Contractual agreements with German enterprises RISTIC GmbH and ALNATURA have been achieved in 2015 resp. 2016 (50.000,00 US$ each). FUNDECODES, the Conservation Credit Unit (CCU) selling organization ASEPALECO and Costa Ricas National Protected Area Authority (SINAC) are responsible for the implementation of the restoration and conservation project and contractually agreed to 10 year objectives. FUNDECODES is reporting annually to the CCU buying company RISTIC GmbH. The whole process is monitored annually by Globale Conservation Standards (GCS).

The underlying strategy of this building block is - instead of pursuing quantitative goals of restored areas -, to start with small, concrete actions such as mangrove seed nurseries and field trials with the communities. This helps to reduce barriers and leads to tangible and immediate results. In combination with the development and dissemination of information materials and participatory monitoring, it helps to showcase mangrove restoration as a means of adaptation to climate change by local actors. In addition, it strengthens the capacities of local stakeholders and institutions and generates synergies (see building block II).

The behaviour change campaign team at each municipality uses a mix of creative materials and community mobilization activities to inspire and educate fishers and their families about the benefits of working together to manage their fisheries better.  In the ‘Readiness’ phase, the messages are focused on getting fishers to become registered fishers, complying with basic fishing laws, and participate in meetings. In the second phase, after the managed access areas are institutionalized, the messages focus on building compliance for the rules and monitoring of their catch.  Through social marketing, Fish Forever can more easily earn buy-in from communities to follow best practices for fishing and encourage new solution innovations from communities for sustainable fisheries management.

In order to properly monitor the participatory implementation of the programme a “Community Management Group” (CMG) has been established. Members of the group were selected via an open voting involving all municipality members. The CMG members represent all economic and social groups that depend on natural resources (e.g. cattle breeders, beekeepers, gardeners…) including women and youth. During the planning and implementation phase of the erosion control measures, the CMG meets regularly, informs on the current situation, discusses challenges and decides on further steps. The CMG presents its proposal and comments on the management of public land (communal land) to relevant stakeholders of the District Administration, the Property Committee, the Rayon Agriculture Department and the regional department of the Ministry of Ecology. After incorporating the feedback from different stakeholders the CMG approves the implementation of the programme activities. Moreover the CMG is a mechanism to negotiate diverging interests and solve occurring conflicts.  

Implemented erosion control measures contribute to the conservation of biodiversity through the protection of natural resources from anthropogenic induced erosion processes and through the rehabilitation of degraded areas. Special attention is paid to the causes and underlying drivers of erosion in order to develop strategies to improve erosion control at local level. Together with national partners Ismayilli district of Azerbaijan was selected as a pilot region.

Different erosion control measures are conceptualized and implemented through the cooperation of national and local partners, involving relevant stakeholders, international and local experts and local villagers. In order to rehabilitate the eroded lands and avoid further land degradation locally applicable erosion control measures are introduced to the land users. Measures include ‘grey’ measures (terraces, fences) as well as ‘green’ measures (afforestation, orchard management) and are combined with alternative income generating practices.

Socio-economic and ecological benefits of better land management and erosion control measures are monitored, documented and demonstrated to surrounding communities.

The removal of some or all of the woody plants creates a vacuum that will invariably be re-populated by woody plants, sometimes by more aggressive species. Natural defences against this phenomenon include a healthy and strongly competitive grass layer, and large bushes that are able to suppress the re-establishment and survival of new bush seedlings.

Despite these natural allies in the fight against re-infestation of aggressive woody species, an aftercare programme is absolutely essential to keep a thinned area open. This can be done in several ways such as mechanical slashing of new seedlings, localised (selective) chemical treatments of new growth, or even applying less popular management options such as controlled burning in combination with browsers. An efficient grazing management system that will ensure the maintenance of a healthy grass layer is also essential.

The most important aspect of an aftercare programme is that it should not be viewed as a once-off operation, but should become a permanent component of the day-to-day management of the farm.

Though ensuring the registration of a surf break is no easy task, it is critical to ensure thata once a surf break is recognized and registered, actions are taken to ensure that the promises and advantages of protection are delivered to all actors, and local fishing communities in particular. This building bloc implies, for example: regular capacity building and interaction with children and youngsters; cleaning of beaches campaigns; recognition of local champions and leaders; monitoring development initiatives (e.g. in infraestructure which may affect a surf break), regular mettings with local actors to explore ways in which the local environment an be improved, etc.    

Women in Vanuatu play a critical role in the use and management of marine and terrestrial biodiversity, deciding what resources are harvested and in what quantities for sale in markets. By empowering women through participation in conservation committees, the NPMLPA network has been able to effect change at the individual and household level.

The coral gardening project is especially relevant for island women and girls. Many of them learned how to guide visitors to snorkel and collect fragments of coral for the climate reef garden. Women are typically those who collect the living coral fragments that have broken off the reef and are perfect for planting. Each piece of coral is extremely delicate and must be handled with care. Monitoring indicates that coral fragments collected by women have a 75% survival rate while those handled by men have only a 55% success rate. Since the inception of the program, GIZ has worked to encourage women to take the role of resource champions in each of the Nguna-Pele committees, offering special gender-focused trainings and capacity development workshops. The obvious benefit to women is that they can earn previously unavailable income from guiding for and helping guests plant coral fragments.

1.By consensus of the interested parties, INCOPESCA, ADIO, UCR, and SINAC created a commission of co-management and created a legal framework established with executive decree DAJ-020-2005, in order to work together and this group of Co-management launches a management plan for the conservation and sustainable use of turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) nesting on Ostional beach.

GRID-Arendal has created a pilot, web-based system to capture, analyse and display state of the marine environment assessment results: http://some.grida.no. The website allows for the real-time capture and display of data (scores for parameters, confidence, risks) during the workshop and provides an online template for the production of a State of Marine Environment Report. The content and graphics can be exported and used as the basis for a national or regional SOME report or the contents can be adapted for use within other formats as required. The database allows direct correlation to the outline of the World Ocean Assessment, thereby permitting cross-referencing and combining outcomes of the assessment to optimize it as a contribution to the international effort. Another key aspect is that the diagrams and outputs that are produced by the web site are designed for easy communication of the workshop results to policy- and decision-makers. The diagrams are simple, jargon-free and clearly communicate the main findings of the judgments made by the experts.