Monitoring | PANORAMA

Capacity building for leaders and fishing organizations

Capacity building program on leadership with a gender-equality perspective.

COBI

Kanan Kay Alliance, 46 institutions working together for the Mesoamerican Reef.

COBI

We have three capacity building programs to pursue legal, sustainable and competitive fishing practices:

1. Capacity building for leaders: It focuses on human development at the individual level. We identify community leaders and provide the tools and knowledge to strengthen their leadership for the common good. The leaders develop sustainable fishing and marine conservation projects, to which COBI provides follow-up. We have had 38 fellows from 18 communities.

2. Capacity building for fishing cooperatives: It provides legal guidance and

training to fishing cooperatives to improve their operations, be more competitive, and ensure financial sustainability in the mid and long-term. 26 cooperatives have participated in the program.

3. Capacity building for fishery committees and alliances: Designed to increase collective action in working groups that represent different stakeholders

and interests within a given area or resource. The program provides guidance to define common goals, rules for decision-making and operations, working plans, and a follow-up strategy. Four committees and an alliance have participated in the program.

1. Leaders in fishing communities.

2. Cooperatives willing to make improvements in their organizaiton and fisheries.

3. Multi-stakeholder groups that want to work together towards a common goal.

Sustainable fisheries and marine conservation efforts will only be successful if there is fishing organizations are strong. We need to pay enough attention being paid to the individuals and organizations we work with. Only strong organizations can invest and transition towards sustainability.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Capacity building program for leaders and fishing organizations

Capacity building projects

Moreno et al. 2016. Fostering fisheries management efficiency through collabora…

Implementation and Monitoring Plan

Besides setting conservation goals, the Implementation and Monitoring Plan also details strategic objectives and activities to be implemented over a set period of time in order to achieve these goals. Furthermore, the plan identifies potential risks and difficulties and provides indicators for monitoring and evaluation.

Defined targets according to CBD
Annual activities of the Monitoring Plan included in the Operating Working Plan of SINAC, the annual acquisition plan of the trusteeship and in the working plans of bilaterally cooperating projects that contributed in the first four years
Budgeted activities according to the existence of a trusteeship
Application for regulated goods and services from SINAC to ACRXS for a cooperation agreement and a manual of operations

Using clearly defined targets, a detailed plan to meet them and a budget allowing this:

divided revenues from the trusts,
an efficient and organized implementation,
a guarantee to meet the targets mentioned.

Reef enhancement for coastal protection

Building the artificial reef on rock at a time.

The Nature Conservancy

While sea walls, boulders, and other hard approaches to coastal protection are the right approach in some areas, they are also very expensive, high maintenance, and destructive to the living shoreline we all treasure. Nature-based solutions seek to integrate built structure, natural systems such as reefs, beaches, mangrove and coastal woodlands, and forests. Nature-based solutions are often much cheaper, and also provide greater benefits such as food production and beautiful places for people to recreate. This project seeks to install reef structures designed to provide fish and coral habitat, and break wave energy and ultimately reduce coastal erosion and flooding. The design phase included detailed measurements of the seabed, wave energy modeling using data from the past sixty years, and coastal engineering. Local labor and equipment was used to install a first set of structures. The installation took a total of three weeks and constitutes one of TNC’s most important pilots to test nature based solutions to climate change.

• Community understanding the importance of and the benefits to be derived from the successful implementation of the project. • Community acceptance, participation in the project process and ownership of the project. • Involvement of and participation of Government Ministries and departments in the project processes. • Partnerships with the Grenada Red Cross and NGO Grenada Fund for Conservation and other community groups that assisted with mobilizing communities and empowering stakeholders.

• Community engagement and buy-in at all stages, as well as partnerships with local organizations and community groups, was critical for successful implementation. • Accuracy of bathymetry data available (we used satellite derived data but this lead to inaccuracies and delays during installation; access to LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) data would have been ideal). • Given the experimental nature of this block phasing of installation was critical. • Employing a local commercial dive operator and local divers was critical, during installation since the commercial diver’s experience and the divers’ knowledge of local context has been invaluable.

Implementation

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Informed Decision Making

Access to pertinent and best-available information is important for informed decision-making, yet coordination between government agencies and other data collection and management organizations can be stymied by lack of resources and inconsistent mandates. To address this gap, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has invested in connecting agency departments with other local, regional and international organizations that contribute to data production and/or management relevant to risk reduction and adaptation planning. Working closely with the Grenada Statistics Department, TNC developed a coding system that allows census survey data to be linked with spatial representations of survey districts and made unrestricted information freely available through an online platform. To support data access, co-management, and use, the AWE project in partnership with the World Bank contributed to the development of holistic databases and critical training of government technical staff. This partnership makes non-confidential information available via a centralized system and helps decision-makers access integrated spatial information on ecological, social, and economic systems.

• Involvement of and participation of Government Ministries and Departments in the project processes. • Effective partnerships with other organizations (e.g. World Bank) and government agencies.

• The importance of understanding dynamics of organizations and agencies as it relates to information sharing. • The importance of prioritizing clear communication about the project with partner agencies to ensure that project aims, objectives potential benefits are fully understood. • The importance of strong partnerships.

Planning phase

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

National

Map of the Coastal Resilience Organization

Volunteer engagement

Volunteers of ARCAS

Volunteers from all over the world help us in implementing the conservation activities of our program: look for sea turtle nests to protect the eggs from poachers, maintenance of the hatchery, support in our environmental education program, analysing research data that we are constantly generating, and helping in the rehabilitation of species we received at the center.

Volunteers are trained by professional experts
Being transparent regarding to incomes, data and results
Volunteers are made aware of the importance of their on-going support for the programs’ successes
Given the lack of government resources, without them we would not have the financial resources and manpower necessary to meet the challenges that we face

Our experience demonstrates that volunteers enjoy working and feeling responsible for producing project results. They like to experience new challenges and feel part of the team. However, many volunteers have little or no experience working in developing countries, and must be well-orientated and managed so that they contribute to the project goals, are aware of local cultural norms, and follow the ARCAS methodology. A successful volunteer/intern/ecotour program requires constant management, planning and communication.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

ARCAS´ website

ARCAS´ guidelines for volunteers

Carbon know-how through strong partnership

Carbon-offset initiatives require a strong scientific basis to determine carbon stocks and baselines. Mikoko Pamoja benefits from a strong partnership with the Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI) that conducted research to deliver necessary baseline data for the carbon offset project.

KMFRI now provides technical support during the implementation of Mikoko Pamoja. A member of KMFRI seats in the Mikoko Pamoja steering committee in order to report on monitoring results. An annual report is then submitted to Plan Vivo Organization detailing project activities undertaken. KMFRI’s position is critical in determining the accuracy of the information submitted to Plan Vivo.

KMFRI's strong presence in the project site Gazi Bay: The Institute has been working in mangrove research since the 1980s and has a field station in Gazi village
Strong technical know-how and long-term involvement with national and international networks (Earthwatch Institute, International Blue Carbon Scientific Working Group)
Resident permanent staff and students at the KMFRI Gazi station
Strong partnership with the local community during development and implementation of mangrove activities

Carbon-offset initiatives require a strong scientific basis to determine carbon stocks and baselines
Good relationship between scientists, government agencies, and communities is required for project sustainability
Transparency is required in all stages of carbon project development. This ensures that there are no over-expectations among the community even when the carbon prices fluctuate
Benefit sharing has to be pre-determined during the project development phase. This ensures onward harmony among project partners
The strong partnership between KMFRI and Gazi community has enabled quick realization of carbon benefits
Mikoko Pamoja has local and international partners such as Earthwatch Institute (UK), Napier Edinburgh University (Scotland), who have played a pivotal role in linking community to carbon buyers

Implementation

Monitoring

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Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI)

Plan Vivo - Mikoko Pamoja

Participatory fisheries monitoring

A community-based catch-monitoring programme is designed to document the quantities of fish and lobster harvested in the area. This type of data creates (and constantly updates) a reference point, meeting the information requirements of decision-makers and managers of the marine reserve.

The support of the Instituto Nazca de Investigaciones Marinas with the financial collaboration of Conservation International to establish a monitoring system and the analysis of the information derived.
Authorities willing to include the information of the monitoring into decision making and continuous and up-to-date information of the monitoring database.
Participation of the fishermen in generating and sharing information on their catches.

It is important to have technical support for a long-term monitoring process to establish a continuous monitoring system. This means, not only including and analysing new Information on fisheries but also communicating information and results back to the commnunities to suppport the empowerment and ownership of the fishermen in this process. It is important that the actual resource users are involved in the process and understand their contributions to the fishing monitoring results.

Implementation

Monitoring

Local

Article: Ecuador - Small-scale fishermen use VHF to combat pirates

Publication: Christopher Castleberry & Dirk Riebensahm, 2011. Value chain analy…

Common trust fund monitoring

Two compatible monitoring systems being built track financial resources and conservation impact across regional and national trust funds. Combined, these systems establish a robust M&E framework to measure for impact, organizational learning and donor reporting, using applicable regional indicators.

Development of region wide applicable reporting and indicators: Many sources of information and elements for these indicators are already available within and outside the region and would not need to be created in a vacuum.

Learn from experiences of similar institutions to establish the appropriate monitoring and evaluation system parameters

Value-added lionfish products

Women in coastal communities are trained in creating lionfish jewelry.

Supporting women from fishing communities to create, market and sell jewelry made from previously discarded lionfish parts adds value to fishers’ lionfish catch. It also meets several needs simultaneously: poverty alleviation in fishing communities, gender equality as women learn skills and are supported to earn independently, and further awareness raising about invasive lionfish, thus contributing to the conservation of Belize’s marine ecosystem.

Other potential lionfish value-added product markets include lionfish burgers, frozen fillets for sale through supermarkets and animal feed. Further benefit to fishing communities could be achieved through establishing lionfish processing plants within the communities themselves, increasing the availability of skilled employment opportunities and providing new skills for local community members.

Jewelry training workshops for women from coastal fishing communities
Business management and marketing support to lionfish jewelers
Access to jewelry making kits and resources
Access to discarded lionfish products such as spines and fins
Access to markets to sell finished products

Lionfish jewelry-making skills can be easily acquired and there is demand for the product. Belizean fishers' lionfish catch increases 13-40% in value when fins and spines are sold. Establishing the market-price for fins and spines is critical to ensure that this benefit is achieved. For that reason, jewelers should not be subsidized after initial training workshops. Jewelers from regions that do not have established markets for lionfish meat struggle to access lionfish parts; this can be overcome with a network of jewelers. A network also fosters knowledge-sharing, accessing diverse sales points, developing brand and business plan, and ultimately accessing international markets. Through targeting women from coastal fishing communities, household incomes are diversified and women are empowered. Further, lionfish jewelry can enhance lionfish outreach and jewelers themselves become advocates for the cause, driving behavior change towards increased lionfish exploitation.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Subnational

National

Belioness - Belize Lionfish Jewelry

Kaj Expressions

Strategic planning with Belioness (blog)

Enforcement programme

Most management plans focus on ensuring the maintenance of healthy, functional ecosystems, through direct management of the marine environment, surveillance and enforcement and direct biodiversity management interventions. In order to achieve this, surveillance and enforcement programs have been supported and strengthened in the four protected areas of the initiative. Basically, the support has been focused on the economic provision so that patrols can be developed continuously. By providing funds to a regular number of patrols, the Protected Areas can secure matching funds with other organizations and develop inter agency patrols. Also, while increasing presence in their areas, the Protected Areas have managed to acquire greater credibility and trust among local actors/fishers, resulting in collaboration from them assuming the role of community rangers and providing information regarding overfishing, illegal fishing and illegal fishing methods.

Technical assistance

The lack of financial resources can cause the waste of great human capital
Most of the administrators or co-administrators staff are well prepared and ready to develop fine enforcement programs

Implementation

Monitoring

Local