Wudalianchi Geological Park covers an area of 1,060 square kilometres, in the area it has a town, two farms, a township, a forest farm, three military farms, and some villages, with a total population of 56,730. The good management of the geological park depends not only on the supervision of the government, the implementation of the management committee, the cooperation of the local residents, but also relies on external support. Thus, Wudalianchi Geological Park reached out to various domestic and international research institutes, colleges and universities, and other stakeholders to carry out research projects, cooperation, and promotional activities, the goals are to 1) improve geological park’s research and implementation capacities; 2) learn and exchange management/development/research experiences; 3) leverage external capacity to achieve more for the best protection of the geological park while taking into account the sustainable development of the local communities.

Once protected areas and Business Mentors are matched, they are brought together on a 10-day Residential Training Programme, set within an inspiring and relevant protected area setting. This aims to: build relationships between Business Mentors and protected area managers that allow for effective ongoing mentoring and collaboration; develop business and leadership skills that enable protected area managers to perform better in their roles and manage the protected area more effectively; build a clear action plan for enhancing management effectiveness; provide an opportunity for networking between African protected areas; and build a shared understanding of the importance of effective protected areas, and the possible impact of business decisions. Following the residential training, protected areas and their mentors work together in a mentor-mentee relationship for at least 12 months. Mentoring from this point is usually conducted remotely, although mentors sometimes visit their site to support the roll-out of business planning activities.

Applying the principles of fair trade and inclusive business, we create efficient community-based supply chains for raw materials (plastics and seaweed carrageenan) that are available in abundance. We link these raw materials to conservation actions that reduce plastic pollution and restore coastal ecosystems. Increasing incomes from these raw materials reduces dependence on fishing – enabling communities to set aside larger no-take zones to replenish fish stocks.