A cost effectiveness assessment of the planned intervention and an options appraisal was undertaken during the planning phase. The proposed options were assessed on their costs and benefits, technical viability and environmental outcomes. This allowed for comparison of alternatives and selection of the solution that would provide the greatest environmental, social and economic benefits. Economic benefits derived from the Nature-based Solution, include around GBP 91.7 in economic benefits (including GBP 13.5 million in environmental benefits). The coastal realignment contributed to the protection of more than 300 residential and commercial properties as well as infrastructure. An estimated 22,000 people visit the area annually supporting the local economy.

The expected impacts on the ecosystems in the intervention areas were captured in an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). This included a mapping of any risks to biodiversity during construction and implementation of appropriate mitigation measures. For instance, water voles were translocated prior to the start of the works. A focus on biodiversity protection resulted in the creation of around 300 hectares of coastal habitat and a network of freshwater habitats as well as the enhancement of regulatory services, including for climate, water, natural hazards and erosion regulation as well as water purification and waste treatment. Further, the intervention contributed to an increase of saltmarsh plants, breeding bird populations, invertebrate abundance, marine mollusc species, water voles, reptiles and fish diversity.

The project placed particular emphasis on stakeholder engagement and participation of local communities in all phases of the project. This included proactively providing information about the benefits of the coastal realignment, gaining widespread support for the intervention and seeking community views and inputs. A comprehensive stakeholder analysis allowed a mapping of how to best engage with the different stakeholders. This was documented in a stakeholder engagement plan. To facilitate regular engagement, representatives from stakeholders and community groups were nominated by their community to become members of a Medmerry Stakeholder Advisory Group.

In 2009, a vision exercise that involved local communities, government representatives and statutory organisations highlighted disaster risk reduction, especially flooding, as a major challenge. Coastal flood events have been increasing in frequency in the area and caused significant damage to public and private property. The vision exercise enabled discussions around two key questions: (1) Imagining that it is 2019, what is it about the recreational aspects and management of the site that you are proudest of?, and (2) What were the big dilemmas that you had to think about? The results of this exercise and the subsequent inclusive and participatory processes, informed design decisions and the exploration of multiple benefits. Environmental assessment data of flood events, flood risk mapping and modelling confirmed flooding as the main societal challenge. Impacts of climate change were found to be an exacerbating factor. The mapping and modelling was done in line with Government best practice and enabled assessment of the flood risk to nearby communities.

Since establishment, CTPH has cultivated strong partnerships with government and other stakeholders, including other NGOs and the private sector. This ensures that CTPH’s work is in line with government priorities and strategies, is supported by the Government and aligns with other stakeholders. This was particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic when the Government of Uganda instituted a strict ‘no movement’ lockdown to minimise spread of infection. Recognising that CTPH’s work is critical to the survival of Uganda’s mountain gorillas and the livelihoods dependent on them, the Government  granted CTPH special permission to continue its One Health activities.

CTPH’s advocacy activities are more successful due to the ongoing close working relationship that CTPH maintains with government institutions. This includes calling for park rangers and other conservation personnel to be amongst the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination, primarily because of their close contact with Uganda’s endangered great apes which are highly susceptible to human respiratory diseases and because their survival is not only critical for biodiversity conservation but also for the Ugandan economy. CTPH also successfully advocated for the adoption of more stringent great ape viewing guidelines.

CTPH provides alternative livelihoods for our VHCTs, which include group livestock income-generating projects and Village Saving and Loan Associations that bring them together and strengthen the integrated approach. As community volunteers work without a salary this is a critical component to creating a sustainable program and resulted in no volunteer dropouts within the first 10 years of the VHCT program.

CTPH, through its social enterprise – Gorilla Conservation Coffee established in 2015, also supports alternative livelihoods for community members, to support income generation and, thereby, reduce dependence on natural resources to meet basic needs. Gorilla Conservation Coffee supports coffee farmers living around BINP through training and capacity building and providing access to national and international markets. Women coffee farmers are particularly encouraged to participate in the social enterprise, providing a source of economic empowerment for women in communities in which the financial sphere is particularly biased towards men. The social enterprise was created with support from Worldwide Fund for Nature Switzerland’s Impact Investment for Conservation Program. A donation is also given for every bag of coffee sold, to support CTPH’s programs, enabling sustainable financing for conservation.

CTPH has been implementing a successful community health and conservation model in BINP since 2006. Community health is implemented through Village Health Teams, a recognized Ministry of Health structure in Uganda who are trained as Village Health and Conservation Teams (VHCTs) to promote health together with conservation. VHCTs are local community volunteers who deliver integrated community based services to individual households to promote good health-seeking behaviour, hygiene practices, infectious disease prevention and control, family planning, nutrition; and conservation education. VHCT networks are sustained through group livestock income generating projects, which they reinvest into Village Saving and Loan Associations (VSLAs). CTPH focuses particularly on engaging women, both as VHCTs as well as during VHCT activities, as women are primarily responsible for their families’ health and wellbeing and are, therefore, in the best position to make positive changes for improved household health. As VHCTs, women have taken on a leadership role in the community, elevating their status and supporting improved gender balance.

CTPH successfully scaled up the VHCT and VSLA model from Kanungu to another district, Kisoro around BINP, home to the world’s endangered mountain gorillas.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, students from the University of Kent and Ohio University conducted research with CTPH on the impacts of mitigation measures to avoid disease transmission to great apes and on the willingness of the National Park’s visitors to comply with these measures. Their findings were published in 2018 and 2020 and have been instrumental in convincing the Ugandan government to adopt sanitary measures in the Parks for tourists and management staff, while reassuring the Uganda Wildlife Authority that this decision wouldn’t impact the number of visitors coming to the park.

CTPH also conducts routine research to monitor the health of the mountain gorilla population, focusing on those which stray out of the forest into communal land most often or those that have been habituated for gorilla tourism and, as such, are more likely to come into contact with human infections. This routine health monitoring and research is conducted by observing for clinical signs and collecting gorilla faecal samples (non-invasively, from gorilla night nests) each day and analysing the samples for pathogens, particularly those of zoonotic significance. By doing so, CTPH has developed an early warning system for any concerning infections and can address these as needed in a timely manner.