Support from local institutions and grassroots organizations
The Project Unit Coordinator has been forming an alliance with local governments, research centers and grassroots organizations with specific presence in each of the project basins. This way, effective communication with producers and other actors in the territory could be ensured. Thanks to the network of local NGOs, information and results workshops had high levels of impact and thereby allowed for a more efficient translation of stakeholder insights into practicable solutions in the field. Examples of this support on the ground include: i) the management of different interests and potential conflicts between actors in the Cofre de Perote NPP; ii) the connection of governmental social assistance programs, subsidies, etc., to river basin zones that coincide with the project, which in turn created useful synergies; iii) the establishment of coordinated lines of work from the government level to protected natural areas (ANP) and to CSOs; iv) the coalition among CSOs has had impact on the river basin and in reducing costs, by making complementary use of the different capacities of the actors involved.
A network of NGOs experienced enough to offer practical training to producers;
Existing levels of organization of communities, producers, and local authorities on which to build initiatives, e.g. ejido assemblies, fishing cooperatives, rural production units, etc.;
A shared sense of identity and belonging among producers, communities and local authorities.
It has been vital to have a network of civil society organizations that collaborate in the project and help to promote good practices in the river basin.
Each basin is different, therefore having local CSOs and NGOs as partners of the project has allowed better tailoring of project activities according to the characteristics of each community or zone.
It is essential, however, to have a good management and coordination of the CSO/NGO network to ensure that all involved stakeholders are aware of each others' activities.
Key elements for ecosystem conservation are also anthropic
As part of PAMIC, great consideration on the dynamics of landscape transformation is being made. There is an attempt to identify and conserve those elements that are key for ecosystem conservation, whether they are of natural or anthropic origin. In PAMIC´s philosophy, conservation does not mean maintaining pristine ecosystems. On the contrary, conservation includes restoring managed landscapes and using sustainable practices. This allows the maintenance of the whole socio-ecological system through a sustainable use of the land, as demonstrated by shade-grown coffee production, agro-silvo-pastoral and community forest management projects, which support both livelihoods and ecosystems.
Confidence in the social and environmental benefits of sustainable community management
Institutional learning about the long term limitations of the "do not touch" vision of conservation as a means of conserving ecosystems;
Network of actors with knowledge on land use and water management
Long term mentoring of the producers;
It is vital to make use of existing local cooperatives to generate, lead and manage the introduction of new approaches to existing productive activities
When communities feel that their productive activities are not being threatened, they are more willing to get involved and undertake self-organized initiatives for the sustainable management of ecosystems.
Likewise, when they identify the project as a window of opportunity to obtain support and possible financing to improve their productive activities, the commitment and interest to sustainably manage the ecosystem increases.
Partnership in the recycling industry enhances success in the business. Arena's recycling industry duty is to collect plastic wastes as raw materials which is why they have been able to enter into a partnership with Coca-Cola because they have common goals and interests. Coca-Cola is producing a lot of plastic packaging items which are raw materials for Arena. Likewise, Arena is in the process of establishing collaboration with all the companies that produce plastic products. The aim is to enter into an agreement that all the garbage produced at any of their events must come to Arena.
Arena and Coca-cola both have the responsibility to care for the environment. Arena recycling industry has the capacity to consume plastics in large quantities because one brick consumes tons of plastics because it is made of 60% plastic. Hence Coca-cola is assured that all the plastic materials they produce will be recycled.
The things we learned in partnership with Coca-cola is that we get the raw materials easily, and then when you make a partnership there is something called branding so we promote each other in the sense that we all are responsible for the environment and we get the branding of our company.
Building agency through facilitated knowledge co-creation
After the baseline assessment the deliberation and co-learning process needs to shift towards a long-term continuous process with recurring meetings. This may include changing roles and encouraging stakeholders to claim ownership and take lead. For this to be a smooth transition it needs to be addressed already when the process starts.
Increasing familiarity with online platforms and tools.
Creation and use of boundary objects (mind maps, system diagrams, billboards).
Clear protocols for data management and sharing are required, and group dynamics and potential disagreements need to be handled. Hence, it is essential for a successful process that the core team has competence and experience in process design, facilitation and communication, and that these different roles are divided among the core team members.
Especially if you are an ‘external’ actor, finding local collaborators with a shared interest, and who are willing to invest some time, is invaluable.
Start with already existing strategies or the actions participants can see themselves engaging in. Starting with something more ’concrete’ will help people to reflect and think beyond their current reality.
Designing and planning exercises together with key stakeholders and local partners may help facilitate the process.
Actor differences make it difficult (or impossible) to find a format, time, topic and language that suits everyone. A recommendation is to run at least part of the process in parallel focus groups in order to be able to go deeper into certain topics that might not be relevant for the whole group.
Small things matter, like sending individual emails to people adapted to them and their work, finding opportunities to meet in person or join external events organized by the participants of your process.
