Planning phase | PANORAMA

Situation analysis and vulnerability assessment

Collecting traditional knowledge

GIZ-CCARAI

The analysis aimed at studying the vulnerability of tribal communities located in the upper catchments of Gaur river in Niwas block of Mandla district towards erratic rainfall. The assessment is also relevant for the entire Mahakuahsal region.

In order to understand exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity of the region, the team has taken a people-centric approach combining field work for the collection of household and village institution data with data available under public domain. The latter comprised finding and analyzing existing meteorological data, other data from government agencies and conducting interviews with higher authorities. The field methods applied include PRA, ecological baseline protocols, household economic analysis and farmer questionnaires.

The results were used to design and implement activities that specifically work on counteracting the impact of erratic rainfall, drought conditions, containing soil erosion and strengthening village institutions for building conservation ethic, in order to control the forest degradation and fragmentation. Building models to interlink farm and demonstrations on commons for reducing soil erosion.

Guidance and support on carrying out local level vulnerability assessment including a a template for the VA to be filled out by the implementing agency FES was provided by CCA RAI.

Involvement of both men and women in identifying climate change challenges and vulnerability factors and involving them in data collection is crucial.

The assessment showed that adaptation strategies need to be designed with a community-oriented approach so that the villages become more self-dependent.

Participatory exercises such as PRA (Participatory Rural Appraisal) are very effective in generating essential information on all aspects of a community's vulnerability to climate change.

Climate data are often not available at the local level and data from a higher spatial aggregation must be used for validation/ triangulation.

A clear distinction between sources of information is necessary to know where the line between community perception and scientific evidence can be drawn.

Local level vulnerability assessments can also provide the starting point for developing monitoring and evaluation (M&E) frameworks for local level adaptation projects. Accordingly, an M&E framework should contain indicators based on the components of climate change vulnerability.

Planning phase

Local

FES (2013) Vulnerability Assessment

Participation throughout the process

This project involves fishermen and other actors in planning their future use of the coastal marine area of the Puerto Peñasco Corridor, but it also seeks meaningful engagement of stakeholders from the onset by engaging them in implementing actions to improve ecosystem management. Many practitioners of CMSP are frustrated with the timeframe involved in moving from planning to implementation. Stakeholders get frustrated too. This project gets stakeholders involved in activities such as cleaning beaches, monitoring resources, analyzing data, distributing materials to their communities and in supporting youth in their community. It shows them what collective action is and how it can be implemented in so many ways. It also serves in building their capactiy for ecosystem management.

CEDO is involved in programs for youth and other community members, such as resource monitoring and beach cleanups and we conduct other activities to engage people. We offer opportunities for stakeholders to be involved in concrete actions that have an immediate impact on their children, their beaches and their understanding of resources. While the long planning process takes place, these actions serve to inspire participants and to show them what they can accomplish by participating and working together.

Fishermen don't understand the time-scale required for an integrated management program. They get impatient and want immediate results, which is why it is important to engage them in the work that needs to be done to develop a functional managment system. Sometimes we forget to remind them of the big picture and the timeline that shows where they are going and what they have accomplished so far. They fear the government will not do their part in this process. Maintaining active engagement of all levels of the government is key, but also a challenge, as individuals are changing. Government is constantly being approached to solve problems in the short term rather than using a more comprehensive, integrated approach and so fishers must be encouraged to wait. Creating spaces for communities to meet with government is important. Long-term funding for such a comprehensive and integrated approach needs to be guaranteed.

Building trust and meaningful relationships

Our initial approach with fishermen was to have them identify the problems they were facing. Since fishing is their main economic activity, we gave focus to addressing their needs through this lens. They expressed a need for fishing permits, so we began helping them through the process for registering their boats - a first step, and by connecting them with the government who is responsible for giving them permits. We helped build a governance structure and transparent and inclusive process which gives fishers access to the government by bringing the government to the table to address their problems. Individually they were unable to get the government's attention. This has helped build working relationships with authorities where they have to respond directly to stakeholders, building meaningful relationships along the way. The Corridor program addresses their needs, especially their economic needs. In addition to helping resolve fishers need for clarifying their rights to fish and helping them move towards more sustainable fisheries, we also are identifying alternative economic options of interest to communities, such as ecotourism and will help find resources to move these forward as sustainable economic options. We will also connect fishers to sustainable markets.

Trust. It is a difficult for an environmental organization to lead such a process with fishermen, as this sector is known for being strongly focused on conservation outcomes. The leading organization facilitating this process, CEDO, has worked in the communities of the region for 37 years and built trust with fishers to work together. CEDO's persistence and willingness to help them with their issues as well as our own agenda, helped build a working relationship and trust with fishers.

Fishermen trust is influenced by many factors. There are some that try to undermine the trust that fishermen have in CEDO by starting rumors that fishermen listen to about CEDO's motives for conservation. It is important to maintain regular dialogue with fishers and to have transparent, well documented processes that show social equity. Through CEDO's many environmental education programs throughout the years, and through this program, fishermen have the opportunity to learn about the ecosystem and ultimately to decide for themselves whether it is important to manage their ecosystem well and support conservation.

Planning phase

Inception phase

Local

Understanding People and Context

Qualitative and quantitative research is conducted to produce profiles of both the fisheries and the fishers, so that current fishing grounds, gears and practices are documented. Current knowledge, attitudes and sources of information are also measured.

Participatry processes ensured that community validated the information and accepted it as a basis for future decisions • A partner academic institution provided technical expertise and credibility with the community. • Previous projects in the area also yielded valuable scientific information.

The amount of time needed to educate the fishers and the community on basic coastal resource and fisheries management should not be underestimated. Multiple listening sessions and discussions are important to build understanding and support.

Vulnerability assessments for integrated bottom-up planning

Orientation of government staff on the concept and approaches of biodiversity conservation and tools & techniques for climate sensitive vulnerability assessment

GIZ

The project developed and applied a tool for the assessment of vulnerabilities of communities and ecosystems towards the impacts of climate change. The aim was to ensure that the measures implemented reflect the priorities of the community and, at the same time, consider the local climate. After orientations on general climate change vulnerabilities in Pakistan, the vulnerability assessments (VAs) were implemented by teams of agricultural and forestry experts from various government departments, along with project staff. The teams applied different Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) techniques, including key informant discussions, focus group discussions (FGDs), village resource mapping, transect walks, and field observations. Information was collected on general village issues as well as on main natural hazards and their impacts. Based on the vulnerability assessment and consultations with the pilot communities, a set of adaptation measures were identified. The communities have been fully involved in all steps.

• A consulting firm was contracted for backstopping and support to district teams. • The assessment was based on an existing methodology (GIZ’s Vulnerability Sourcebook. • An orientation workshop for key stakeholders followed by training for District staff was organized to share the VA approach and to enhance capacities of key stakeholders and discuss data needs/ sources. • Community awareness, mobilization and involvement • Active participation of the government line agencies (departments)

• Local-level VAs are an important tool for integrated bottom-up planning. They help to identify socially-acceptable and biodiversity friendly measures that support adaption to climate change. The government should consider making VAs mandatory so that values and services of biodiversity can be safeguarded. • Gender aspects of the VAs should be worked out according to the local customs and traditions to allow women participation in the assessments. This is particularly important when women are involved in managing the natural resources. • The assessment proved very helpful for the local communities as well as the line agencies to understand the scale and type of their vulnerabilities with regard to climate change. The realization paved the way for effective implementation of the climate change adaptation measures. • The PRA tools can vary from one community to another, so judicious thought is necessary when selecting the tools. The tools should be context and culture sensitive.

Planning phase

Local

Hussain, S.S. (2014) Vulnerability Assessments in Swat and Chitral Districts

GIZ (2014) The Vulnerability Sourcebook

Capitalising on best practices of similar projects

At the start of the BKP Project, 13 biodiversity conservation and natural resource management projects implemented in the mountain valleys of Northern Pakistan were analysed for their lessons and best practices. Successful practices included: developing biodiversity strategies and action plans at the sub-national level, raising private forest and fruit nurseries, joint forest management, sport hunting, district coordination mechanisms, resource conservation plans, extension cadres for livestock and agriculture, students’ engagement, village conservation funds, community exchanges, land development infrastructure (irrigation channels, protective walls), and collection and post-harvest processing of medicinal and aromatic plant species. The results were documented in a detailed report.

• Existence and availability of documented best-practices • Proper orientation and mobilization of the relevant stakeholders on the best practices • Coordination among the stakeholders through a responsive and dynamic steering mechanism • Community involvement from the planning phase

• With the exception of very few, lessons learnt and best practices are hardly incorporated in the government formal development agenda for future replication. Integration into government policies and funding-decisions are urgently required. • The best practices report emphasises the necessity of capacity-building for local communities. The traditional top-bottom approach of delivering service through the government and NGOs has proven little effective in addressing the problems at the grass root level. A radical shift from resource-focused interventions towards a community-centred approach for local capacity-building, to address the problems at the local level, is needed to improve local ownership to address development challenges themselves. • Knowing in advance the pitfalls experienced by other projects helped BKP dealing with such problems.

Planning phase

Subnational

Integration of gender recommendations into management plan

This analysis and recommendations took place as a new management plan was being developed, so the recommendations had the ability to be directly inserted into the new plan.

The new 5-year management plan was being developed by the management board, and the CI staff who conducted the analysis has been an integral part of the MMPL management board since inception. This allowed her to directly present her recommendations to the rest of the board for consideration.

To be most impactful, it is important to have an opening/opportunity to directly integrate recommendations, and good connections with those making decisions.

Planning phase

Review phase

Local

Integration of climate change into development planning

Planning for the future

Nadia Manasfi

The institutional integration of climate change related risks and opportunities is a significant step in order to strengthen the legitimacy of any action and allows economic and human resources to be allocated to the subject and related activities. Water availability was addressed as a current (political) issue and connecting element, establishing links to other topics such as agriculture, health, biodiversity and stakeholders engagement. Climate change was introduced in development planning as a cross-cutting issue, rather than a separate topic. A systematic approach for integrating climate change risks and opportunities in combination with capacity development measures helped to minimise the additional challenge for development planners at the practical level.

*Well-developed legal and institutional framework for climate change at the national level. *Established development planning processes at the sub-national level *Long-term partnerships with key stakeholders. *Multi-level approach (linking local, sub-national and national level).

*Addressing initially current and tangible problems - such as water provision - helps to introduce the rather abstract topic of climate change into political decision-making. *The intensive support of the process of integrating climate change into the development plan of one local entity pays off as it serves as an example for others to follow.

Planning phase

Local

Subnational

Institutional agreements and participatory decision-making based on MARISCO method

MARISCO workshop

Nadia Manasfi

Planning and implementing EbA requires a holistic approach and strong inter-institutional coordination and cooperation. The multi-pronged approach adopted in Tungurahua encourages the participation of policy-makers, the private sector, farmers, civil society and universities, among others. The establishment of a cross-institutional platform enables frequent meetings for exchange and follow-up, while addressing concerns of all stakeholders. Tailor-made capacity development contributes to a shared understanding of the main problems and options for action. Participatory assessments (such as the MARISCO methodology) have allowed stakeholders to better understand how climate and non-climate risks can reinforce each other and how to deal with the resulting complexity. Complementary to the participatory assessments, technical assessments, hydrological models and a hydro-meteorological monitoring system provide decision-makers with hard facts on which to base policy. The results are clear and holistic strategies, theories of change and a monitoring system accepted by the majority.

*Political willingness to enable cross-institutional cooperation. *Willingness of key stakeholders to cooperate. *A shared understanding of the problem and its underlying causes. *Reliable empirical database to underpin participatory decision-making.

*Potential resistance to climate change actions can be reduced by inviting different stakeholders to participate in capacity development measures. *Building ownership and empowering communities by involving them in every step of the process (from identifying the problem to proposing solutions and implementing them) is an important success factor for the process.

Provincial Government of Tungurahua

Ecological Mangrove Restoration

Devonshire Castle mangrove restoration

NAREI

There are two approaches that have been used for mangrove ecosystem restoration worldwide. The artificial regeneration or planting approach that has been used extensively and the other approach that has been used more recently is the natural regeneration or the Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR) approach (http://www.mangroverestoration.com/pdfs/CBEMR-Infosheet-URLs.pdf). Guyana has adopted EMR principles to design and implement its mangrove restoration program. EMR principles purports five critical steps that are necessary to achieve successful mangrove restoration, the sixth step (seedling planting) is only recommended as a last option. Following the guiding principles of EMR, seedling planting was only used to increase recovery time of a site that met the necessary criteria, particularly elevation, to support mangrove restoration. At sites that did not meet restoration criteria, the project implemented sediment traps to aid accretion and planted Spartina grass to support soil consolidation.

Baseline information on the proposed restoration sites must be captured to determine the suitability of the site and guide selection of the most appropriate intervention. Baseline information collected should include physical (elevation, soil conditions, etc.), biological (presence of natural recruitment) and social factors (livestock grazing, harvesting, etc.). Suitable elevation is critical to successful restoration and one of the key criteria in determining the most suitable intervention.

The restoration of Guyana’s coastal mangroves is possible if planned properly with the collection of detailed baseline data on potential restoration sites. Thorough site analysis should be conducted prior to any intervention and baseline data, such as wave energy, shoreline elevation, anthropogenic activities and hydrology should be collected and analysed before any intervention is undertaken. Implementation of the EMR principles increases success rates significantly and has the potential to reduce restoration cost. Monitoring data under the GMRP indicates that when conducted on accreting sites of the right mud elevation, and soil consolidation, restoration of a protective belt of mangrove forest can be established rapidly.