Review phase | PANORAMA

Community visits and education

Aim at human interference information, and timely organize management and protection personnel to carry out community visits, special inspections, etc. For the people involved we can provide verbal warnings, legal warnings and education, and registration for the record in accordance with the "Regulations on the Management of Nature Reserves".

According to the identified information, the follow-up work was carried out in time, and major management areas and major management crowd were established, with long-term timeliness, we can introduce projects to the community and increase the income of the community.

Combining with years of data can be representative and referential. When launching a warning education, we should pay attention to methods and ways to reduce conflicts of interest, and to improve awareness of resource protection.

Develop a tool to test if young people will pay to learn conservation skills

Dr. Shah, Nature Seychelles Chief Executive after a metorship session

Nature Seychelles

1) Conservation has become an increasingly popular career choice for young people all over the world. But many conservation organizations complain that young graduates don’t have the right attitude or the real-word skills. Nature Seychelles created the Conservation Boot Camp (CBC) on Cousin Island Special Reserve to test if the island could be used as a laboratory to equip young people with conservation skills, while at the same time use the fees paid as a sustainable funding mechanism for the MPA. The program was financially supported by the GEF from April 2016 to December 2019. The GEF project pays for a full time CBC Coordinator, equipment, and materials and other. The coordinator manages the application process, and receives and integrates participants into the program. A conservation manager leads on conservation work, while the Chief Warden manages all the logistics. The CBC is exclusive and takes a maximum of 6 persons per session and takes place the whole year. Each session lasts for 4 weeks and costs Euro 1000.00 (not including airfares and food). A 2 week program was been introduced due to demand. Nature Seychelles is a Private Training and Educational Institution under Seychelles law and a Certificate of Completion is awarded at the end of the training.

Cousin Island Special Reserve - the 50 year old conservation success story - as a laboratory to test the program.
Funding to support the initial implementation and testing of the program
Nature Seychelles is a certified private training institution by law
Leadership and mentorship from the CE who has over 35 years conservation experience
Existing human resource to support the implementation

Initial funding is important as program depends on participants to fill all slots for it to be viable and sustainable. Not all slots were filled throughout the year.
Having well-known successes provides credibility and helps in attracting participants.
Necessary information laid out in a CBC handbook provided prior knowledge before sign up.
One size doesn’t fit all - although targeted at people interested in conservation careers, some participants had no previous or post interest in conservation.
Mentorship with well-known figure helps to boost confidence and catalyse conservation careers
Program not able to attract participants throughout the year. Under review to improve numbers so that it remains viable after the GEF funding ends.
The program was valuable for people from the region, in particular from Madagascar (18 participants), especially where there are not
exposed to conservation success stories.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Conservation Boot Camp

The NMS-COUNT Iterative Framework: Phase 4

In Phase 4, a field study tests the methodology and performance of measures. The results of the study and all phases will be used to validate and standardize methods, and to advance development of visitation indicators and models. Depending on the customized suite of methods developed in Phase 3, Phase 4 could contain a multitude of techniques that involve both on-site data collection via surveys and observations as well as data mining from existing sources or other agency activities.

Phase 4 requires synthesis of data from multiple agencies and stakeholders. This integration is critical to the success of the NMS-COUNT process. A full understanding of data analysis methods and data synthesis is required. This Phase is also enabled by collaborative planning at the site level to determine proper spatial and temporal characteristics of sampling.

Phase 4 represents the ongoing data collection effort to fill in any gaps noted in the first three phases. One of the most critical gaps uncovered via NMS-COUNT in the existing visitor count data is the frequency of sampling or when and how often sampling occurs. Because of this gap, the research team will place interviewers on two dive boats to record observations of visitor counts in the sanctuary and to conduct interviews with the touring participants. There will also be several roving intercept surveyors which collect data from visitors as they leave the shoreline or return from offshore for visitor activities. Existing data streams will continue to inform the visitation estimates, with models that account for spatial and temporal changes detected by on-site sampling. Following the data collection effort, the results will be shared with academic and agency peers. Resource managers will continue to monitor and adjust use as needed to meet the requirements of the agency or other management plans.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Local

Commitment to conservation objectives through Conservation Agreements

Conservation Agreements (CAs) are binding grant contracts created and agreed upon by specific communities and the ECF. CAs set out clear, attainable and realistic conservation objectives and determine the scope of conservation measuresto be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives set by the ECF and local community use expert and local knowledge. Each agreement is tailored to the identified needs in the target community and the local landscape. These contracts bind communities to protect ecosystems but also assist traditional land users to use the land in a sustainable way.

The communities that sign Conservation Agreements have been selected to do so because they show initiative, community involvement and potential through the FPA process and establishment of a CBO. In order to ensure the sustainability of the projects, the compliance of Conservation Agreements is monitored. Each community must submit annual technical reports. In case they fail to perform the planned activities, the payments under the agreement may be suspended until they meet the requirements, or subsequently terminated if they don’t comply for more than a year.

Successful application of the FPA; communities practice using tools, models, financing
Development of a philosophy of support and education, not policing
Careful selection of communities which demonstrate the skills, organization and involvement to commence conservation measures
Providing training and education to make decisions and manage landscapes in cooperation with nature conservation ideals
Clearly defining activities being paid for creates a sense of purpose for CBOs
Assisting communities secure additional funding

Technical expertise is needed in very few cases for specific questions related to agreeing on habitat management plans.
The cost estimates were developed in cooperation with the local community representatives based on their knowledge of local markets. The final result is that a fair, full cost reimbursement is set by the conservation agreements that allows the CBOs to implement the Conservation Agreements and secure their economic sustainability over the contracted period.
Annual community reports include: a comparison of targeted and actual values for the planned measures; developments in project time frames; general financial report; information on problems and identification of possible solutions.
Each year, a sample of conservation agreements are selected for independent audit of performance by ECF or a third party. This is an opportunity to examine monitoring and reporting and a method to test performance of the conservation agreement process.
Examining connections between conservation objective and resilience/livelihoods of locals helps direct future projects.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Commitment to conservation objectives through Conservation Agreements

Successful application of the FPA; communities practice using tools, models, financing
Development of a philosophy of support and education, not policing
Careful selection of communities which demonstrate the skills, organization and involvement to commence conservation measures
Providing training and education to make decisions and manage landscapes in cooperation with nature conservation ideals
Clearly defining activities being paid for creates a sense of purpose for CBOs
Assisting communities secure additional funding

Technical expertise is needed in very few cases for specific questions related to agreeing on habitat management plans.
The cost estimates were developed in cooperation with the local community representatives based on their knowledge of local markets. The final result is that a fair, full cost reimbursement is set by the conservation agreements that allows the CBOs to implement the Conservation Agreements and secure their economic sustainability over the contracted period.
Annual community reports include: a comparison of targeted and actual values for the planned measures; developments in project time frames; general financial report; information on problems and identification of possible solutions.
Each year, a sample of conservation agreements are selected for independent audit of performance by ECF or a third party. This is an opportunity to examine monitoring and reporting and a method to test performance of the conservation agreement process.
Examining connections between conservation objective and resilience/livelihoods of locals helps direct future projects.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Potential as a Transferable Model

Brazilian farmer in a sunflower field

SEAD

According to Costa et al, “Brazil was the first country in the world to implement a National Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production”. It is therefore worthy of notice that the Policy has been widely implemented in the country, succeeding as a good example of a multi-sectoral public policy, despite the challenges it still faces. Furthermore, PNAPO has served as inspiration for Brazilian States (such as Minas Gerais, Rio Grande do Sul, Goiás, São Paulo and Amazonas), the Federal District and Municipalities to elaborate their own state and municipal policies, following the guidelines of the National Policy and adapting them to their own realities and necessities. Hence PNAPO is likely suitable to be transferred to other situations.

Indeed, there were many exchanges with other Latin American countries, thanks to (and within) REAF – Rede Especializada da Agricultura Familiar. Within this context, a number of the strategies, initiatives and programmes set out by and developed under the umbrella of the PNAPO, such as the Segunda Água Programme and the public calls for ATER, are highly transferable to other countries with common characteristics and issues, with emphasis to those from the global south with large agricultural areas.

In particular, Brazil’s National School Feeding Programme has been recognized by various actors (UNDP, WFP, FAO) and has spiked interest from governments in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Implementation of PNAPO

Family farmer selling his products

SEAD

The National Policy (PNAPO) has been implemented in Brazil since 2012, aiming at fostering sustainable agricultural practices and healthy food consumption habits; empowering family farmers, traditional communities, women and youth; and promoting sustainable rural development through specific programs and financing for smallholder farming. It is a multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder interdisciplinary policy on a federal level, whose initiatives have been implemented throughout the five Brazilian regions, with verifiable results.

Some programmes and initiatives currently included in the flagship of PNAPO already existed before its creation. Nonetheless, with the establishment of the policy and the creation of CNAPO, those programmes have been strategically articulated and integrated into PNAPO’s general objectives and working plan, guaranteeing more participative planning, implementation and monitoring processes.

One of the PNAPO’s main instruments is the National Plan for Agroecology and Organic Production (PLANAPO), which must always include at least the following elements: overview/diagnosis, strategies and goals, programmes, projects, actions, indicators, deadlines and a management structure (Article 5 of Federal Decree 7,794).

The main goals and initiatives of PLANAPO are to strengthen agroecological and organic production networks, increase the supply of Technical Assistance and Rural Extension (ATER), focusing on agroecological practices; increase access to water and seeds, strengthen government procurement of products, increase consumers’ access to healthy food, without the use of agrochemicals or transgenics in agricultural production, thus strengthening the economic value of the farming families. PLANAPO seeks also to expand access to land.

Despite “civil society proposals have not been fully included in the final version of the PLANAPO, there is a general consensus on the fact that the Plan marks an historic moment, an important step forward in the direction of a more sustainable peasant agriculture, especially in a country such as Brazil where the agribusiness model still keeps on maintaining a great influence on government policies, due to its economic importance”.

According to ANA, there are several good points to be highlighted in the first PLANAPO (2013-2015). Among the positive aspects are the actions that had a budget for implementation and which made an important contribution to the advancement of agroecology. Among the negative aspects of the first PLANAPO are the very small budget for policies such as the Ecoforte Programme and Technical Assistance and Rural Extension.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

National

Commitment to explicit, attainable conservation objectives through long-term Conservation Agreements

Conservation Agreements (CAs) are binding grant contracts created and agreed upon by specific communities and the ECF. CAs set out clear, attainable and realistic conservation objectives and determine the scope of conservation measures to be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives are determined by the ECF and the local community using expert and local knowledge. Each agreement is tailored to the identified needs in the target community and the local landscape. These contracts bind communities to protect ecosystems but also assist traditional land users to use the land in a sustainable way.

Successful application of the FPA; communities practice using tools, models, financing
Development of a philosophy of support and education, not policing
Careful selection of communities which demonstrate the skills, organization and involvement to commence conservation measures
Providing training and education to make decisions and manage landscapes in cooperation with nature conservation ideals
Clearly defining activities being paid for creates a sense of purpose for CBOs
Assisting communities secure additional funding

Technical expertise is needed in very few cases for specific questions related to agreeing on habitat management plans.
The cost estimates were developed in cooperation with the local community representatives based on their knowledge of local markets. The final result is that a fair full cost reimbursement is set by the conservation agreements that allows the CBOs to implement the Conservation Agreements and secure their economic sustainability over the contracted period.
Annual community reports include: a comparison of targeted and actual values for the planned measures; developments in project time frames; general financial report; information on problems and identification of possible solutions.
Each year a sample of conservation agreements are selected for independent audit of performance by ECF or a third party. This is an opportunity to examine monitoring and reporting as a method to test performance of the conservation agreement process.
Examining connections between conservation objective and resilience/livelihoods of locals helps direct future projects.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Potential as a Transferable Model

Collecting a lettuce

CONQUITO

AGRUPAR could well serve as a model for other cities and form the basis for a national policy on local production.

CONQUITO has favoured observation tours and exchanges of experiences as well as transfer of methodologies, including among ministries and NGOs, for example the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Aquaculture and Fisheries and the Peace Corps.

Since 2015, AGRUPAR contributed to both the City Region Food Systems Project of FAO and the RUAF Foundation, which evaluated Quito’s food system. As a result, AGRUPAR staff decided to work towards a food policy for the city in a more systemic sense, within which urban agriculture is a strategic activity.

Commitment from the municipality to keep continuing and investing into the programme in the long term
A great equipe
The buyin of CONQUITO

Over its 16 years of existence, AGRUPAR has achieved impressive results. These results helped to make it an international well-known example of exemplary urban participatory agriculture and serve now as benchmark for all others that follow their path.

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Review phase

Subnational

Focus on market development

Girls in organic field - national event Høstmarked

Organic Denmark

Whereas in the past the focus of policy support for organic farming was often production-oriented, the current Danish OAP considers market development (including support for certain marketing channels), promotion and awareness, as well as public procurement, as priorities. The OAP is a mix of push and pull actions. Push effects are meant to increase production, while pull measures aim at increasing the demand for organic products.

If we look at the pull measures, a key action was to stimulate the demand for organic products by consumers and in private and public kitchens, such as schools and hospitals. For these activities, 6.4 million EUR were earmarked in the 2015-2018 period.

Municipalities were motivated through a national goal of achieving 60 per cent organic in all public kitchens and by earmarked funds to support the conversion process, primarily through the education of kitchen leaders and workers, and changes in supply chains and menus.

The aforementioned measure was highly successful. For instance, the city of Copenhagen succeeded in developing one of the most ambitious public procurement programmes in Europe, which met the goal of 90 per cent organic food in 2015, without an increase in meal prices.

Implementation

Review phase

National