ArcGIS Online

The Protected Area Management Solution and workflows are built using ArcGIS Online as the foundation. ArcGIS Online is a cloud-based mapping and analysis solution. It gives users access to workflow-specific apps, maps, and data from around the globe, and tools for being mobile in the field. Users can use it to make maps, analyse data, and to share and collaborate. Your data and maps are stored in a secure and private infrastructure and can be configured to meet your mapping and IT requirements.

 

  • Organisations can apply for low-cost access to ArcGIS Online through the Esri Conservation Program by filling out the Technology assistance application. Alternatively, licencing can be purchased through a local Esri Distributer.
  • ArcGIS Online is software-as-a-service (SaaS) cloud-based offering that requires an internet connection. However, tools are designed to work offline by default. Once surveys are downloaded, captured data will be saved in the device so it can be later synchronized.
  • ArcGIS Online allows you to create a great central destination for all your organisations monitoring data.
  • ArcGIS Online can be daunting to configure if you are unfamiliar with GIS.
  • There are rich resources for learning about ArcGIS Online, use them, especially the free Esri Training.
  • Great Esri Community Forum for ArcGIS Online where you can post questions.
  • There are several user types available based on the members’ needs and requirements. The user type determines the privileges that can be granted to the member. It is important to have a good understanding of which and how many user types your organisation needs.
  • Organise your members into well defined groups to organise activities and data access.
Establishing partnerships between research institutions and management authorities

The World Heritage Leadership Programme (WHLP) released an open call for applications for Research-Practice Teams interested in working on World Heritage management issues collaboratively in the experimental Heritage Place Lab. The Research-Practice Teams had to be composed of a group of researchers (2-4), and a  group of site managers (2-4). The research group could include faculty members, post-doctoral and graduate students, based in one or more research institutions, covering cultural heritage and/or natural heritage fields. The group of site managers could include 2-4 members involved in the management of one World Heritage property, which could belong to one or more institutions (managing authorities, municipality, community among others), and who were part of the World Heritage site management system. The WHLP encouraged Research-Practice Teams to work cross-regionally and in multi and interdisciplinary groups, including considering gender and intergenerational balance as priorities. Research-Practice Teams had to commit to working together for the duration of the Heritage Place Lab pilot phase and its follow-up activities, (including in between the 6 incubator online workshops).

- Existing World Heritage research and practice networks, particularly those connected to the WHLP, including those of Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Convention: UNESCO Chairs, Universities Fora, ICOMOS International Scientific Committees, IUCN Commissions and Specialists Groups, and initiatives, like the ICOMOS-IUCN Connecting Practice Project, and the World Heritage Site Managers Forum; 

- Interest in applied research by site managers and researchers;

- Interest of heritage practitioners to connect intersectorally and internationally.

In the process of calling and consultations with potential Research-Practice Teams it became evident that the commitment to such a project would require:

- Institutional support from the side of research institutions and management authorities;

- Potential financial support for ensuring the commitment of both groups in a Team;

- Produce special incentives for researchers beyond financial, such as scientific publications;

- Produce concrete results that would be useful for the management authorities, such as the development of a research agenda that could be used in conjunction with management plans.

 

Regulatory Assurances

Before the critically endangered Pahrump poolfish could be translocated to an active groundwater well field in the heart of Las Vegas, the Las Vegas Valley Water District required regulatory assurances that normal operations would continue. Consequently, it took three years to ratify a-15 year Pahrump Poolfish Safe Harbor Agreement and associated Enhancement of Survival Permit with the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Communication was the key enabling factor that served to alleviate fears from the several internal and external stakeholders.  Once the project was approved by the internal executive team, the regulatory portion of the project revolved around drafting a comprehensive legal document that listed in detail the covered activities, beneficial management activities, avoidance and mitigation measures, and responsibilities of both parties.

Although it took just three months to draft the Pahrump poolfish Safe Harbor Agreement, it took an additional three years for internal and external review by biologists, management, legal teams, and to receive unanimous approval from the Las Vegas Valley water District Board before the document was ratifed by both parties. 

Rewilding for restoring key species and their ecological roles in a degraded ecosystem

We developed the Iberá Rewilding Program, aimed at
re-establishing sustainable populations of all locally extirpated
fauna. These reintroductions are mainly aimed to advance ecological restoration instead of individual species endangered recovery. Also, focusing in the restoration of key species which effect in the ecosystem is stronger, we guarantee the restoration of their role and the recovery of a healthy and balanced ecosystem
 

- Planning, feasibility assessments and permits

-Source of animals

- Quarantine phase and hand-rearing 

 -Pre-release phase

-Release of individuals

- Individuals monitoring

- Reintroduced population monitoring and demographic evaluation

- Demographic assessment

- Communication and program evaluation
 

We recognize two main organizational strengths that have
helped us to achieve our rewilding results in Iberá: the availability of large areas of high-quality and well-protected habitat for
released animals (some of which were owned and managed by us),
and the existence of long-term funding that allowed us to work
for more than 10 years. These advantages are not always available
to reintroduction projects, which usually face difficulties in habitat
and funding availability.
 

One Health Assessment

To fully capture the intersecting health risks that the residential development of the land surrounding the cave would result in, a One Health assessment, an in-depth look at the intrinsic connections between the health of humans, animals, and the environment in the area, was carried out. Lead by EcoHealth Alliance, it highlighted the bats’ ecology and interactions with their environment, calling attention to the uniqueness of this colony and the various ways in which they would overlap with human residences. This report was utilized to mobilize a large coalition of concerned stakeholders – by shining a light on the risks humans would be facing, previously uninvested individuals were now joining the effort to prevent the development from moving forward. A One Health approach expanded the potential audience, generating more attention and funds, leading to success where a siloed approach would have failed.

A successful One Health Assessment was made possible by the expansion of concern beyond the issues captured in the standard assessment carried out for development. Siloed stakeholders were focused on human, animal, or environmental safety, but the recognition that these issues were stronger when considered together allowed a more comprehensive evaluation to take place.

Expanding the traditional impact assessment to include a One Health lens allows a more comprehensive understanding of both the potential risks a development poses, and the potential gains of preserving the land. When a natural system (and the wildlife it is home to) does not have enough social or financial value in and of itself to prevent human encroachment, highlighting the human health protections it provides may grant it the additional value needed to gain protection. The One Health approach calls attention to ecosystem services that have previously gone unrecognized such as disease regulation and spillover risk reduction. Additional services bats provide, such as pollination, seed dispersal, and vector control, provide further human health benefits that can also be factored into future assessments. A larger and more diverse group of stakeholders invested in protecting nature makes conservation efforts more achievable and successful.

Partnership Across Sectors

When it was announced that the Galo tract would be developed into a residential area it concerned parties from multiple sectors. Conservationists and bat scientists saw this plan as creating a human-wildlife conflict where there was not one previously, presenting threats to the health and wellbeing of both nature and the human populations. Local government, in particular City Council member Ron Nirenberg, had expressed concerns about the plan mainly focused on the nearby aquifer and the region’s drinking water. To fully assess the major trade-offs of the residential development plan, local government took the step of unifying diverse partners and their cross-cutting interests. By finding common ground in the end goal of preserving the area surrounding the Bracken Bat Cave, stakeholders from diverse sectors were able to transform their individual concerns into a large-scale mutual interest.

Though the group of stakeholders that came together to purchase the Galo tract, including groups with previously conflicting interests, had separate motivations, their openness to collaboration allowed them to find common ground. By recognizing their mutual interest and identifying where their concerns intersected a partnership was developed and a shared goal was achieved.

All stakeholders involved in this project had their own individual concerns with the residential development planned for the area surrounding the Bracken Bat Cave. While each issue, including but not limited to water safety, wildlife conservation, and human health risks, was troubling in and of itself, no lone stakeholder could create a strong enough case to prevent the development from moving forward. The local government recognized the value in collaboration and created a space for previously siloed sectors to come together. By developing partnerships where there were previously gaps, particularly between the environmental and human health sectors, the larger solution of purchasing the land and creating a preservation was made possible.

Innovative solutions to air pollution

Co-created transdisciplinary approaches using methods such as interviews, storytelling, participatory mapping, theatre, playful activities and music can contribute to air pollution awareness and solutions to improved air quality. This approach accounts for local knowledge, cultural practices and priorities of the intended recipients of interventions, thereby making these interventions and respective air pollution abatement policies more effective and inclusive.  

  • Use of a mixture of qualitative, participatory and creative approaches to engage with a wide range of stakeholders can lead to an improved understanding of air pollution (and its effects on human and ecosystem health) and appropriateness of respective solutions
  • Communication between affected communities and policymakers at equal and appreciative level 
  • Contrasting definitions of air pollution
  • Unexpected solutions to the problem
  • Differing perceptions of who was responsible for enacting solutions
  • Overall view that air pollution cannot be seen in isolation from other socio-environmental issues faced by settlement residents
Solutions accounting for local knowledge, cultural practices and priorities

Approaches to better air quality through reduction of emissions  contributing to increased human health, a healthier environment, food security (through better crop yields) and climate protection need to actively include the participation of the wider public in order to appropriately address the needs of those affected and to increase their knowledge and awareness of this environmental threat. This can only be achieved through the development and implementation of approaches that account for local knowledge, cultural practices and priorities of the intended recipients of interventions. 

  • Include a wide range of local stakeholders in pilot studies
  • Use co-created transdisciplinary approach to (air pollution) awareness using methods appreciated by affected communities including interviews, storytelling, participatory mapping, theatre, playful activities and music

Contrasting definitions of the problem (air pollution), unexpected solutions to the problem, differing perceptions of who was responsible for enacting solutions and an overall view that the problem (air pollution) cannot be seen in isolation from other issues faced by settlement residents were the main lessons learned from the project.

Strategic conservation of the Endangered Pepper-bark Tree (Warburgia salutaris) in South Africa.

Secure an additional 10,000 ha of critical habitat to protect Warburgia salutaris populations in the western Soutpansberg through expanding the Protected Area created in the first project, adding additional critical habitat, and creating a buffer around properties with W. salutaris present. Rehabilitate 20 hectares, and maintain 20 hectares, of prime W. salutaris habitat through invasive tree eradication along riparian areas within the protected area and neighbouring properties. Engage with key stakeholders (Traditional Health Practitioners (THPs), market operators and communities) to significantly increase cultivation of W. salutaris and reduce harvesting pressures on wild populations.

 

Helathy working relationships between different stakeholders, such as the protected areas and Traditional Health Practitioners.

This project is still at the planning phase.

Management and protection of the wild breeding population

Captive reared birds tend to use the same type of nest in which they were raised. Based on this theory, nest boxes were installed along cliffs and a working quarry adjacent to the release site. Ronez, the quarry owners, paid for a UK expert to visit Jersey to help plan, design, and install the boxes.

 

The first nests, in 2015, were inside quarry buildings, not the boxes. Boxes began to be used as competition for nest sites increased. When two nests failed due to being built on dangerous machinery, staff installed boxes and successfully encouraged the pairs to nest in them, allowing quarry staff to continue operations.

 

Nesting activity is closely monitored allowing staff to estimate incubation, hatch, and fledge dates based on pair behavior at the supplemental feed and/or from direct nest observations. Chicks are ringed and DNA sexed in the nest where feasible. Alternatively, fledged chicks that visit the supplemental feed site can be trapped in the aviary when called for food, ringed, and immediately released. This option was used in 2020 and 2021 when COVID-19 prevented access to the quarry.

 

The recently revised Jersey wildlife law gives full protection to chough nests. Staff are now working to increase public awareness and offer nest boxes as mitigation when choughs nest on private property.

  • Bringing in outside expertise
  • Developing a strong stakeholder relationship - Ronez appointed a liaison officer who works with Durrell to access, monitor, and protect nest sites.
  • An enthusiastic team willing to go above and beyond for the species.
  • Accessible nest sites with an alternative option for ringing juveniles/adults, i.e. the aviary at the supplemental feed site.
  • A supportive public equipped with species knowledge, the means to report sightings, and are respectful of the wildlife laws.
  • Public awareness and support have resulted in additional invaluable data about dispersal, roost and nest-site selection, and habitat use. In 2021, a new roost site was discovered at an equestrian yard when the owner contacted the project officer questioning the presence of an ‘unusual crow’. A single female chough was identified roosting in the stables with a visiting pair attempting to nest nearby. Despite this, an evaluation of the reintroduction in 2019 identified an overall lack of public awareness. As the reintroduced population grows and new territories form away from the protected release site it will become increasingly important to have an informed and engaged public supporting the conservation management.

 

  • Staffing has been very limited and restrictive. There is no dedicated marketing or educational outreach team. During the breeding season, monitoring multiple sites is only possible if there is a student placement assisting the project officer.