Education played a crucial role in the successful protection of the marine protected area (MPA). Prior to its designation as an MPA (which is 100% no-take zone), the park was a free fishing zone. To increase awareness about the closure of the site in the 1990s, and help local people understand the importance of conservation and its benefits, CHICOP implemented an extensive outreach program and established an Environmental Education (EE) program by providing hands-on environmental education experiences for local school children, teachers, community members and government officials, that has continued to date.

A stakeholders workshop was conducted to share assessment results, address questions from the 2nd workshop, and discuss an action plan for mitigating identified negative impacts. Actions, activities, and timelines were discussed for each impact.

Based on the collected data, TT successfully engaged donors in funding projects aligned with reducing the negative impacts.

To mitigate the Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) negative impact, TT has constructed a 33km Elephant exclusion Fence and 8 additional 10% fences,  reducing HWC by over 80%.

To address the lack of water, TT provided 110 dam liners, each with a capacity of 56,000 L, resulting in the harvesting of over 6 million litres of surface run-off water.

In support of schools, TT is offering scholarships to 9 students and has constructed and equipped a Science and computer laboratory in a local secondary school.

To overcome information barriers, TT established a BULK SMS platform and grievances log to facilitate communication on key issues, ongoing projects, and address grievances between TT and communities.

TT is currently developing a SAPA review scheduled for July 2023 to assess the impact and change in perceptions resulting from the implemented interventions in communities.

Research shows that people who are more connected to nature do more to protect it and engage in more pro-environmental behaviours in general. Through time spent in nature, people develop a sense of attachment to natural and cultural areas and increase their support and interest in the conservation of these protected and conserved areas.

The BC Parks Foundation and PaRx program conducted outreach and media events to raise awareness of the program and the link between health and nature. The launch of the collaboration with Parks Canada generated substantial media coverage, including from international outlets, thus raising awareness of the connections between nature and well-being, and the PaRx program. Parks Canada has also developed informational materials to help health-care providers connect patients with Parks Canada administered places, in so doing creating connections with the health-care community, increasing interest in health and wellness activities across Parks Canada destinations, strengthening engagement between health care sector and protected and conserved areas, and raising awareness of protected heritage areas in Canada.

The following activities enabled delivery of the outputs defined in Building Block 1. Prior to being deployed into the field to engage in monitoring, surveillance and data collection, the ranger team needed to be equipped and trained as demonstrated by the activities below.

Activity Implemented 1.3 - Procurement of equipment and supporting hardware and software for use in monitoring of targeted areas within PSEPA

Activity Implemented 1.4 - Conduct training of surveillance personnel in the use of monitoring equipment

Recruiting personnel with the desired skills, attributes and a willingness to undergo desierd training. This included a Project Manager for the SLNT PSEPA Programme to provide leadership and manage implementation of project activities; and a team of rangers to conduct the monitoring and surveillance activities. These resources supported delivery of the following outputs:

Output 1 - Increased surveillance of targeted areas within the PSEPA to address illegal activities and species conservation

Activity Implemented 1.1 - PSEPA Ranger recruitment

Activity Implemented 1.2 - Surveillance of key PSEPA resources

Activity Implemented 1.5 - Recruitment of Conservation Officer 

Output 2 - Improved Species monitoring programmes

Activity Implemented 2.1 – Offshore islands monitoring

Activity Implemented 2.2 – Wildlife survey

Activity Implemented 2.3 – Equipment purchase turtle monitoring

Activity Implemented 2.4 – Turtle monitoring training

Activity Implemented 2.5 – Turtle monitoring

The rationale for this building block is such that the activities and outputs presented above assisted with the generation of data required to inform future programming and lay the foundation for an established conservation programme at the SLNT southern office responsible for the PSEPA.

An excellent communication plan/network with different stakeholders was initiated across different levels. From the inception of the project, the community and other stakeholders were constantly capacitated on how the project is going. A relay of relevant vulture conservation and policy issues was achieved to the target stakeholders within the communities and KAZA TFCA.

The achieved results relied heavily on the collaboration and cooperation partnerships among various stakeholders, including government agencies, conservation organizations, scientists, and local communities. Collaboration with the Ministries/Government departments was key in sensitizing the communities on issues around human-wildlife conflict and suggested environmentally friendly ways to mitigate the conflict. The scientists were there to collect information related to wildlife poisoning and give feedback to the government ministries. The communities were the key stakeholder since they are the sole custodians of the environment.

Our team has identified the importance of accurate data collection, regular monitoring and oversight of data is done by the science and research adviser and Chief Operations officer to ensure accurate data is uploaded to the database. Population management and scientific decisions concerning the rhino population in the country are guided by the data collected during monitoring conducted by our patrol teams. Data based inputs are used to define the carrying capacity for wild-life based tourism and to plan and manage conservation and development activities.

The management of the Kisite Mpunguti MPA is mandated to the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Wildlife Research and Training Institute. It was therefore critical to have buy-in from the managers of these institutions in the implementation of project activities including WIO-COMPAS. This ensured the endorsement of the WIO-COMPAS programme and its subsequent recognition for career development.

For this reason, the two institutions were included in the process from inception to completion. This ensured the MPA staff that this venture would add value, at individual levels, to their careers, and not just to the MPA management. This was crucial, as the WIO-COMPAS assessment preparation process is quite daunting, and a motivating factor is necessary to ensure their participation.