements for the management and conservation of Budj Bim eco-cultural landscape. The programme is funded by the Australian government (through it’s Indigenous Protected Areas program) and managed through the Winda-Mara Aboriginal Corporation and employs full-time rangers mentored by Gunditjmara Elders to provide them with traditional and cultural knowledge and support. The Budj Bim Rangers are responsible for the management of the Budj Bim and Tyrendarra Protected Areas. The rangers are responsible for a wide range of management activities including native flora and fauna management, building and maintaining walking tracks, providing guided tours and monitoring.

The Budj Bim rangers have a key role in ensuring the cultural continuity and the ongoing transmission of traditional and contemporary Gunditjmara knowledge and practices across generations

The Indigenous Protected Areas program is funded through the Australian Government’s Indigenous Advancement Strategy program and the Budj Bim Ranger Program is implemented by the Gunditjmara in ways that support working on Country as a cultural activity that ensure transmission of knowledge and practice. Without the government funding, the Gunditjmara are not – at present – resourced to manage Country.

This management arrangement of Budj Bim Cultural Landscape allows on the ground management approaches to be guided by Gunditjmara Traditional Owners in line with cultural knowledge, traditions and practices.
Management and conservation activities conducted by Traditional Owners through the Budj Bim Ranger Programme has led to a high-degree of control and containment of environmental weeds and pest animals; and extensive revegetation of native plant species, including Eucalypt, Acacia, Bursaria and other native trees, shrubs, sedges, groundcovers, herbs and grasses.
The rangers are in charge of combating pest plants and animals; revegetation work using native plant species, many of cultural importance, is enhancing the natural and cultural environment.
Rangers play a key role in outreach and educational activities through the Visiting Schools Program. The Budj Bim Rangers run this program for school groups. Approximately 50 such visits take place each year (2017).
Land management and monitoring activities across the entire Budj Bim Cultural Landscape.

Entirety

Legislation regulating protection and development

Previous to the inscription in the WH List, from 2000 to 2013, the HHTR World Heritage Administration and the Yuanyang Management Committee for World Heritage HHTR enacted a modern law and regulatory system to promote the sustainable development of the rice terraces based on local customary laws, such as regulations on forest protection and water resources use. They have drafted local laws, regulations and administrative measures. At the same time, they nominated the site to be protected at national level. They formulated conservation and management plans which were announced by the State Council and provincial people’s government so it could be incorporated into the national legal protection system. This would allow them to obtain State financial support. While using and maintaining the customary laws and village regulations, the conservation and management of the rice terraces are conducted according to the law and are gradually being integrated into the modern legal framework.

Modern management is integrated with community-based traditions through the setup of specialized conservation offices. These are complementary to the traditional social organization.
A clear understanding of the current state of conservation of the rice terraces and the management system through on-site research and work.
Issue of the Rules of Procedure and signing of the Target Responsibility which merged the traditional and modern conservation and law systems in China.

The enactment of laws and regulations is conducive to the long-term protection of the rice terraces. It is also the challenge and opportunity for the integration of traditional customary law in the minorities’ remote areas and the modern legal system under a new dual social structure combining traditional and modern management system, which exist in parallel at different levels and have not been integrated.
In the context of the new dual social structure, the traditional community-based organization comprising “Migu-Mopi” (persons in charge of religious affairs and artisans, ditch diggers and forest rangers) is inadequate for the increasingly complex and rapidly changing modern society, as well as the maintenance and development of the rice terraces. There is an urgent need to integrate with the modern administrative system and carry out an innovative management of the rice terraces.
Raising awareness of cultural laws and regulations needs to be undertaken among local communities. This could reduce difficulties and management costs, improving conservation efficiency.

Participatory research in cooperation with scientific institutions

Participatory research is essential when historical records lack and new concepts are introduced. The research in Yakou included three phases. The first phase aimed to understand the site and its significance. As a typical village with a well-preserved landscape of “forest-village-terrace-water system”, Yakou was selected to represent the landscape pattern of Laohuzui Area. Fieldwork was conducted both by the nomination team (Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage) and the scientific research team (Yunnan University). The second phase focused on the restoration of Yakou’s irrigation system. Semi-structured interviews to locals, fieldwork and restoration were conducted. According to research results, the traditional water management system and related knowledge emerged as key elements in Yakou. Ditches, canals and water-woods were repaired to ensure its long-term use, and traditional ceremonies and inspection system were established by the elders. The third phase focused on the enhancement of the water management, where researchers conducted spatial research of the settlement patch distribution pattern and hydrological analysis using Geographic Information System followed by the replication of the experience in other villages.

Local research institutions are familiar with local conditions. Research requires the active involvement of local people and community to share knowledge and experience, especially oral history and unrecognized knowledge that is significant and need to connect to international and national societies.
Combination of international perspective and local experience.
Cooperation between public service institutions and domestic research institutes.
Collaboration between “research institutes + public service organizations + villager organization.”

The relationship between land-use, society and culture are crucial in landscape studies. Environmental challenges might be the manifestation of social changes and new regulations (e.g. Land and water disputes could be the underlying issue).
In the WH framework, the Outstanding Universal Value can be broad and general, but detailed features can not be neglected because these are the clue to understand the site characteristics. In Yakou, different layers of values research contribute to heritage management before and after inscription as WH. It has improved the knowledge of site managers, locals and researchers, and it is a continuing process.
Lack of historical records and documentation is a big problem for the preservation of the traditional water culture. Too much attention has been give to the landscape views yet not sufficient attention to the nature-human interactions which produced these.
Separate plans can not solve long-term management: Water management, conservation management and master plans should be drawn up in coordination and integrated for implementation.

Subnational

Using Indigenous language in the signage of the heritage place

Røros municipality is a Sámi management area for language and culture which is a legal status where Sámi culture and language should be used for public communication, schools and land use plans at municipal level. The process to be a Sámi management area started in 2015, and the objective for the process was to lift forward the Sámi language and culture in the municipality. The municipality board delegated the mission to a political committee, who presented the results in November 2016. The government approved the application in 2018. Today there are 12 Norwegian municipalities that are Sámi management areas for language and culture.

In Røros, the signage of places and streets shall be translated to Sámi language at county and municipality levels. A Sámi name for Røros will also be decided. There is also education in Sámi language in primary school in Røros and Engerdal municipalities. Sámi language is also used in the signing of e-mails of officers. For the translation and naming process, the municipality appoints a committee which suggests words and names. The suggestions are taken into the municipality board, which sends the proposal to the Sámi Parliament. The Parliament discusses it on a hearing, and when the hearing is over, the municipality board finally decides the names.

Røros municipality was declared a Sámi management area for language and culture in 2018.

1) Non-Sámi people react mostly positively to the Sámi language used in the signage, but until now it has been little used.

2) Some words are difficult to translate, not all concepts have equivalents in Sámi language, so there is still improvement to be done. However, it allows a learning process on Sámi culture and the differences with Norwegian language.

Building a participatory monitoring and reporting system on the state of conservation in the World Heritage Site

Little Grand Rapids First Nation Guardians at pictograph site

Pimachiowin Aki Corporation

Pimachiowin Aki First Nations and the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation developed a Guardians Program in 2016 to implement the strategic direction set out in approved management plans of ensuring community well-being, raising funds, supporting local economic development, creating opportunities for Elders and youth to work together, maintaining/enhancing our cultural tradition, and ensuring compliance with customary laws and policies. Capacity and skills have been built among community members in communication, record-keeping, survival, good health, use of GPS to collect and record geographic information. Guardians are community members that observe, record and report on the health of ecosystems and cultural sites, educate the public about how to be good stewards of the cultural landscape, work with provincial government land and resource managers, and conserve pictographs, petroforms, archaeological sites, cultural sites, and intangible values shaping Anishinaabe connections with the Site including oral traditions central to the expression and intergenerational transmission of Akiiwi-gikendamowining (land-based knowledge), customary laws, and geographical names.

Funding (Guardians’ wages and operating costs, Elders’ honoraria, workshops and training).
Strong leadership at community-level.
Knowledge of the indicators of social, economic, cultural and environmental values of the site.
Good relationships with leaders, community members, Western modern scientists and government land managers (mutual respect, trust, honesty, parity in decision-making).
Opportunities to share experiences with other Guardian and stewardship programs.

Success of the Guardians Program depends on keeping Guardians employed on a full-time basis, and on maintaining connections between Guardians and Elders and youth.
Guardians initiatives risk failing completely or produce disappointing outcomes if careful planning is not completed before monitoring activities start. For monitoring to be successful, data and information needs to be stored, organized and distributed in ways that ensure it is useful, maintains its quality and credibility, and protects confidential information.
Compiled GIS (Geographical Information System) based inventories and databases are the best way to identify data gaps, which can then be used to update monitoring priorities and plans. A monitoring framework and information management system provide critical information for governance and decision making.
Elders and other knowledge-keepers are engaged in developing a broader set of indicators and metrics to provide a reliable statement on the condition of - and trends in - ecosystem health and the cultural landscape.

Subnational

Training high-school teachers on traditional knowledge and local culture

Ifugao school teachers harvest traditional rice from the terraces

SITMo

In order to integrate Ifugao culture in the formal school curriculum, teachers need to receive capacity building on the Ifugao culture. Teachers, most of Ifugao origin, have forgotten the value-system of their ancestors due to the modern education system. Some have been trained outside of the Ifugao region. The objective is to train teachers in integrating culture in mathematics, social sciences, and all courses, and design learning materials, modules which include the Ifugao culture as a cross-cutting theme. Teachers’ trainings on local curriculum development and coming up with learning modules are on-going.

The national government had undertaken a change in the education system to allow locally-based curriculums (IPED).

Ifugao culture does not need to be taught as a separate theme, but can be a cross-cutting theme for the whole curriculum.

Review phase

Subnational

Creation of collaborative research projects on Indigenous and Local Knowledge

SITMo has developed partnership with local scientific institutions like the Ifugao State University, which is working with the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) designation and has established the Ifugao Rice Terraces GIAHS Research and Development Center. Furthermore, connected to this initiative, SITMo is working in cooperation with the Ifugao State University and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Chengchi University of Taiwan in the project “Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development”, where partner institutions are exploring together the sustainable safeguarding and transmission of their Indigenous knowledge through exchange and collaborative research, which would enable local communities to develop sustainably. A long-term partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been established in 2012 to undertake archaeological investigations in the terraces, leading to the establishment of community heritage galleries and publication of scientific articles.

GIAHS designation of the Rice Terraces (2004)
The local Ifugao State University is engaged in research and cooperation focused on the rice terraces, agroforestry and biodiversity conservation
The Department of Education embarked on a major overhaul of the curriculum where Indigenous knowledge and local Ifugao culture is to be integrated in all levels of K to 12. Research on traditional knowledge was required.
Common challenges with neighboring countries and other Indigenous communities

Involving research in the conservation of the Rice Terraces and the engagement of the youth and the community at large in the endeavor are mutually beneficial (for the research institutes and the local communities)
The interface of traditional knowledge learning through community elders and the formal schools through formally trained teachers can be conflicting at times so long-term strategies are to be put in place.
Administrative bureaucracy can be difficult for non-government organizations to work with government agencies and universities but patience is the key to success.

Planning phase