In the previous building block,  the importance of working on and for a common land and taking on common problems was mentioned. For COBIJA members, the common goal is furthermore to do a job with people and for people, promoting social change, strengthening the ways of life of the peasants, and strengthening the sustainable management of key resources such as water and soil. The approach is to generate change by working with the people, for instance to maintain processes for the sustainability of productive projects, or to develop capacities for food security, among others.

Sharing a same ecological and productive landscape has been pivotal for the development of COBIJA´s leadership in the region, since a common landscape stands for the development of common goals within the Coalition. Having started with the shared struggle against phyto-diseases (e.g. "coffee rust") in the coffee plantations of the Jamapa-Antigua region, the Coalition is still working with small coffee producers, along with beekepers and honey producers. Support goes to the sustainable use of the surrounding ecosystems,  including water and land management at the local and landscape levels, to maintain the provision of ecosystem services and the productive activities related to them.

By working for a common landscape, the grassroots organizations have been able to focus their efforts, to share their experiences, and to gain access to more funding to solve the various social and environmental issues in the region.

The local community is already well aware of the nesting beaches and the work that MCSS has been doing on sea turtle monitoring. However, not many know the real facts about the sea turtles’ status locally and worldwide, and few understand the need for conservation of these species. Education and awareness activities are organised often though community activities and mostly through the organisation of activities with the different schoolchildren on Mahe, with the south and east zones being a priority. Moreover, the organisation participates in national events as opportunities to showcase our work towards sea turtle conservation. We also work in partnership with some hotels whose property borders with some of the nesting beaches. 

Nominating Temporal Protected Areas erupted after the continuous collection of data on the nesting beaches, which highlighted specific beaches as the main nesting grounds for the Hawksbill turtles on the main island of Mahe. 

For over 15 years, patrols were conducted year round, with the frequency depending on the peak and off-peak nesting season for the turtles. The procedure includes physically walking the full length of the beaches to identify sea turtle activities. Alternatively, drones are used to fly over the area of patrol, to facilitate the task. The data generated from the patrols are the number of tracks/emergences on the beaches, one set of the up and down track per turtle. Each set is then linked with an emergence, which states if the turtle successfully nested or not. Successful nests are marked, geo-located and monitored throughout the incubation until successful hatching is observed. Whenever encounters with turtles occur, patrol officers see through the whole nesting process to provide extra protection, and to ensure the nesting females return safely to the sea.

The purpose of this building block is to address the immediate needs of an extremely vulnerable community, therefore enabling them to focus their attention on the implementation of EbA measures. The most pressing needs for the Sanzara community were water and livelihood opportunities. In order to address the water scarcity, a gravity flow scheme was constructed on River Sipi to facilitate a stronger understanding of the ecosystem’s value, and to motivate its restoration through EbA measures. The gravity flow scheme was participatorily agreed upon with the community and the Kapchorwa District Local Government. The community provided the labour for its construction, and the District provided the technical expertise.  

In addition, a performance-based cash grant incentive scheme was introduced as a way of providing the much-needed cash for meeting day-to-day needs, while also catalysingthe implementation of EbA measures. Households/land owners were supported to develop climate-smart land use plans, depending on the climate change challenges on their land. Cash incentive payments to participating farmers/land owners were then made in 4 equal instalments, based on their compliance and progress in implementing these plans.

The purpose of this building block is to enhance knowledge and practical skills related to EbA measures, as well as to accelerate the level of adoption of EbA measures. The community provided a two-acre piece of land on which all the EbA measures were demonstrated. Community members provided all the labor at the demonstration site and Kapchorwa District Local Government staff provided technical support. The evidence generated regarding the effectiveness of the EbA measures at the demonstration site helped to catalyze the uptake of EbA measures on farms. Some of the components of this building block include:

• Identification of a central and accessible piece of land that is representative of the issues that are to be addressed through EbA.  
• Practical training on EbA measures through on-site demonstration.
• Preparation of an operation plan for the demonstration site, as well as a governance structure (e.g. Sanzara Landowners Association) to manage the day-to-day activities on the demonstration site.  
• Preparation of a business plan for the demonstration site, including a plan for how the proceeds from the demonstration site will be used.
• Training of trainers, who will continue to work with individual farmers over time. 

The purpose of this building block is to work with the affected community to identify the major problems and underlying causes using participatory tools. In Sanzara, the process started with a vulnerability impact assessment that combined both scientific and participatory tools to identify potential climate impacts, rate of ecosystem services depletion, risks, and current adaptation measures. A community map of the most degraded areas in the catchment was developed; based on this, a problem/solution matrix was prepared that provided details about the main climate challenges and impacts, how these affected different categories of people, and a suite of possible restoration and adaptation interventions. This process culminated in a 10-year vision map and a strategy for achieving this vision. Deliberate effort was put into ensuring that mobilization, timing, and organization of meetings encouraged all categories of community members (women, youth, elderly etc.) to actively participate. The process put the community members at the center, thereby promoting ownership of the ensuing vision and strategy. This ownership contributed to a collaborative effort to sustain these interventions with clear action plans and a community-driven monitoring framework.

Based on an assessment and inventory of biodiversity in and adjacent to the Machakhela National Park (MNP), it was determined that some valuable areas hadn't been included into the territory of the MNP for various practical/social reasons, in particular riverine areas along the Machakhela river itself.

Considering this, the project has conducted a specific investigation into the management options for the Machakhela National Park Support Zone, aiming at identification of the most pragmatic and sustainable options for improving the protection of key biodiversity components and ecological functions outside of the MNP.

Based on analysis and extensive stakeholder consultation, the Protected Landscape (PL), IUCN category 5, has been defined as the most relevant management option. The proposed PL will ensure conservation of areas left outside of the MNP with significant ecological, biological, cultural and scenic values as well as development of eco-tourism and sustainable land use practices.

The project has prepared the detailed situation analysis report and draft law on establishment and management of Machakheli PL and forwarded to the Government of Achara Autonomous Republic. Currently the government is in the process of initiation of the law in the Parliament of Georgia.

Establishment of the National park had some specific impact on the communities living in the valley, such as limitation of access to the fuelwood and aggravation of human-wildlife conflict.

The classic approach used by the PA system to address both scenarios would be based on control and penalization of illegal activities. However, the project approach was to try to address the root cause of the issues and thus reduce the basis for conflict between the MNP and local communities.

In the fuelwood case, the project has initiated activities that try to reduce overall demand though increased efficiency of use and fuelwood alternatives. In close consultation with local households, the project assessed potential alternatives, practically tested and demonstrated the chosen options with households, and on that basis disseminated results and encouraged replication.

Likewise, in the case of human/wildlife conflict issue, the project approach was to test methods to mitigate the problem by assessing the situation and testing approaches that are selected after an evaluation of practicality and feasibility.

In both cases, a key aspect was the direct involvement of the MNP Administration so that they can become seen as part of the solution to local households problems, rather than a cause.

At the project inception, neither Mtirala or Machakhela National Parks were supported by any locally-based NGO’s or support groups. However, such an organization could play an important role in: promoting the PAs, building local community and PA collaboration, and addressing their development priorities.

Based on an assessment of the international and national experience and particularly the existing experience of other PA’s in Georgia, the project supported the establishment and functional capacity building of the Mtirala and Machakhela PAs Friends Association (FA).

The major risk identified was that many such organizations are heavily supported by donors and once such support ceases, they face problems to remain financially viable. Thus, a major focus of support was on building capacity of the FA to be financially sustainable in the long run via a strategy that ensures long-term core funding from reliable sources.

The Mtirala and Machakhela FA was established in 2016 and has been undertaking a variety of activities to build PA/Local Community relationships and collaboration, ranging from Junior and Community Ranger Programs, organization of ecological visits by schools, tourism promotion and application/implementation of local development projects with donor funds.