Confidence raising through exposure and cross learning

A three-day exposure visit to Bethany Society located in Shillong and which involved an eleven hours road journey was organized. Participants for this exposure included members of households who volunteered to pilot the various techniques on their own plots. It was during this visit that various technologies of Sustainable Climate Smart Agriculture which included techniques like key-hole gardening, square foot gardening, the various composting techniques such as bokashi, vertical and vermicomposting, housed within Bethany Society establishment were demonstrated. A visit to a full-fledged farm where these techniques have been installed on a commercial basis was facilitated. This exercise supplemented their confidence in the productivity of this practice. 

  • A well-planned project demonstration tour was prepared and travel arrangements were organized well in advance for the farmers. 
  • The farmers from the village selected for the exposure tour were achieved with the participation and blessing of the community leaders. They included women and young adults capable and motivated to pilot what they had learned.

 

  • Apart from building their confidence and enthusiasm in this practice, it gave them the opportunity to interact with other fellow farmers from Shillong who have undergone similar difficulties. 
  • Experiences were shared that encouraged the commencement of this practice and provided the confidence required to sustain the pilots initiated at their own farms.
Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Targets and National Biodiversity targets

The National Biodiversity Action Plan that have been set in the updated strategizing, incorporates policies drafted at the International and National levels.

In order to upkeep with these changes, the State level policy has also been revised and updated wherein Biodiversity Targets, Sustainable Development Goals and Aichi Targets have been aligned. Thus, the State level policy contributes to at least 15 SDGs and 18 Aichi Targets

 

Series of consultative meetings and workshops with all the stakeholders to come up with appropriate strategies and action plans to meet the national biodiversity targets and Aichi targets, thereby addressing various issues and challenges in biodiversity conservation

Needs periodical reviews of the state alignments and achievements vis-a-vis the national biodiversity tagets, Sustainable Development Goals and Aichi Targets. 

Creating awareness through training and workshop

Inorder to create awareness on the measures of jhum optimization already being practiced by the farmers of Nagaland,  a 2- days workshop was organised at project village for the community leaders , farmers  and field functionaries of forest department. Although jhum was being practiced for generations by the villagers, they were not aware of the measures for jhum intensification and its optimization. Benefits of these measures in increasing their farm income  and  improving biodiversity and ecosystem services were explained through a participatory process and a power point presentation. Involving community leaders and community elders  along with women and youth leaders in the training programme was an added advantage as this leveraged the urgency of the programme and its implementation . 

  •  Orientation of the jhum optimization measures to the state nodal agency i.e. the state biodiversity board and the village council members was key to win the confidence and trust of the  stakeholders.
  • Realization of the farmers and stake holders on the urgency of problem faced and willingness to actively participate and acquire knowledge and implement them in their own jhum.
  • Selection of the beneficiary who is having plot in the current jhum field was an added advantage
  • Incentivising any programme in the village in form of inputs / exposure visit could generate interest among the community to actively participate.
  • Participatory programme  planning in the village along with the participants generated more interest and discussions
To formulate and implement, based on science, the Master Plan of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserv

Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve has successively implemented the first two phases of its Master Plan and formulated the 3rd phase Master Plan of Jilin Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve (2018-2027).  Through active implementation of these science-based plans, Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve has greatly improved in various aspects from infrastructures, biodiversity conservation, forest fire prevention and fighting, research and monitoring to public education and ecotourism.

Changbai Mountain Protection Development Management Committee was established in 2005, sharing the same staff with Jilin Changbai Mountain National Nature Reserve Management Bureau.  The unified administrative zone and nature reserve enables uniform planning, protection, development and management in Changbai Mountain.  The full amount of funds for the Reserve are provided and guaranteed by the Management Committee.

1. The Master Plan defines the construction and development of the Reserve in a specified period of time.  It should be both forward-looking and down-to-earth so that construction projects can be pushed forward as scheduled.  

2. The partnership with research and academic institutions should be strengthened so that more experts can share their insights and experiences in economic growth, social development and ecological protection.

Scientific research and monitoring

Through the fishnet method to set up camera traps, sample plots more than 20% of the nature reserve, collecting moose forage plant samples, feces samples, hair samples, etc. for lab analysis, to investigate the moose population density, genetic and dispersal mechanism, nutritional adaptation strategy, gut microbiological characteristics, movement characteristics in Hanma and adjacent areas, and to formulate protection countermeasures based on these results.

Professional technical team

Sufficient funds

Effective management

The most important thing to monitor moose is to have a professional technical team. Professor Jiang Guangshun from College Of Wildlife And Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University has been conducting investigation and monitoring of wildlife for many years. With professional technical knowledge, personnel, equipment and rich experience, it can ensure the smooth implementation of the project, and the results are quite reliable.

Local Commitment and Participation

Van Long NR was created at the request of the local communities themselves, and they have maintained a strong commitment in their participation of protecting and maintaining ecological and cultural values of Van Long.

This is considered as a unique community-based management model in Vietnam. Given that the Van Long is different to other protected areas in the remoter reaches of Vietnam’s rural hinterland, Van Long is in the heartland of the kinh majority Vietnamese, in a highly human dominated landscape, on the very outskirts of  the Hanoi capital. 

The management board of Van Long maintains strong relationships with stakeholder groups, and continually discuss and exchange in regular meetings to assess the good governance of the wetland.

Effectiveness in Conserving Biodiversity

Although Van Long NR is small compared to other Protected Areas in Vietnam, the core area of biodiversity conservation in Van Long is proving very effective in conserving biodiversity.

Van Long NR maintains to be the biggest inland wetland in the Northern Plain. The Nature Reserve is also the place with the biggest community of of Delacour langur, at present about 150-160 individuals, a very big increase (238%) compared to the number recorded at the time of its establishment, which was 60-67individuals. Delacour langur population is reproducing well. Beside that, water birds are increasing in numbers made Van Long became a interesting bird watching site. In addition, as a result of good management and protection of the limestone ecosystem and karst landscape, the limestone forests has rapidly recovered, contributing to the increased forest cover up to 30%. The Nature Reserve also performs good protection of the biggest inland wetland in the Northen Plain, which contributes to the preservation of valuable genetic sourcesfor aquatic species.

Since its establishment in 2001, Van Long NR has developed and implemented management plans in five-year period such as Operational Management Plan (OMP), Sustainable Conservation and Development Planning, and Annual Operational Plan. The planning process has consulted relevant stakeholders particularlly the local community, used the information about socio-economic conditions and real situation in most conformity.

The design of Van Long NR and development of management plans are suitable with conservation needs for Van Long natural values. The conservation priorities were identified such as limestone ecosystem, wetland ecosystem, Delacour langur population and migrated water birds. The ecosystems and population of Delacour langur are protected through the programs of the government as well as national and international organizations. Conservation and protection activities have generated job opportunities for local communities, improved local livelihood through eco-tourism and local participation in forest management and protection. However, till now, the expansion of the Nature Reserve is needed to preserve the integrity of biodiversity values and ecosystem services. The efforts regarding expansion of the Nature Reserve include the establishment of Kim Bang Nature Reserve (Nam Ha) and  support to patrol for protection of Delacour langur in Dong Tam (Hoa Binh).

Development of a sustainable investment project and reach out to financiers

Once a business model is available, it is time to develop a project and find a financier.

 

Step 1. Design a project to pursue the business idea. It should include a clear structure and sound contractual frameworks (e.g. actors involved in implementing the project and their roles; financial flows; decision-making processes; and legal entities relevant for the project).

 

Step 2. Identify potential financiers, which may be environmental trust funds or impact investments. A trust fund is a vehicle for collecting, investing, allocating and managing assets, filled through donations, public funds or others (e.g. taxes). Impact investments are those made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. They are usually made by development finance institutions, private foundations, pension funds, individual investors and others.

 

Step 3. Develop a marketing strategy for the project.

 

Step 4. Develop a project business plan (PBP). A PBP is a written description of the future of a project (usually 3-5 years).  It describes the resources and capacities that exist now and those that will have been secured in the future. A PBP gives an investor confidence that the project team knows where they are going and how they will get there.

  1. Incubator for Nature Conservation. Building a financial strategy for PAs requires substantial time, resources and capacities. An incubator focused on conservation facilitates access of PA managers to the resources needed and helps them to link with investors.
  2. Legal and institutional frameworks that channel funds for conservation and which allow PA managers to engage in business (e.g. have the ability to enter into contracts, receive funds, etc.).
  3. Strong partnerships and effective outreach and communication strategy.

One of the biggest challenges for designing a successful project is the need of specialized expertise, in a context of already very limited resources to meet basic financial requirements of PA management. For example, in the case of a national park run by a government authority, a lawyer should be consulted to address governance questions related to the possibility of cooperating with private enterprises and NGOs to circumvent bureaucratic requirements and budgetary limitations.

 

Impact Investors often face challenges in finding mature projects to invest in. Sites that apply for a globally recognized certification programme, such as the IUCN green list, have a baseline and indicators that allow site managers and potential investors to measure impact. Therefore, having a certification and developing a PBP and a communication strategy may help to unlock private investments for conservation.

 

Achieving the Aichi Targets and the Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework regarding PA effectively managed will require a general mindset change to engage the private sector in nature conservation.

Clear picture of PA financial gaps, needs and opportunities

A protected area (PA) financial strategy should aim to covering all costs of the implementation of the PA management plan in order to achieve the conservation objectives.

 

Step 1. Know the starting conditions in the PA, e.g. conservation objectives, financial gaps and business opportunities. This information can be found in the PA Management Plan and its financial plan.

PA management plans describe activities, needs and goals protected and conserved area managers are working to achieve. Financial plans provide an overview of a site’s current financial state projections of future income, long term financial goals and needs and steps to achieve the conservation objectives established in the PA management plan.

 

Step 2. Determine financial gaps. Identify the financial requirements for implementing the management plan or a strategic component, e.g. fire management (how much does fire management costs? Including personnel, equipment, infrastructure and supplies). Consider basic or optimum scenarios to achieve conservations goals. Map all available resources from public and private funding and, finally, calculate the gap by determining the difference between available and necessary resources for each scenario.

  1. Up-to-date PA management and financial plans available for identifying financial needs and gaps.
  2. Institutional capacities and tools on finance and management to develop basic and optimum scenarios and determining financial gaps.
  3. Having a site business plan can be helpful for initiating a conservation finance project, as they help to identify economic goals for the site and strategies for achieving them.

One of the biggest challenges in developing effective conservation finance projects is mindset.  Many conservation practitioners have been habituated to depend on government funds, donations and international cooperation.  There is a strong sense that protected areas are a public resource and should be publicly funded.  However, in this reality where public funds are insufficient, understanding that protected areas can and should work to generate their own incomes is essential to enabling implementation of financial mechanisms to unlock other sources of funding.  Changing mindsets requires time and creates significant challenges, until there is a critical mass of well-informed and engaged protected area managers.

Watershed baseline survey to develop hydrological maps

The baseline  survey on the Kikuyu Escarpment watershed to develop hydrological maps for the area was conducted. The survey identified hotspots that needed intervention and also the hydrological maps showing the linkage between upstream and downstream, moreso indicating the catchment areas for major rivers used by most water service provider. it aslo identified potential bussineses target for the PES schemes.

 

 

KENVO long experience working at Kikuyu Escarpment Forest and collaboration with key stakeholders such as government agencies, research institutions, private sector and other development agencies to inform, educate and build the capacity of the communities to embrace appropriate  conservation practices.

That It is important  to think more critically about how to justify the water as ecosystem service  by carrying out baseline survey. This means understanding the status of water resources and areas targeted for intervention before start of the PES

 

One also need to understand the drivers of degradation that affect the service being sold , which is vital for designing intervention activities  convincing the potential buyers of the ability of the sellers to deliver the promised services.