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Filling old canals

Amphibious marsh vehicle with excavator knocking down spoil bank

Mark Ford/National Park Service (US)

Canal filling project in progress. Area in the foreground has been completed with levee spoil banks knocked down and filled into canal. The area in the background with trees will be completed soon.

Mark A. Ford, National Park Service/US

Spoil banks from canal dredging are being pushed back into the canals, as funds for projects come available, in "backfilling" events. This helps restore the normal hydrology and keep the marsh healthy and less stressed. Canal backfilling eliminates the hydrology barrier present from the dredged material spoil banks, as well as partially filling in canals long unused for oil exploration or production extraction. Using heavy equipment, such as excavators on amphibious marsh buggies, old spoil banks are pushed into the canals. Trees are knocked down and the final elevation is similar to the surrounding marsh. This allows natural flows of water and allows for the mixing and equilibration of fresh and brackish waters. Canals have been backfilled at a cost of US$12K/0.5 ha. Hydrologic barriers are removed, water flow is no longer restricted, an exchange of fresher and saltier waters can take place and sediments within the water can move into the marsh, nourishing the marsh and adding to the vertical soil accretion. Submerged aquatic plants thrive as the elevation of the canal bottom is raised.

Old unused canals must be present on the landscape. Funding to push the old dredged material spoil banks must also be available. Once all required permitting is completed, projects can proceed.

This technique is relatively easy from a logistical point of view. It is essential to have all required permits completed before work begins. Also, be sure that all stake holders of the lands have been included in planning. In the USA, there are multiple owners/users in some places, such as National Parks, where fossil fuel companies own the subsurface rights to extraction. Old canals are often relics of oil exploration and some companies do not want these filled, though they have often gone unused for decades. In the case of canals filled at Jean Lafitte NHPP, the canals have expanded and broadened in width since the time they were dug. Pushing the spoil banks and vegetation back into the canals does not completely restore them to land, but sufficiently raises the water bottoms to allow submerged aquatic plants to thrive and for hydrology to quickly return to baseline levels. This impact improves the health of the wetlands overall.

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Thin Layered Marsh Nourishment

Spray dredging applying a thin layer slurry of dredged material to the marsh

Mark A Ford, National Park Service, US

Dredged materials from periodic dredging events are sometimes broadcast onto the marsh, including the floating marsh, in a marsh nourishment effort. When possible, spray dredges are used. These dredges collect the material, mix it with ambient water and spray the slurry on to the marsh surface. The thickness of the applied slurry can vary from very light, which would primarily nourish the marsh with fresh sediments and light nutrient loads, or applied to the marsh surface at depths up to and around 30 cm. Thicker applications would be desired if there is a strong vertical elevation deficit due to high soil subsidence rates.

Dredging of nearby waterways would need to be conducted. Given the relative short distances the slurry can be sprayed, areas of application would need to be within fifty (50) meters of the dredging operation. Funding and permits would also need to be secured.

Thin-layered application of dredged materials can be very beneficial to the marsh. Applications of greater than 30 cm can bury an existing plant community too deep, thereby killing the vegetation and perhaps causing more harm than good. It is important to have close oversight as dredging contractors often will apply the slurry randomly to suit their desires, versus applying where the restorationist would prefer.

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Participatory natural resources management by local actors

Participatory mapping exercise

AMN Patrice Bada

Key elements for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services for sustainable development are the equitable participation of stakeholders and the organizational development of local management associations. The project has built on existing local initiatives to identify areas of ecological, economic and social interest for which there is a willingness of the population to protect and manage them. Based on these initiatives, the project supported the creation of local management associations, which then received the territorial authorities' mandate to manage the central areas and buffer zones in their region. They will have the technical support of the project for their organizational development as well as for the technical and financial management of these areas, including the monitoring of management and harvesting rules for natural resources. These rules of use were developed in a participatory manner for each core area and buffer zone. To this end, a series of consultation sessions was organized for each region by local NGOs involved in the project. The rules devised by the population have been drafted by a lawyer to ensure their compliance with the laws in force.

• Creation of ownership by the beneficiaries: participatory process of creation of the reserve and development of management rules; participatory surveillance and ecological monitoring. • Land tenure: community and traditional protected areas (e.g. sacred forests) have been assigned legal status. • Management association with clear statutes and mandate: recognition of their status and functions by legal acts.

In a context where there is no clear and reliable land tenure, various actors (customary land owners, de facto users, territorial authorities) must be involved in the discussion of the future use of land in order to reach a legally recognized agreement that will be accepted and respected in the long term. Concerning the rules for sustainable management in buffer zones, the challenge was to develop rules and sanctions in conformity with national legislation and applicable at local level. In order to do so, a series of consultation sessions has been held to allow the population to set itself rules for cases that are not yet regulated by existing laws. Users often perceived a degradation of their natural resources and a reduction in ecosystem services. But they rather attributed it to external forces (sorcery, God's will, etc.) than to their own overexploitation and unsustainable use of the resource.

Inception phase

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Open Data Kit for data driven marine management in Fiji

Snapshot of the ODK based App for marine management in Fiji

MACBIO

The MACBIO project assists its partners in developing effective approaches to marine management. In 2015 the project was requested to support the design and development of open-source mobile solutions for data collection in locally managed marine areas in Fiji, among others. Thorough research and testing of existing platforms and proven examples identified Open Data Kit (ODK), as a suitable open source solution, especially in combination with KoBoToolkit.

In general, app development was carried out in an iterative, responsive way. This approach proved to be very efficient and effective, and led to an increasingly improved app. It is important to note that training, tests and iterative improvement with all relevant stakeholders should not be underestimated, before successfully using an app in the field. Keeping the approach in house had clear advantages for responsiveness.

Strategic approach: Objective and the added value of an app

Don’t reinvent the wheel: Initial market research, discussions with stakeholders and the study of lessons learned
Proof of concept phase is important: Low cost building block systems
Devil is in the detail: User contexts, internet and electricity availability , costs and modalities of data plans etc
In house, iterative approach with quick feedback loops
Development step by step with users
Open source, compatible and scalable approaches, to avoid duplication of development effort, dependencies & lock in effects
Data sensitivity issues are important, also for building trust

Open Data Kit for data driven marine management in Fiji in combination with KoB…

A guide for App Development

Decision Tree for App Development

MACBIO

App development and use is a strategic process. This guide aims to assist in this process, follwing the Digital Principles.

First objectives and types of apps are analysed, before looking at strenghts and weaknesses, as well as alternatives to smartphones and apps as technology. A guide on researching the existing app market concludes this chapter.

Secondly the enabling environment of app development is considered, from user centred development, over budget considerations and development options.

Lastly, technical aspects of app development are explored, dwelling on user needs, functionality, platforms, back and frontend, distribution and hardware considerations.

Successful development depends on enabling factors, following a strategic process that helps to ensure that the app solution

is tailored to user's needs
uses the right type of technology to address the identified objective
doesn't reinvent the wheel, if other suitable solutions already exist
is within the budget
is developed, using resources effectively
has the required functionality
uses the most suitable platform
combines backend end frontend
is distributed well
considers hardware and connectivity

The below decision tree can help to understand whether and how an app may be a useful solution to a given problem statement, following these guiding questions:

"Do I need an App for that?",
"Who makes an App for that?" and
"How to make an App for this?"

This structure is based on our experience and aims to avoid app solutions that do not properly consider objective, user need, available resources and technical requirements.

A guide for App Development

The spectrum of Smartphone Apps in (marine) resource management

There is a wide spectrum of Smartphone Apps in (marine) resource management. This Block gives orientation in the app jungle, starting with definitions and background on smartphone and app usage, and the opportunities this provides e.g. for natural resource management.

Also, there is no need to reinvent the wheel, if the answer to “Isn’t there an app for this” is yes. A list provides an overview of different app types and examples from marine management and other sectors, with a special focus on the Pacific region.

Mobile technology is on the rise and more and more people have access to these technologies, as the computing power of smartphones increases, their price drops, mobile phone coverage and access to the internet becomes more widespread and digital literacy is increasing - in industrialized world, as well as in developing and emerging economies.

Apps are bedoming more and more popular and can be powerful tools, if the addressed problem and objective of the proposed (app-) solution is well defined.

While there are many enabeling factores that can turn apps into powerful tools, often however, novelty and technical feasibility can be deceiving. Digitizing a solution often merely digitizes the problem. Instead of just going with the fashion, the problem and objective of the proposed (app-) solution should be well defined, followed by a careful SWOT analysis and consideration of possible alternatives.

Specific benefits of apps could be, e.g. wide geographical reach, while a threat could be the lack of acceptance by certain audiences, depending e.g. on their cultural background and digital literacy.

Thus app development and use must be seen as strategic process. For such a strategic approach of app development, use and monitoring, it is crucial to identify the right type of app addressing the identified audience and objective, be it “citizen science”, “crowdsourcing”, engagement, education or individual data collection.

The spectrum of Smartphone Apps in natural resource management

Partnerships and cross-sector collaboration

Redesigning global supply chains and delivering an inclusive business model linked to conservation requires a diverse set of expertise that requires collaboration. Net-Works was co-created by conservation charity ZSL and carpet-tile manufacturer Interface Inc. Strong partnerships with local communities and local partner organisations are vital to Net-Works’ success. Communities need to feel motivated to get involved and working with local partners who understand the local context and customs ensures that outreach and engagement is done in the right way.

ZSL had worked in the Philippines for many years and had already established relationships with local organisations and local communities. The success of the initial Net-Works pilot project, which involved a small number of communities, helped to motivate other communities to get involved.

Forging good relationships with local partners and with leaders from local communities is essential when trying to build trust and encourage communities to embrace a new initiative like Net-Works.

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Environment funds

Community bank members regularly contribute a small amount of money from net sales into a dedicated Environment Fund, which is used to help finance local conservation projects such as community-managed marine protection. The money gathered via the fund can be leveraged to secure additional funding from local government or NGOs.

The Net-Works team initially piloted the concept of an Environment Fund with a small number of communities. When it proved successful, it was rolled out more widely to other communities, along with advice and support on how to manage it effectively. Communities feel motivated by the sense of ownership and empowerment that comes from raising money themselves rather than relying on external funding.

In some cases, Environment Funds can be leveraged even further through multiple communities working together on the use of the funds. It’s important to have team members on the ground who can facilitate this kind of cooperation between communities.

Implementation

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