Cross-sector partnerships were the basis for achieving success in mangrove conservation efforts. The journey began in partnership with the World Bank, which supported the development of the initial documents. As the World Bank phased out its involvement, IUCN stepped in as a reliable partner to continue the work. This transition included co-funding a staff member for six months, allowing them to represent both IUCN and the World Bank until the document development was completed.

IUCN then formed strategic partnerships with WWF and WCS, who contributed valuable biodiversity data for the National Territorial Development Plan (PNDT) and Marine Spatial Plan (MSP). Notably, WCS and the National Biodiversity Database was fully integrated into the developed documents. These partnerships were extended to all other planning and conservation stakeholders, by maintaining a continuous information sharing system to ensure streamlined knowledge, support, understanding and engagement.

Ultimately, the most crucial partnership was with the Government, to which the partners need to refer to in order to pass on the data to be uploaded to the national GIS system. Effective governance and policy-making are the Government’s mandate and responsibility, and for policies to evolve or be adopted, they must be accepted and integrated by Government leaders. IUCN’s role was to facilitate transparent, reliable, and efficient dialogue, leveraging its expertise and broad network to drive these discussions forward and ensure alignment with the Government’s objectives.

The process was the cornerstone for transforming ideas into tangible results. The first step was ensuring the availability of high-quality data and demonstrating its importance within both local and national contexts. In the case of mangroves, this included their role in spatial and development planning, included in the National Territorial Development Plan, which highlights their impact on coastal livelihoods, climate adaptation, and potential blue carbon credits.

Once the data was gathered, the next step was presenting it to IUCN’s partners and members, fostering a supportive alliance to create a unified voice for advocating with decision-makers. This process continued by establishing and maintaining an open, trustworthy, and technically robust dialogue with policymakers and their technical teams. A key component of this was understanding how governance, policy and legal frameworks are developed and implemented, ensuring that even if contributions weren’t fully aligned with initial expectations, they remained practical and applicable and are adopted.

Ongoing monitoring, along with continued support from IUCN, ensured that the strategies were effectively implemented and adjusted when necessary. It’s important to acknowledge that while conservation and adaptation efforts are globally supported, they often require significant budgets, that are not available locally. To secure funding, these issues must be at the forefront of governance planning, allowing for the budgets and co-financing by development partners to be available.

The vital role of mangroves in coastal ecosystems has been emphasised through a wealth of scientific data and research. This knowledge has become the entry point for educating planners and decision-makers on the socio-economic significance of mangroves, from providing community income to supporting coastal adaptation. Through studies conducted by SOMN on Mozambique’s mangrove use and data from the Global Mangrove Alliance, IUCN has united key conservation actors such as WWF, WCS, Centro Terra Viva, BIOFUND, ABIODES, and government institutions to establish a common voice in advocating for mangrove protection.

IUCN and SOMN played a pivotal role in the elaboration and approval of the National Mangrove Strategy, which outlined clear goals, approaches, and restoration principles and were endorsed by the Government and conservation partners. Building on this foundation, the strategy was integrated into national policies, particularly the National Territorial Development Plan. This plan not only drives sustainable development but also maps out Mozambique's rich biodiversity, including its mangrove ecosystems. This allows local governments and community leaders to identify key conservation hotspots and priority restoration areas. The strategy also provides geographical and quantitative data, enabling conservationists and NGOs to monitor and track progress in their interventions.

Testing and piloting a variety of IAS management and control strategies is crucial for developing experience and know-how. For this purpose, IAS management frameworks, i.e., IAS Management Plans, have been developed at four pilot sites of the project. The implementation of management plans has been initiated starting from Ayvalık Islands in 2023 and will be completed at all pilot sites by the end of 2024.

MarIAS project has also developed Harvest Incentive Programs for the Indo-Pacific origin lionfish (Pterois miles), Atlantic starfish (Asterias rubens), puffer fish (Lagocephalus sceleratus), and water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) populations, offering solutions on how to control them and integrate them into the economy. As part of the implementation of these Harvest Incentive Programs, a fishing derby and gastronomy event for lionfish, a diving contest to collect starfish,  and a community activity for removal of water hyacinth from the Asi River and along the Mediterranean coast at Samandağ were carried out. The lionfish derby in Keldağ was followed by a tasting of different lionfish recipes, in an effort to popularize the hunting and consumption of lionfish among Hatay residents. Local divers participated in a small-scale tournament, competing to collect as many starfish as possible from the shores of the Marmara Islands, and the winners were rewarded with a scuba dive computer, a dive bag, and a dive torch. The community water hyacinth removal event targeted water hyacinths, which block waterways and channels and also prevent sunlight and oxygen from reaching the water column and submerged plants due to their very rapid reproduction and spread, thus negatively affecting transportation, tourism, and fishing activities, as well as causing much destruction to the ecosystem and a significant decrease in biodiversity. 

 Changbaishan UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has established an effective management system. The Changbaishan Conservation and Sustainable Development Zone Administration Committee is the decision-making body, and under it is the Changbaishan Reserve Management Bureau, which consists of a management office and relevant operational departments responsible for the daily management of the park. It also includes a Expert Committee and a Community Committee, who also participate in decision-making and policy formulation.Changbaishan Reserve engaged representatives of the stakeholders, the public, and the rights-holders in the amendment of the Reserve’s management regulations and conservation-related work. Changbaishan Reserve values comments and suggestions from stakeholders. Extensive consultation was held with right-holders and stakeholders in major decision-making and planning, and adopted any sensible suggestions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

This building block is to explain how I developped an App that allow fishers to contribute to marine science knowledge in Africa. 

Initially we gave fishers a pre-printed form to report opportunistic sightings they encountered. However, the form was getting lost most of the time. 

We decided to move to a digital solution. The existing App by then required internet to work and was just too complicated for fishers. So we thought we shoud develop an App that will be more userfriendly for fishers. 

We wrote the  algorithm (workflow) of the App and then contracted an Indian development company to write the code. 

Later we had to bring the development of SIREN back to Cameroon to reduce the cost of developement. 

We work with volunteer around the world that will continuously support with the development of the SIREN

This building block emphasizes the importance of training students and local actors in advanced technologies for conservation purposes. In Bio-Scanner, students from the Universidad Politécnica de Yucatán  are trained in using AI algorithms, camera-trap data processing, and decision-support tools, fostering a new generation of professionals equipped to address biodiversity challenges.

This building block focuses on the establishment of strong partnerships between academic institutions (Universidad Politécnica de Yucatán), local governments (Secretaría de Desarrollo de Sustentable del Estado de Yucatán), and conservation organizations (International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), private sector (Huawei), and local communities (Dzilam de Bravo) to enhance the collection and analysis of biodiversity data, access to technological infrastructure, government program instrumentation and application, and local ownership and execution.

This building block is centered on the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), including Siamese and Autoencoder architectures, to detect and identify individual jaguars based on unique features such as rosette patterns and morphology. These algorithms process camera-trap data efficiently, reducing the time required for analysis and providing critical insights for decision-making in conservation.

Dynamic risk maps, built using GIS and geospatial analysis, identify high-risk areas and guide resource allocation. This tool can be used for urban planning, disaster risk reduction, or managing natural resources like water or land.