The Ecopark will be the source of new incomes for all of the participants of the community surrounding the watershed, coming from all activities in the ecopark and sustainable projects like nursery gardens, conservation centres, among others.

Our proposal to generate a Community Ecopark with walking trails in the sector Olga, mainly seeks to link the community, being these the main protagonists in the development of day-to-day activities of the Ecopark.  as tourist guides, vendors of handicrafts, sellers of agricultural products, patio grown goods and multiple activities more. Thus, generating sustainable development over time, bringing important resources to a community that today lives in poverty and its members do not enjoy state, local or private support.

This project is considered a pilot or seed project whose success will allow multiplying its methodology and actions in other water basins in Colombia and the world where conditions are similar to that of the La Olga sector are visualized. In addition, the success of this project will allow meeting 2 fundamental needs:

a). Improve the quality of life of the community.

b). Increase per capita income of families involved in the project

c). Ensure that sustainable and sustainable activities are carried out in the area that benefits the environment.

The national fleet of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) highly depends on imported fuels and is therefore a significant source of GHG-emissions. The bilateral program “Transitioning to Low Carbon Sea Transport (LCST)” implemented by RMI and the Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) aims at supporting the RMI Government´s planning and decision-making processes with respect to its low carbon future and the reduction of GHG-emissions from domestic sea transport, through consultancy, research, training, coordination of policy support to RMI and supporting in delivering RMI’s commitments under UNFCCC to achieve reduced GHG emissions from domestic shipping 40% below 2010 levels by 2030 and full decarbonization by 2050.

The Marshallese Government founded and is an active member of the High Ambition Coaltion for Shipping (SHAC) at IMO and UNFCCC and due to their ambition, the group of supporters of an ambitious contribution of sea transport to the climate goals is growing. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, international meetings and high-level conferences are taking place remotely to a high extend.

Ri Majol, the people of the Marshall Islands were known for their superior boat building and sailing skills for centuries. They traveled frequently between their atolls (for trade and war) on big offshore canoes called Walap (some of them 100ft long). The lagoons of their low-lying coral atolls where crested by sails of smaller outrigger canoe designs for rapid inside lagoon transportation, food gathering and fishing. Together with Waan Aelõñ in Majel, we are reviving the traditional knowlege combined with modern technology. The ambitious goals of the Marshall Islands in the sea transport sector have become the main driver and motivation for us to pursue and to transition towards a low carbon fleet for the Marshall Islands for transport inside the lagoons and between atolls. Currently, a 150 ft. Training Vessel is about to be constructed and delivered to RMI by the 2nd half of 2022. After the agreement of the design, the market survey process started with the objection to identify shipyards that are interested and capable of building the new built as drafted in the tender design. The Maritime Training Approach in the Marshall Islands sets a clear focus on Low Emission Sea Transport Education and will train future sailors as part of the national fleet operators.

An inclusive, fair and transparent participation process and tourism benefit sharing mechanisms are key to building and maintaining trust within local communities.

In order to spread the tourism benefits fairly in the village, it is important to set clear and fair regulations for the ecotourism service provider selection. In case of NEPL NP ecotourism program, the key elements are:

• 1 person per household. Only one member from each household is allowed to have membership in only one service group,
• Poor and disadvantaged families are prioritized in the selection process,
• No NEPL NP regulation violation for min. of the 2 years.

To ensure transparent and equitable ecotourism service provider selection process, a multi stakeholder committee votes for the voluntary candidates. The committee consists of the following members: (1) village ecotourism head, (2) existing ecotourism service providers and (3) the national park staff who work closely with the communities.

To create a wide community support for conservation, the Ecotourism Benefit Fund (EBF) was introduced by NEPL NP. Through the EBF, the NEPL NP not only delivers to the villages surrounding the ecotourism area a fixed amount of money for every tourist going on the tour, but an additional amount is provided depending on the numbers and type of wildlife encountered by the visitors on the tour. To encourage conservation efforts, greater incentives are provided for sightings of species with higher conservation importance.

While the NEPL NP ecotourism program provides direct tourism revenue opportunities to members from only around 40% of households in 4 village, in total 26 villages receive financial benefits annually from the NEPL NP tourism program based on their conservation efforts.

One of the main challenges was the low availability of adequate and viable seedlings. To overcome this challenge, the project began constructing new tree nurseries, which were all developed during 2019 and became fully operational during 2020 with the construction of 900 seedbeds. Instead of one nursery per region, as it was initially planned, the project was recommended to construct nine (9) nurseries altogether as part of the strategy to meet the 10,000 hectares restoration target or slightly more. To sustain these nurseries, the project recruited 18 Nursery Attendants (two per nursery).

The nurseries aim to increase available planting materials to supply the EbA interventions and for use by communities outside the scope of the project. The project also developed long-term business plans and revenue models to support sustained operations of expanded/created nursery facilities.

In addition, six (6) Forest Stations were refurbished as part of the nursery infrastructure.

 UNEP is also working with the Department of Forestry to explore low-cost options to establish small gene banks for use by the project and beyond the lifetime of the project. With the construction of these nurseries, adequate seedlings are and will be available throughout the year.

MEP used Mali’s decentralisation legislation to create, with local people, a model of “elephant-centred” CBNRM. This legislation performed a vital enabling function that resulted in a model of resource governance at the village and commune levels, that was enshrined in local and commune conventions, as well as the commune socio-economic development plans. The MEP then worked with government to further reinforce these systems by drafting new legislation that created a new protected area covering the whole of the elephant migration route using a biosphere model which supported the community conventions. The aim was to give a mandate to the government foresters to be able to support local communities in the enforcement of their conventions if need be, thereby strengthening the community systems. This aligns government and community interests to mutually reinforce each other and provide a cost-effective approach to reserve management. This top-down approach complements the bottom-up approach of community engagement.

In 1974, New Hampshire marked the southern edge of the range for Common Loons, and at the time that range was retracting. Recovery efforts carried out by loon conservation groups in New Hampshire and Vermont helped restore loon populations in those states. 

In Massachusetts, extirpation has made recovery in that state much slower. Currently, loon recovery in Massachusetts is still dependent on breeding success in northern New England and New York. BRI’s translocation research being carried out in Massachusetts provides an example of how a population at the edge of its range can be restored.

The original aim of the project was the reintroduction of Critically Endangered western lowland gorillas back to a protected area in the wild. Initially the project would enable the release of rehabilitated wild-born orphans, with captive-bred animals repatriated from the UK as the project progressed. Having a clear aim enabled the plan to be developed and that included, but was not limited to:

• Location and establishment of the protected area
• Legal requirements, including licences and permissions
• Staffing requirements, including training
• Animal care, including veterinary support
• Identification of threats & pressures and mitigation measures required
• Infrastructure required
• Local community impact and engagement
• Local community support through capacity building and alternative income streams
• Funding requirements, including capital expenditure and operating costs
• Reporting Structure
• Sustainability

Projects are not static, they evolve and bring about change. In addition they can be affected by outside factors. Once the project commenced it has been subject to regular assessment. As the project developed it has broadened in scope and adaptations have been made through continuous oversight of the activities in progress.