We established 5 nurseries in the network of opened channels and raised 5600 propagules, mostly red mangroves but also black mangroves. Recently we have studied the white mangroves to assess their importance and have done a pilot on white mangrove propagation. Most of these propagules grew out into healthy saplings and have been outplanted in 5 events. Afterwards, the outplants have been monitored by interns. A successful nursery will increase mangrove plants available for reforestation efforts, emphasizing the need for an ecosystem-based approach to building resilience on the island.

An excellent communication plan/network with different stakeholders was initiated across different levels. From the inception of the project, the community and other stakeholders were constantly capacitated on how the project is going. A relay of relevant vulture conservation and policy issues was achieved to the target stakeholders within the communities and KAZA TFCA.

The water in the mangrove forest needs to refresh and be of good quality (salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH) in order for the mangroves and the organisms that are part of the mangrove habitat to flourish, like fish, sponges, anemones and mangrove oysters. The force behind the water circulation is the tidal flow; there is no river feeding the mangroves. The water moves through the roots as sheet flow, the channels and the lagoons. The growth of roots and accumulation of sediments reduce the capacity of the system to bring water in a timely fashion to all parts of the mangrove forest - especially the part farthest removed from the open ocean is most under stress.

Larval propagation is a restoration method that assists coral sexual reproduction to increase the genetic diversity of corals. This technique can be used with numerous coral species and morphologies and, because of the large production of gametes during spawning events, it has the potential to scale up the number of outplanted corals on the reef. RRFB uses innovative technologies to reduce the labor, and handling time and increase the survivorship of coral larvae at large scales. After assisting fertilization, recently formed embryos are poured into floating pools (CRIB, Coral rearing in-situ Basin) designed by SECORE Int., where larvae settlement is facilitated on specially designed substrates which are then outplanted on the reef.  

The achieved results relied heavily on the collaboration and cooperation partnerships among various stakeholders, including government agencies, conservation organizations, scientists, and local communities. Collaboration with the Ministries/Government departments was key in sensitizing the communities on issues around human-wildlife conflict and suggested environmentally friendly ways to mitigate the conflict. The scientists were there to collect information related to wildlife poisoning and give feedback to the government ministries. The communities were the key stakeholder since they are the sole custodians of the environment.

The WIO-COMPAS programme arranges regional training sessions for their WIO-COMPAS programme. Where practical, the MPA staff may be facilitated to participate in this training. However, it is important to note that these training sessions may not be available at the time where staff capacity building is needed.

Where this is the case, a core team of local trainers may be established. The expertise presented by the trainers should be aligned with the seven core competence areas of the WIO-COMPAS programme. Preferably, internal expertise may be sourced from among MPA staff that have previously been certified and/or have a background in the competencies of focus. Where additional expertise is required, external partners may be included, or a consultant may be used. Alternatively, communication can be made to the WIO-COMPAS fraternity requesting for trainers to facilitate the training process.

After the training programme, it is necessary to select the trainees that showed the highest potential as mentors for the other MPA staff and assisting in the application process for the WIO-COMPAS certification. These mentors would also be contact persons for follow up and feedback to showcase progress in the assessment preparations.

Our team has identified the importance of accurate data collection, regular monitoring and oversight of data is done by the science and research adviser and Chief Operations officer to ensure accurate data is uploaded to the database. Population management and scientific decisions concerning the rhino population in the country are guided by the data collected during monitoring conducted by our patrol teams. Data based inputs are used to define the carrying capacity for wild-life based tourism and to plan and manage conservation and development activities.

There were two training sessions of the local NGO Toromiki no Mangareva conducted by SOP Manu. The NGO was recently created to protect the fauna and flora of Mangareva and the surrounding uninhabited islets and to involve children of the island in the protection of the environment. The two training sessions with Toromiki no Mangareva were an opportunity to spread knowledge and talk about the Kamaka restoration project. Many members are primary and secondary school teachers from Mangareva, who were able to deliver key messages to children of the island about seabirds, their threats and biosecurity.

Several members of the NGO are active members of the Gambier community (employees of the town hall, the Air Tahiti office, school teachers, and firefighters), and therefore have a lot of influence on the local population. Their involvement through training will help protect Kamaka in the future – as they were asked to communicate about this project and biosecurity measures to the local community.

Ya’axché employs an integrated landscape management approach which results in healthy ecosystems with high levels of biodiversity for protected areas under its care. Biodiversity monitoring has indicated that the populations of indicator species have remained comparable over the years. Because of the linkages between ecosystem health and human well-being, Ya’axché-through its conservation and sustainable development work positively impacts the lives of the people buffering the GSCP, securing watershed that provides important services and other forestry goods/services such as food, housing, medicinal plants, clean air, inter alia. 

Creating an enabling environment that is conducive to business requires strategic investment in the financing initiative. This is inclusive of financial investment, equipping the business with the tools and resources necessary to conduct operations, and providing training and capacity building of community enterprises that are service providers to visitors.