Local | PANORAMA

Identification of Protected Areas who will benefit

ESN provides training and mentoring to protected area managers to build organisational management skills, thereby supporting management effectiveness.

Each year, six African protected areas each nominate three representatives who will benefit from the input of business planning guidance, personal skills development and support for the duration of one year. Protected areas are selected through a competitive application process. ESN is open to UNESCO World Heritage Sites (including sites on the tentative list), IUCN natural protected areas, protected area agencies, management authorities, local governments and NGOs with management remit. The programme is targeted at protected area managers who are in positions of responsibility that allow them to instigate management and planning changes, and who have the support of their senior management.

To ensure the programme is effective in driving organisational change, ESN works with protected areas that demonstrate a clear need for training in organisational, management and business skills. For sites that have severe challenges (i.e. lack of political support, severe lack of resources or security issues), enhancing these skills may not have a discernible impact.

Effective outreach to protected areas in Africa, with a focus on site managers, management authorities and related government departments. Full commitment from members of staff, including senior management, to implementing organisational changes identified through the ESN process. Ongoing access by the protected area managers to communications systems (telephone and internet). Ability of staff to join training where the primary language is English.

Earthwatch invests significant resources into a robust application, interview and selection process to ensure that the enabling factors are in place. Identifying protected areas which need the training, have the resources to fully take part, and have the right level of senior buy-in is a huge determinant of the long-term impacts and success of mentor-mentee relationships.

Planning phase

Inception phase

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Curriculum design workshop

The workshop was held to bring together training experts from academic institutions, NGOs, and PAs. Results of the training needs assessment were presented, and a list of the most important themes and topics were proposed as a framework for developing curricula used for training different target groups, including PA managers, scientific staff, and field-based workers. After the list was discussed and refined, information on potential trainers and related resources for designing training modules was compiled from participants.

Effective convening of multi-sectoral body of expert participants - Workshop with clear objectives, effective facilitation, and envisioned products, designed for the purpose of collaborative work and to capture relevant resources

Designing training curricula tailored to the objectives of each training course was an important step in achieving the goals of the project. While the results of training needs assessment provide key data, the curriculum design workshop helped put together expertise in the field to develop valuable curricula for future training programs. The experts also played essential roles in identifying capable trainers and relevant resources. Without this knowledge, it is impossible to launch a successful training program for such complex issues, ranging from social to natural sciences.

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Community bank infrastructure

To manage local supply chains, we set up community banks, bringing communities together in informal cooperatives and providing much needed access to financial services. These community banks are the ‘social glue’ at the heart of Net-Works, enabling members to invest in their sustainable livelihoods, building a Net-Works’ conservation constituency.

The supplemental income earned from net sales is an effective incentive for getting local people involved in Net-Works, along with other non-financial incentives such as cleaner beaches and coastlines and a healthier marine environment. It also enables them to top up declining earnings from fishing, and to build up some savings via the community banks.

It is Important to use a mix of financial and non-financial incentives when trying to engage local communities and encourage long-term behaviour change.

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Selling raw materials into a global supply chain

We sell the raw materials into global supply chains, giving international brands opportunities to source premium products with positive social and environmental stories, giving fishing communities a more transparent and dependable price, and providing sustainable funding sources for local conservation and development actions. This ensures the sustainability of larger, more effective multi-habitat marine protected areas, and quality controls and standards can be maintained independent of external donors.

VSLAs are a robust, globally-proven model, led by the communities themselves. The Net-Works team provides training and mentoring to communities on how to set up and run a VSLA. They also provide financial education to VSLA members.

VSLAs operate most effectively by adhering to the proven methodology so it is important to follow the guidelines closely and share learnings between communities.

Implementation

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Training locals on assessing PA management effectiveness

We trained local people to help us collect data to evaluate the effectiveness of existing FPAs to engage them in conservation and comanagement, to build their technical capacity, and to collect data with a relatively small budget. Our efforts involved trainings with government and WWF staff, and several community workshops and training sessions for local participants in partner villages.

Desire of local people to participate- Diverse teaching tools, including diagrams and handson practice- Sustained oversight to ensure they have learned methods properly and maintain protocols over time or under unexpected conditions

Unexpected conditions can cause confusion on how to proceed if methods are designed for specific conditions- Working with women provided us with technicians who were very detailoriented and engaged- Trainings must often be repeated several times- Constant contact and support is needed for troubleshooting

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KAP surveys with community

Our staff conducted a Knowledge Attitudes and Practices (KAP) survey of local communities to asses local perspectives on fish ecology, natural resource management, food sources, and current understanding of the law related to these topics. The survey was designed to be executed at three times throughout the project to a diverse demographic, representing a mix of ages and genders, as well as to those people that relied on different primary livelihood sources. By looking at changes in responses, we hope to measure the success of the project. During initial surveys, local people demonstrated a strong knowledge of endangered Probarbus fish behavior, and also reported declines in this and a number of other fish species

Obtaining a representative sample of opinions from the village- Respondents feeling comfortable to speak honestly and not be influenced by other members of their community or what they think the surveyor wants to hear

Despite our efforts to conduct surveys with individuals out of earshot of the rest of the community, the weatherthwarted our plans. Heavy rain caused many people waiting to be surveyed to crowd into the buildings where the surveys were being conducted.- It is necessary to plan for variable field conditions in a way that will ensure stakeholders have privacy while being surveyed- It is important to develop strategies that ensure all voices are heard. One key aspect of such a strategy is an understanding of which members of the community might be reluctant to speak and why.

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Subnational

Stakeholder workshops throughout planning process

We held stakeholder workshops with local communities during all of the planning stages of this project to discuss the establishment of FPAs, assess what type of structure and regulations would be most effective for them, and improve the potential for success. This engagement involved many rounds of meetings with various groups within communities, including fisher’s unions, women’s unions, and village heads.

Developing relationships in early stages- Obtaining representative opinions from the community- Working within cultural context

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Subnational

Devolving Responsibility And Rights Back To The Land Owners

The tenet of the community-based conservation concept is community empowerment for the long term management of their natural heritage. This is in contrast with classical conservation approaches including so-called participatory management approaches. Indeed the process will be considered as successful only if engaged communities become autonomous in dealing with all aspects of ecosystem management. This also encompasses development of alternative livelihoods such as smart cultivation of vegetables and cassava.

In Côte d’Ivoire, government legislation allows for the formation of community-based local institutions to govern the use of natural resources. Legislation also allows for the formation of protected areas owned by individuals or communities. Finally, the establishment of community-managed protected areas still allows residents to utilize natural resources sustainably.

If people own or are entrusted with something they look after it. • If people are involved and have a say, then they will take care of it.

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Pyramid structure of management institutions

The management committees from each village constitute the bottom of the pyramid; they are responsible for implementing the action plan for the management of the forest as decided by the two paramount associations; they identify management activities to submit for approval to their paramount association; they are also responsible for designing and implementing the village development Plan. The two paramount associations coordinate the work programs of the management committees; they elaborate policy guidelines for the management of the forest; they consolidate the village development plans and are also responsible for fundraising. The federal association (at top of the pyramid) will be the official manager of the Tanoé forest on behalf of the villages of the project area.

All management committees and the two paramount associations have been established following the requirements and procedures of the national administration. Their bylaws and organizational schemes have been officially registered by the appropriate governmental authorities. The same procedures will be followed for the establishment of the "federal association" that will be the official interlocutor of the government.

It is important that local institutions are formed in compliance with the country’s laws and administrative procedures. In this case the process took some time because villagers needed to be well informed about the procedures and to be trained in elaborating the bylaws of their associations. Also the project focused on capacity building on the governance of local associations so that these associations become definitively functional.

Community-led reserve designation

A workshop was organized for communities to decide about the appropriate organizational scheme and elaborate drafts of the management rules of forest resources. Then a preliminary participatory demarcation of the forest was made with community members at the frontline. The boundaries were materialized by painting marks on trees. Later, a survey led by governmental authorities allowed confirming that most local residents agreed to go forward with the classification of the demarcated portion of the forest as a community reserve.

A consensus on the boundaries of the area dedicated to conservation must be obtained to avoid later conflicts amongst stakeholders. In this case, communities decided about the boundaries of the area to be dedicated to conservation. No existing farm was included inside the future reserve.

Communities must be well informed about the implications of their decision before the conservation area is demarcated. They must lead the process entirely and must receive only technical support in the production of maps. The survey conducted by governmental authorities to confirm the absence of any competing interest must be as inclusive as possible.

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