To effectively carry out conservation measures, projects require dedicated, skilled and trained people in the field and the community. The establishment of a local ranger program called “Caretakers” was identified by ECF as an important step in ensuring conservation objectives were enforced in the field and understood in the village. Caretakers are local people with knowledge and understanding of their local environment, the ability to communicate with locals and visitors, and self-motivated to protect nature. They are identified through the FPA process and later employed by CBOs. They are trained in conservation methods, equipped with communication equipment, uniforms and sometimes means of transport but do not have the legal rights of (governmental) protected area staff or forest rangers. They may inform and educate people, and report infringements to the relevant authorities. Caretakers assist with the monitoring of biodiversity, educate/raise awareness and perform CA management tasks. They are responsible for data collection, ongoing wildlife monitoring and the submission of progress reports to the ECF. Caretakers are a key point of contact (trusted and respected) in the community, and act as an example of the socio-economic benefits of nature conservation. 

Establishing a CBO is the step between the FPA process and signing a Conservation Agreements. CBOs are created with ECF’s guidance and are responsible for:

i) securing and implementing a Conservation Agreement

ii) the fair and equitable distribution of benefits among the community

iii) acting as the legal entity representing the community in a Conservation Agreement.

CBOs are formed under the national law that is appropriate to its purpose, country and region. If creating a CBO is not possible, an NGO can act as a CBO in the Conservation Agreement. 

To establish a CBO requires the local community to make a long-term commitment to cooperation and take responsibility for conservation actions. In this way the CBO contributes to strengthening the social capital and increasing sustainable land-use practices. CBO’s help build community connectedness, communication and resilience related to nature conservation efforts. CBOs are encouraged to consider biodiversity as part of the local economy and work closely with ECF toagree on sustainable land-use. CBOs are encouraged to seek other sources of funding for community projects and to develop their activities as a sustainable business during the implementation period of the Conservation Agreement. 

In order to develop good quality fruit yields and to enable the association of fruit growing with vegetable or fodder production in the long-run, optimal fruit tree formation is vital. From the beginning of their lifecycle, fruit trees should be formed by pruning, binding up and spreading branches. For building up stable and light-flooded trees, skeleton and fruit branches should be clearly differentiated. In the later stages of its lifecycle, maintenance pruning is used to remove superfluous fruit branches, shoots and deadwood. This allows sunlight to penetrate the inward of the tree, offering the conditions to produce bigger fruits that taste better. When fruit trees become very high and quality of fruit decline, they can be rejuvenated through rehabilitation pruning. Adequate pruning also can prevent pests and diseases, as is ensures that the trees are not too dense, and wind can pass through. The surface of leaves will consequently dry quickly after rain or dewfall and consequently spores of diseases as powdery mildew will not germinate.

The main aim of IPM is to reduce the infestation of any pest below the threshold of damage. Purchasing chemical pesticides is often too expensive for subsistence farmers. Nevertheless, some form of pest control is still vital, since a serious infestation can lead to a total loss of harvest. In this regard, the project promotes applying IPM, which requires permanent monitoring of the fields’ phytosanitary status, so that adequate measures are taken timely. For ensuring a resilient orchard in the first place, phytosanitary measures and biological pest control should be applied.  Phytosanitary measures imply using certified seedlings, free from pests and diseases. Adequate pruning is important, for removing branches infested by die-back, and for prevention of diseases like mildew, as the leaves dry soon after rainfall or dew. During a pest outbreak, homemade insecticides can be prepared by mixing spices (chilli, garlic, onion, etc.) or toxic plants (walnut, tobacco, etc.) with soap, alcohol or oil. They can be applied for controlling insects, like aphids, thrips, and mites. Another measure for controlling pests consists of providing sources of fodder and hideouts for their natural enemies.

Vegetables or fodder crops can be planted between rows of fruit trees facilitating income from the orchard from the very beginning when fruit trees have not yet entered production. Associating fruit trees with vegetables or fodder crops is especially important in Tajikistan as farmer families have only little irrigated land and thus have to use it intensively. Vegetables can be used for subsistence or sold at market, whilst fodder crops as alfalfa and sainfoin can be planted for producing hay. Other advantages of cultivating fodder plants are that these create habitats and feed pollinators and beneficial insects. Most of the species flower after fruit trees have already blossomed, thereby extending the fodder supply for pollinators and improving conditions for beekeeping. Moreover, fodder plants protect the soil from erosion.

It is cheaper to establish a traditional or semi-intensive orchard with local varieties than an intensive one based on imported seedlings since locally produced plants are cheaper and fewer plants/ha (approximately 500-600 vs 2,600-3,125) are required.

Furthermore, a semi-intensive orchard system based on local varieties allows for better vegetable growing and fodder planting between the trees. This outweighs the disadvantage that orchards established with local varieties and grafted on local rootstocks enter production later than intensive ones (5-6 years vs 2-4 years).

Traditional varieties of fruit trees are normally better adapted to local climate conditions and are more resistant or tolerant to pests and diseases. That implies economic benefits as costs for applying pesticides are reduced considerably, production levels are stable, and less irrigation water is needed.

In addition, local varieties bear fruits much longer (30-50 years vs. 10-12 years). It is recommended to involve specialists and consult with local nurseries before beginning reproduction of fruit trees seedlings since grafting requires some experience. Local nurseries can establish collections of varieties for cutting scions and hand them over to interested fruit growers.

One and a half billion people live in fragile, conflict-affected areas. As food and nutrition insecurity become increasingly concentrated in such areas, Kauswagan is a unique example that shows how is possible to solve an on-going conflict by tackling underlying socioeconomic and political issues. The decades-long war between the forces of the government and groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) left a huge part of Mindanao in poverty.

Other municipalities and regions in the Philippines are now very interested in Kauswagan’s approach and they visit the municipality to study how it managed to break the links between food insecurity and conflict and build a resilient economy, based on agroecological practices and organic farming.

The From Arms to Farms programme received a number of awards, including an international recognition in 2016, when it won the first edition of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Peace Prize. On that occasion, regional authorities from Guatemala, Colombia and Brazil all expressed interest in replicating Kauswagan’s experience.

Over the last decade, the development of Organic Action Plans (OAPs) has gained momentum as a mechanism for achieving a more integrated approach to organic policy-making at the European level. However, the effectiveness and continuity of OAPs can vary significantly from country to country. Denmark is a leading example and a source of inspiration worldwide, both in the scope and innovative approach of its organic policy. Beyond its holistic set of measures, a highly transferable aspect is definitely also the intensive policy development process that especially saw the involvement of all stakeholders, including NGOs. Denmark is exemplary by strengthening the principles of organic farming and further incorporating them into everyday farming practices.

Despite being a small state, Sikkim’s visionary leadership is receiving extensive attention in India and appears destined to reverberate worldwide. Neighbouring countries and states show high interest in replicating and many other countries, especially in Asia, invited Sikkim to exchange its experiences.

Bhutan has already set out a new road map towards becoming a 100 per cent organic state by 2023, and now a number of Indian states are interested in following the wish of the India’s Prime Minister to see the whole of North India converting to organic agriculture. At the beginning of 2018, Uttakarand became the second Indian state to promise broader support to organic farming for its 1.6 million farmers, announcing an action plan backed by approximately EUR 189 million of federal funding for the next three years. Organic agriculture can help India to achieve its own sustainable development goals, including doubling the income of rural farmers by 2022, if more Indian states adopt Sikkim’s model of organic farming.

Ndiob’s achievements inspire others to follow its example. In particular, Ndiob’s Mayor is chairing the Network of Green Municipalities and Cities of Senegal (REVES): Some 30 mayors attended its first constitutive meeting held in Ndiob in January 2017, where they adopted a Charter of Green Municipalities and Cities of Senegal. Subsequently, REVES has developed an action plan (Declaration of Mékhé) that resulted in: 1. Capacity-building activities for mayors on agroecology and biosecurity (GMOs), e.g. two workshops were organised in 2017 with the technical support of ENDA PRONAT in the communities of Mékhé and Dramé Escale, and 2. Implementation of the agro-ecological vision of rural development in a few pilot municipalities, including that of the Mayor of Ndiob (Thiallé and Soumnane). Ndiob inspired other communities to join REVES which has become a platform for exchange of experience and methods.