The Ifugao Rice Terraces are maintained by families, not merely as production areas for a staple crop but also for the sentimental reason that these properties have been passed down from their ancestors. The maintenance of the rice terraces reflects primarily a cooperative approach of the whole community which is based on detailed knowledge of the rich biodiversity existing in the Ifugao agro-ecosystem, a finely tuned annual system respecting the lunar cycle, zoning and planning, extensive soil and water conservation, mastery of the complex pest control regime based on the processing of a variety of herbs, accompanied by religious rituals. Yet, this knowledge is under threat due to socio-cultural changes and the lack of involvement of the youth, which is attracted by the urban globalized way of life. In order to conserve the terraces, the Ifugao culture needs to be recognized and the Ifugao Indigenous Knowledge passed down to the next generation. The sustainable strategy proposed by SITMo is to integrate culture and heritage in the official curriculum so the Ifugao culture can be safeguarded.

SITMo has developed partnership with local scientific institutions like the Ifugao State University, which is working with the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) designation and has established the Ifugao Rice Terraces GIAHS Research and Development Center. Furthermore, connected to this initiative, SITMo is working in cooperation with the Ifugao State University and the Taiwan Ministry of Science and Technology and the National Chengchi University of Taiwan in the project “Center for Taiwan-Philippines Indigenous Knowledge, Local Knowledge and Sustainable Development”, where partner institutions are exploring together the sustainable safeguarding and transmission of their Indigenous knowledge through exchange and collaborative research, which would enable local communities to develop sustainably. A long-term partnership with the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has been established in 2012 to undertake archaeological investigations in the terraces, leading to the establishment of community heritage galleries and publication of scientific articles.

Volunteers are strongly involved in communication processes to seek changes in society, thereby fulfilling four functions: informing, persuading, entertaining and educating.

Communication work is crucial for society to find out about and value natural resources, in order to increase environmental education and awareness and to contribute to a better conservation of natural areas.

Projects in this area offer young people the opportunity to contribute to nature conservation by getting involved in the following tasks:

1. Reforestation
2. Conservation of flora and fauna
3. Data collection
4. Tasks involving nature reserve maintenance
5. Bio-construction projects
6. Environmental Education and Communication

Participating in the IUCN Shared Resources, Joint Programme's capacity-building for civil society on business engagement helped the NGOs increase their chances of success, but also to connect with other NGOs at the event. The training included advocacy, building trust with the company, designing a good business engagement approach and engaging with a company in a convivial way while staying true to principles. Through this training, IUCN provided their existing contact with a key person in the company to the implementing NGOs, which further reinforced their engagement. 

Heidelberg already had a biodiversity policy and were organising a reward initiative related to biodiversity. This meant that there was already a good foundation to build on, and someone to advocate strongly for it within the company.

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. 

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

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 . 

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.