Livestock Department
Strengthening of community organization
Strengthening local skills and knowledge
Improvement of green-gray infrastructure
Feedback workshops and maintenance of the park

In order to preserve the functionality and the esthetics of the park, it is important to know how to maintain it. This includes monitoring, the maintenance of green spaces and cleaning. 

With regards to monitoring, it is recommended to have communication mechanisms established between the community and the municipality. In this case, the neighborhood committee remains in touch via WhatsApp with the contact person of the Public Services Department and may share observations or ask directly for support in the case of any event. 

Furthermore, a list of indicators was established for the monitoring and ensuring the functionality of the green space, with a focus on the vegetation, water infiltration, erosion and shadow areas. The maintenance of the infrastructure of the park (paths, discharges, bins) was also addressed. 

 

During a maintenance workshop with the Public Services Department and members of the local community, roles and responsibilities were divided with regards to the different indicators. 

 

Furthermore, a feedback workshop was conducted with the Public Services Department and the neighbors, in order to capture how both groups perceived the entire process and to integrate their feedback into the methodology of future processes. 

  • Having worked with native plants and local materials reduces the necessary effort to maintain the green infrastructure and vegetation over time (for example, after the first year, irrigation may not be necessary anymore) 
  • Having established a good relationship between the Public Services Department and the community helps to divide roles and to generate commitment
  • Time constraints: it was impossible to arrange a joint maintenance workshop with the neighbors and the Public Services Deparment due to conflicting working schedules. Conducting seperate workshops was not ideal, but the only alternative. 
Participatory practical workshops to transform the space and to promote financial and environmental education

The actual construction was implemented through practical and educational workshops with the neighbors, the Public Services Department and partly with contracted workers. The workshops addressed the following measures: 1) green infrastructure and reforestation, 2) urban art and tactical urbanism, and 3) urban furniture. In this way, the park was transformed through joint efforts, while learning about the importance of nature-based solutions and easy measures to implement them in other public spaces or in gardens and other spaces of the community. 

 

In adition, educational workshops were conducted with a local school and a group of scouts to improve the financial education of young people and kids in the community. Another set of workshops was implemented with neighbors and members of an informal neighborhood, with a focus on first aid. 

  • High commitment of implementing partners and the municipality
  • Know-how of local organizations
  • Clear division of roles among implementing partners and the municipality, good coordination among partners
  • Activation of other local groups along the way (scouts) 
  • Time buffers requiered for unforeseeable events (health and climate related)
  • Implement activities outside of heat and hurrican period to ensure participation and safety  
Community integration and co-creation process

The integration of the local community into the entire process of transforming the park from early planning stages onward was a key action. Different mechanisms can be applied to reach out to the neighborhood, including: WhatsApp groups, Facebook groups, distributing flyers, virtual meetings that lead up to the actual physical planning and implementation meetings. It is also recommendable to reach out to already existing groups and organizations, in the case of the Park Pedro Sánchez, groups of scouts, local schools and a neighborhood committee that was formed as part of the outreach process. 

 

During a co-design workshop in the park, the community described the current use of the park and expressed their vision, ideas and desires for a transformation of the park. Maps and post-its with happy and sad emoticons were used to visually express the perspective of the community with regards to specific sites within the park and the current use. In order to make collective decision about the future use of every site, people voted on each option. The final map represents the decisions of the co-design workshop. 

  • Transparency about the available budget and the type of measures that can be financed (management of expectations): if participants propose measures that go beyond the available funding, it is recommended to list them apart for potential future activities. 
  • Inviting representatives of the municipality to the co-design workshops: in this way, they can engage directly with the community, answer questions and establish a more direct link. At the same time, the municipality is well informed about the advances of the process and can support next steps. 
  • It is recommended to create a space for participants to socialize and connect, for example during a meal after the workshop. 
  • It is important to share the final map and next steps with the community, and make sure that the information also reaches those who were not able to participate in the design workshop
Site selection and socio-environmental analysis

The overall objective of the initiative was to increase the resilience of a local neighborhood. Therefore, an adequate implementation site had to be identified, with the potential to increase the quality of life of the local community and to showcase solutions to typical environmental problems that are present in the city of San José del Cabo.

 

The implementation site was selected by the Municipal Planning Institute of Los Cabos, by taking into consideration the following selection criteria

  • accessibility to the site
  • available allies
  • presence of environmental problems to be addressed
  • crime rate
  • support by the local government
  • available services (electricity, water supply) 
  • available funding

After the site was selected, a socio-environmental analysis and a topographical survey was conducted by the Urban Oasis Alliance (consisting of the organizations Niparajá, Urbanería, EPI). The objective of these analyses was to identify the current status of the park, including the the environmental services it provided, the environmental and social risks that were present in the space, the user types, the different ways in which the community was using the park, perceived and existing risks and other social and environmental factors. 

  • Committed local government to support the process of the site selection and definition of the objectives of the initiative 
  • Applying adequate criteria for selecting the site 
  • Using this planning phase for forming alliances with governmental entities, local organizations, the local community and other relevant stakeholders
  • The preparation phase requieres almost as much time as the actual implementation 
  • The criteria that are applied to select the site have to match the overall and specific objectives of the initiative 
  • The implementation partners should be involved from the very beginning, hence, during the selection of the site
Natuurmonumenten
West and South Europe
Wojciech
Mróz
Natuurmonumenten
West and South Europe
Wojciech
Mróz
Natuurmonumenten
West and South Europe
Wojciech
Mróz
Getting started: the technical practice

FMNR is a technical practice which aims to restore natural environments through the systematic regrowth and management of existing trees and shrubs from tree stumps, sprouting root systems or wild seeds on diverse landscapes. As a technical practice, FMNR includes four components:

 

  1. Select: practitioners identify the number and species of trees and shrubs to be regenerated an/or actively managed in a landscape
  2. Prune: practitioners selectively remove the stems and side branches of regenerating indigenous tree stumps and shrubs to maximize growth and regeneration by directing resources and nutrients to a few selected stems and side branches
  3. Manage: practitioners manage pruned stumps and shrubs by periodically removing new stems and side branches, and by protecting those that remain from potential threats i.e., livestock, fire, humans, and competing vegetation by adopting, for e.g., improved grazeland and livestock management practices, social fencing, live fencing and/or fire breaks
  4. Utilize: practitioners utilize stems harvested for firewood, fodder or mulch with the understanding that shoots regenerating following harvesting of stems will be actively managed to expedite their recovery. As trees grow, practitioners may also utilize wild foods, traditional medicines, dyes, gums and other non-timber forest products.
  • Encourage community members to participate in FMNR demonstrations and workshops to increase common understanding about deforestation and the causes of land degradation.
  • Involve all groups in the community in land-use decisions: Women and men, elders, youth and children, people with disabilities and those who do not farm the land, and all minority groups. In FMNR, the more people involved, the better

While FMNR can be implemented alone, it is strongly encouraged that complementary NRM practices/approaches be integrated to better enable and accelerate the natural regeneration of trees in landscapes. At the same time it is equally important to incorporate other livelihoods practices/approaches, which in turn result in positive outcomes for the overall improvement of communities to build livelihood opportunities.

World Vision
Getting started: the technical practice
Promoting community development practice
Leveraging local livelihood strategies
Advocacy and stakeholder engagement