Promoting ownership of the social community-based restoration initiative and the participation of all social classes
Active participation of women and the youth in the village nursery protected by a live fence
GIZ
An initial meeting between the traditional and religious authorities of Mogazang was held to gather all useful information and raise awareness among the population. As a next step, a socio-economic study was carried out in order to understand the potential social, economic and environmental impacts and challenges of the restoration initiative. The elaboration of a map by the community members under the guidance of the advisory team allowed the demarcation of a plot of degraded land (10.74 ha) for restoration. The reforestation initiative aimed at providing firewood, fodder, food products and medicinal plants, among others. The government owns the selected plot, under the supervision of the Executive Bureau for Development of the village. However, it is managed ‘by the people, for the people’.
Always ensure that the population’s concerns are well understood and that the proposed solutions will indeed contribute to solve their problem
Involve representatives of all member groups of the society (particularly women and children)
Ensure that there is no conflict of interest or disputed land rights regarding the project site
Select qualified local people with sufficient education to write short activity reports and foresee their technical and managerial capacity building
Given the habits and customs of the Muslim community in the area where the initiative is implemented, it was challenging to actively involve women in the discussions.
Subsequently, we were able to demonstrate the benefits of incorporating the women’s perspective in the discussions and thus achieved their better integration. Indeed, women are those who, on a daily basis, travel long distances in search of firewood justifying the need to involve them in the activities of the initiative.
To achieve the feeling of ownership among the beneficiaries it is necessary to have administrative and traditional authorities to mobilise them.These authorities, however, tend to emphasize the monetary aspect, which can reduce the achievement of the objectives.
Capacity building for de facto but uncertified organic producers
Time and again, the producers will be trained about GAP(Good Agricultural Practice) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) along with motivational classes to go organic and practice every activity in group.
The practice of following a practical organic method is significant to the organic producers, this will minimise time and increase the produces, too. The training of planting, harvesting, packaging, branding, marketing, etc. (under GAP & GMP) will enhance the caliber of the farmers.
My experience as rooftop gardening consultant, organic campaigner, trainer and organic farmer.
The enthusiasm shown by the Jasrame households following our initial trainings.
The change I have seen in the trainees after I shared my ideas and mentored in organic farming, packaging and branding.
The reflection of knowledge dissemination by IFOAM - Organics International in Jasrame households.
Creating demand for organic products in domestic, urban developing markets
Locally grown organic vegetables and crops are a dire need to the consumers nowadays in urban areas. Making such products easily available via farmers market will lure more consumers to visit and buy the products. As a result, the increment of the consumers in the market creates more demand for the local, fresh and organic produces, which shall finally boost the farmers to gear up in the production of more vegetables, fruits, cereals and lentils.
The growing popularity of consuming organic products in Nepal's urban areas
A growing interest in healthy "superfoods" such as Avocado and Moringa products
The Jasrame households' readiness to meet the demand in the nearby city along with the capital city
The growth of healthy food consumers I experienced myself in our capital city, Kathmandu, along with the major urban areas of the country.
Through research based on "Knowledge, Attitude and Practice" surveys, I learned that the vast majority (over 95%) of small scale farmers is the intervention area where already de facto organic, but none had taken measures to obtain certification and link to urban markets
Establishing a value chain for remote smallholder farmers
Productive hilly land, surrounded by green forests (habitat of wild animals) and interested farmers to shift to commercial organic farming households are a boon to our initiative. The farming of the regular crops, fruits and vegetables such as maize, millet, buckwheat, cauliflower, tomato, turmeric, jackfruit, mango, etc. will be promoted to grow in volume. Also, some high value crops such as kiwi, avocado, chia seed and moringa shall be introduced in the second phase. These products will be directly linked to the closest city areas through farmers markets once and/or twice a week. Consequently, the direct connection of local farmers’ organic produces to the consumers via farmers markets will establish trust and a positive relationship.
The support provided by IFOAM - Organics International and Rare in the form of hands-on capacity trainings has motivated the community and increased interest in commercial organic farming. Linking these de facto organic farmers to markets will enable the shift into commercial organic farming, which will promote their income generation along with conserving their ecology.
I see huge zeal in the community to uplift their status through commercial organic farming more along with conserving the biodiversity. Establishing personal connections and enabling interpersonal communication about organic through a variety of engaging tools such as songs, billboards, plays and religious texts has helped inspire the community.
Establishing a value chain for remote smallholder farmers
Creating demand for organic products in domestic, urban developing markets
Capacity building for de facto but uncertified organic producers
Designing and implementing an incentive scheme
A pillar of restoration efforts has been the design and implementation of a payment for ecosystems services (PES) scheme in the Mngeta catchment. Communities living upstream are helped to conserve water to secure enough downstream flow for the smallholders, who depend on rice farming. These farmers are linked to the Kilombero Plantations Company Ltd. (KPL) for access to technology to improve their productivity and access to markets.
AWF brought together village land use committees, smallholder associations, Water User Associations, the Rufiji Basin Water Office, KPL and NGOs, such as the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group, to develop the PES scheme. Local government authorities are also involved and support the process. Involving such a diverse group of stakeholders is critical to developing a scheme that is realistic, sustainable and accountable.
KPL was keen to establish relationships with upstream forest communities to protect water sources for power and irrigation.
The aim is to test this scheme and scale it up across key water basins in SAGCOT, but a potential risk is that upstream communities do not receive enough incentive to reduce deforestation or stop other activities that impact water flow and quality.
The indications are that this model is applicable to other value chains and there are partners willing to engage.
Using satellite images of land use cover and change and other mapping tools, the team could begin to identify where protection or restoration are needed, and where sustainable agricultural expansion could take place. They also generated scenarios that considered different aspects such as wildlife needs, ecosystem services and agricultural productivity, to allow synergies and trade-offs to be identified and assessed.
Meetings were held with the various stakeholders that influence land use change, from district authorities and businesses to communities and conservationists, to try to ensure a participatory, landscape-level planning process.
Technological advances such as satellite imagery and quality of mapping tools.
Creating the space for open discussion and a willingness among stakeholders to hear the perspectives of others.
Involving all stakeholders is critical to negotiate and articulate objectives that are realistic to achieve and to form recommendations that minimise conflict between land uses.
There has to be a clear business case for investing in conservation and a willingness among companies to form new partnerships.
What institutions and policies are needed to foster inclusive green growth? This was the first and most critical question addressed by partners. Together, they assessed natural resources governance in Kilombero using a framework established by IUCN. They used a rights-based approach to improve social and economic inclusion in the district focussing on villages in lower Mngeta.
Village land use plans (VLUPs) are seen as key to addressing competing resource interests and resolving conflicts. However, many of the same factors making VLUPs important, such as high biodiversity value, scarce land, power imbalances, competing interests and accountability concerns, also make it challenging to ensure they are developed and implemented fairly. There appears to be very little landscape level or inter-village planning, including within the recently completed Kilombero District Land Use Framework.
The company, KPL, showed an interest in sourcing more of its rice and milling services from local smallholders and was keen to encourage sustainable practices.
Creating water user associations and catchment management committees involving villages is helping them to own the governance of water use. One example is that local people have been trained to use a monitoring tool, Mini Stream Assessment Scoring System (miniSASS), to help gauge and report on the health of the Mchombe River.
The SAGCOT initiative -- to catalyze responsible and inclusive agricultural investments in this southern corridor -- may exacerbate several challenges, including conflict over land if it does not explicitly address rights and equity issues.
Social and environmental assessments and experience with existing farmer schemes in Kilombero highlight substantial risks to the rights and interests of the most vulnerable, including women, pastoralists, and smallholders.
There is a clear need to strengthen capacity to improve governance and incorporate a rights-based approach through continual staff training within the partner organisations.
Through a dynamic multi-stakeholder dialogue process, the project provided a platform to resolve conflict among stakeholders and to re-invest in institutions. It also helped stakeholders come together, build consensus and co-develop alternative solutions to the challenges they face.
Also, by organising the illegal loggers into groups, it was easier to work with them, including ensuring their support needs were being met.
The project brought diverse stakeholders within the forest sector together to negotiate viable options for dealing with chainsaw milling, which had become synonymous with illegal logging.
By providing a pathway for the illegal loggers to engage in legitimate business operations, notably artisanal mining, it provided an alternative livelihood option and an incentive for them to participate, which had numerous positive impacts.
