Phase 2 brings together various agency managers, local stakeholders, and researchers to address a set of management objectives and associated monitoring needs. In this collaborative process, all stakeholders contribute their knowledge and perspectives on legal mandates, policies and factors that influence visitation and use within a specific sanctuary. Managers and local informants participate in a series of surveys and workshops that progress from a more broadly-based questionnaire to one with more specific questions based upon prior feedback. The expert panel discusses visitor trends and challenges specific to monitoring visitation at their site. The results of each iterative survey and workshop provide detailed insight into the current state of knowledge on visitation and level of confidence in the ways this information has been obtained. 

In Phase 1, researchers review the literature for a comprehensive understanding of methods in visitor sampling, estimation, and monitoring in a range of settings. From this research, potential methods and the types of data they produce are identified, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using each method at different scales. To examine which methods and indicators of visitation are most effective in a chosen NMS, all site attributes, visitor activities, and conditions (social, biophysical, regulatory, spatial, and temporal, etc.) of the sanctuary are inventoried. Researchers then determine which methods are potentially appropriate for that particular sanctuary, at a range of confidence levels (low to high). Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary will be used as an example to better understand NMS-COUNT throughout this solution.

IUCN entered into the Dhamra port project because of concern about the port harming Olive Ridley turtles. As IUCN dug into the problems, however, it learned that the mortality rate of the turtles had already increased dramatically. A report prepared by the Wildlife Institute of India indicated that turtle mortality had increased from a few thousand a year in the early 1980s to more than 10,000 by the mid 1990s. Mechanized trawl fishing and gill net fishing were seen to be responsible for the mortalities.

Local community awareness regarding the value of the turtles was low. To address this, the IUCN team engaged in community sensitizing activities, including creative educational programs, as well as traditional outreach. DPCL also established a community training centre so that local villagers could develop new skills.

IUCN also identified that the use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) could be helpful in reducing turtle mortality due to trawl fishing, one of the biggest problems in the areas. The devices weren’t new to fishers in the Dhamra area – Indian NGOs and scientists had tested them with the fishers in the past – but they weren’t being used. The IUCN DPCL team consulted extensively with local fishing cooperative officers and communities to better understand the issues.

Dredging, recognized as a serious threat to the marine turtles, was identified by IUCN as a priority.  IUCN, with experts from the Species Survival Commission’s Marine Turtle Specialist Group designed and developed a dredging protocol to be followed during port operations. These included installing turtle deflectors on all dredger drag-heads to help ensure turtles were not pulled into the dredger. Trained observers were assigned to all dredgers to monitor this process. These observers would check screens on inflow and overflow pipes on a 24/7 basis. These measures (deflectors, screens, and human observers) were put in place to ensure that the dredging was “turtle friendly”. Such measures were the first to have been put in place in the history of dredging activities in India.

Lighting was the second major threat identified because excess glare is known to distract turtle hatchlings as they instinctively move towards brightly lit areas and away from the sea. For this, the IUCN Commission experts provided specific guidelines for the port’s lighting plan, which was adopted by the port authorities. IUCN further supported Tata Steel in identifying the right design for these lights. Today, Dhamra Port is the first and only port in India to have installed “turtle friendly” lighting.

The private sector is commonly described as being blind to environmental issues. The reality, however, is that the private sector is heavily invested in biodiversity. The project was an opportunity for companies to deepen their understanding of environmental issues and to develop the corporate habit of thinking beyond the bottom line. Less obviously, it is an opportunity for environmental specialists to deepen their understanding of business and development dynamics and to learn to include bottom line analysis in their own evaluations.

Between 2015 and 2019, the Direction du Parc National de Toubkal (DPNT) has developed data collection sheets for monitoring i) infractions linked to tourism activities, and ii) wildlife.

These are paper sheets given to local eco-guards to fill in during their field surveys, illustrate with photographs and then hand over to the Toubkal National Park Zone Managers (PNTb): from these sheets, the latter then draw up quarterly reports and location maps for the DPNT, which feed into a database.

From the end of October 2019, the DPNT plans to improve and facilitate data collection for local eco-guards: the Toubkal National Park ecotourism officer, in collaboration with the scientific monitoring officer and the PNTb zone managers, has adapted the CyberTracker software for this protected area in order to develop an easy-to-use mobile application for monitoring in the Toubkal National Park. Training in the use of this application is planned in the near future for the PNTb's eco-guards.

The local eco-guards recruited via an outsourced service had a perfect knowledge of the high mountains and their inhabitants. However, they had gaps in their knowledge of the identification of certain fauna species, and had never carried out monitoring according to a pre-established data collection protocol.

It was therefore essential for them to benefit from training sessions in this area: theoretical sessions in the classroom to familiarize themselves with species identification and data collection sheets, and to start handling technical equipment such as GPS and digital cameras (01 day/session), and practical sessions in the heart of the Toubkal National Park (PNTb) to assess the beneficiaries' physical abilities and knowledge of the mountain territory, and to apply what they had learned during the theoretical sessions (06 days/practical session).

The exclusiveness of these private islands means that they get a particular clientele that keeps returning for holidays at these places - some are known as repeated guests for over 15 years. Setting up a philanthropic club exclusively for selected guests allows them to donate to a conservation fund that will support the island’s protected area . 

Secondly, unique high-quality merchandise was developed together with local artisans, with the aim of offering signature products exclusively available at these islands, and generating a premium price. A collaboration was forged with Roots Seychelles, who specifically designed textile products inspired by local culture and techniques. Selected pareos were made for clientele of Denis Island that would portray both the environment and colors of the island. 

Another revenue generating program developed was the ‘plant-a-tree’ scheme where guests were invited to plant a tree to commemorate important life events such as a wedding, anniversary or birth, and thereafter made a donation to support the earmarked protected area or environment protection activities of the island. A commemorative plaque with any message requested by the guest is engraved, includeing the date of planting, and the tree species planted. 

In order to develop innovate financing tools for the proposed protected sites, it was important to thoroughly understand the profiles of the islands’ clientele , and to develop mechanisms that would not be seen as extorting more money from clients who were already paying hefty sums for their holidays on these private islands.

Extensive discussions about various funding options needed to be held at different management levels. e.g. the islands owners, the hotel managers, and marketing personnel in order to gauge an understanding of what products could be developed for the clients of these resorts. The resorts offer different holiday packages – from a five-star all-inclusive holiday package to a four-star sustainable island concept. 

Therefore, options were trialed for adoption or adaption, or for dismissal. One such example was the tree planting activity allowing guests to commemorate important life events, thereby becoming involved in the protection of the environment. 

The idea proved to be a popular and in-demand finance option on Denis Island, and it was assumed to also work well on North Island. However the scheme did not get approval, because North Island offers all-inclusive holiday packages, and so tree planting could not be charged.

The collective work developed within the Coalition has favorably impacted each of the CSOs that comprise it. The permanent opportunity to exchange experiences, consult each other for technical aspects, logistics, and to seek funding together, has made it hard for the member organizations to imagine work without the Coalition. Without contributing to the management of the territory, many organizations envision that this management would be partial and that the enriching exchange that has led them to be recognized as a key player in the region would possibly not exist. A key aspect of the collective work has been the human aspect, in which the members have found camaraderie, laughter and affection.