Participatory theory of change
Blue Ventures
Example of how a Theory of Change model developed by communities might look like.
Blue Ventures
  • The participatory concept model and strategy development exercise aims to identify the drivers and underlying causes of mangrove loss; and to identify potential strategies/solutions that could be implemented to reduce threats to mangrove and promote sustainable mangrove use.
  • At the end of the exercise the community has developed a concept model. This model depicts the drivers of mangrove loss in their community and the additional factors which contribute to this loss.
  • They identify a/many solution(s) and work through the activities they need to implement to reach their desired results through a theory of change (ToC).
  • The exercise is carried out with community members in a focus group format development of the concept model and ToC is completed using different colored paper and chalk.
  • Following the participatory meetings the final concept model with threat ratings, and ToC models are digitized using MiradiTM (2013) software.
  • Announcement of the planning is sent to village leader prior to the exercise;
  • High participation and presence of all stakeholders during the exercise and participants should be fully aware of the purpose of the exercise;
  • The facilitator from the support organization has enough skills and is familiar with the concept model exercise and able to motivate people to express their idea;
  • The support organization is able to adapt to the local context (using the available materials).

To address community reticence and for the better dialogue between the community, employing two community-based facilitators from the village to assist the Theory of change exercise is recommended. It is better to hire people already engaged in the LMMA management (dina enforcement committee, mangrove commission, women’s group) activities. The community-based facilitators are trained by the technical staff from the support organization a day before the participatory theory of change exercise. Volunteers from the community should be invited to present the outcome from their group work, aiming to assess the level of community on the concept model they developed. It is vital to ensure representation from key stakeholder groups and from women and young people who may otherwise be marginalised. If needed, separate women and men in different groups to facilitate open discussion.

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Blue Ventures - A theory of change
Mangrove reforestation by communities
  • Reforestation of mangroves in previously deforested or degraded areas helps to improve the health of mangroves and increases the services provided by mangrove ecosystems.
  • The area for reforestation area is identified by local community during the participatory mangrove zoning.
  • For the viviparous (producing seeds that germinate on the plant) mangrove species (e.g. Rhizophora spp), replanting is undertaken through propagules and for non-viviparous (e.g. Avicennia marina, Sonneratia alba) mangrove species through nursery establishment. The density should be one propagule/plant per square meter to ensure that they have enough space to grow properly.
  • The monitoring of the replanting takes place within three to four months after the replanting. The number of plant alive/dead within sample plot is assessed. The number of sample plots (5mx5m) depends on the size of the area replanted but at least three replicate should be done. Community members are involved on the monitoring activities.
  • The reforestation area is identified by community during the participatory zoning process and the plantation takes place when mangrove seeds/plants are available(depends on the fructification season).
  • The technical staff provides support to local community on mangrove reforestation (familiar with mangrove ecology and adaptation);
  • Propagules are harvested and selected a day before the replanting as sometimes they are not available nearby the site where the replanting takes place.
  • The best time for the mangrove replanting should be checked /decided with community members in advance and this must take place at the low tide during the spring tide.
  • Promoting voluntary mangrove reforestation is critical to ensure that it can be continued without external financial support. Motivation in kind (refreshment and biscuits) could be given to the participants when activities are completed to avoid them requesting money. The revenue from carbon payment can be a source of finance for long term reforestation.
  • If the propagules are not available near the place where replanting takes place, they can be collected elsewhere.
  • The monitoring of the reforestation is allowing evaluating the survival rate of the mangrove replanting. Community members are involved on the monitoring activities to allow them realize the impact they are having and thus keep their enthusiasm for replanting going.
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Blue Ventures - Women take control in the fight against climate change
Oceanium's reforestation comic book
Oceanium's reforestation poster
Participatory monitoring
  • The participatory monitoring aims to develop a greater understanding of natural resource health and the impacts of anthropogenic activities within local communities through a socially integrated resource assessment.
  • The participatory ecological monitoring process begins with an initial village meeting to inform the purpose of the activities, select indicator species, monitoring sites and a local monitor team.
  • The local monitoring teams are either designated or elected by community members at the village level or can be volunteers. However, they should at least be able to read/write and count. A local monitoring team consists of five people per village and contains male and female.
  • The monitoring method is developed by the support organization and the monitoring has a simple design and method to be accessible to anyone, irrespective of educational level (using simple count of cut stump to assess the amount of carbon loss; measuring the tree height with graduated pole wood to measure tree biomass and carbon).
  • Local monitors were trained by the technical staff from the support organization on the method before conducting the fieldwork.
  • The support organization assists the community to identify the relevant indicators, these should be the key natural resources or target species providing useful information to allow local community to perceive the effectiveness of the management in place;
  • The support organization provides technical assistance in the long term monitoring and builds the capacity of the local monitors.
  • The monitoring method developed must be an effective means of illustrating to coastal communities the benefits of natural resource management. The number of cut stump or number of mangrove mud crab hole could be a good indicator to demonstrate clearly to community the effectiveness of the mangrove management.
  • The dissemination of the results of the monitoring helps the community to understand the state of their resources and the amount of carbon stocks in their mangrove forest. The support organization must define the key messages from the monitoring results (the carbon stocks at the mangrove reserve are much higher compared to the unmanaged mangrove forest).
  • Local monitor team is not paid but they are given a daily food allowance when they are conducting the forest inventory and carbon monitoring. The income from sale of the carbon credit is planned secure the long term monitoring activities.
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Climate change impact visualisation
The Nature Conservancy
Participatory 3D Modelling helps visualise vulnerabilities
The Nature Conservancy
Visualizing potential impacts is a powerful tool to help communities understand their vulnerabilities and consider future scenarios and tradeoffs. This is important to motivate changes that need to be made to reduce a community’s risks and support decision making around climate and disaster risk management. Computer based maps are not always the most effective means of communication. At the national scale we developed a suite of visualization tools for technical persons that included web-based maps and electronic and hard copy maps. At the local scale we worked with local partners Grenada Fund for Conservation and Grenada Red Cross to engage communities through household surveys and Participatory 3D Mapping (P3DM). These tools allowed us to integrate the knowledge and perspectives of nearly 400 community members, generate site level vulnerability assessments and visualization tools. To help facilitate community input and visioning, we also partnered with a land-use planning firm. Using the design firm’s strong graphic facilitation skills, a visual representation of a number of climate change impacts and associated potential actions that would contribute to Grenville Bay’s climate resilient Grenville bay was generated.
• Community understanding the importance and the benefits of a successful implementation. • Community acceptance, participation and ownership. • Government involvement and participation. • Partnerships with the Grenada Red Cross and NGO Grenada Fund for Conservation (mobilizing communities, empowering stakeholders, ensuring the development of an action plan for climate adaptation). • Access to data on climate change impact (via local knowledge and/or quantitative model predictions).
• The site level process described above was critical for the development of several targeted locally relevant proposals. • Applying a participatory process empowered community participation critical for the selection of locally relevant options that best align with a community’s vision of desired current and future outcomes. • Partnering with a variety of groups (engineers, land use planners, and local NGO’s like the RC and GFC) greatly facilitated the integration of diverse knowledge and consideration of a suite of options that will help communities and decision makers chose an informed path forward. Building capacity and working at pilot sites with communities takes a significant commitment of time and resources. • Participatory 3D mapping is a powerful tool for gathering community knowledge and stimulating discussion, and it also requires trained facilitators and community mobilization to implement.
Planning phase
Inception phase
Implementation
Documentation and dissemination of results
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National
TNC´s gateway to the projects - search for "At the Water’s Edge"
The Coastal Resilience Network
Review of management plan to integrate climate change issues
The MPA management plan should be revised in order to consider climate change issues. The purpose of this revision is to: update conservation targets status, identify new one should be added, review and revise threats, and adjust MPA strategy and monitoring protocols. Having this climate-smart management tools will ensure resilient MPA and long-term goods and services for local communities. It will guide MPA managers to anticipate future climate impacts.
Training session on how to include CC into existing management plan Participatory process involving mainly MPA managers and expert on PA conservation and social targets Conducting vulnerability assessments (VA) is a pre-condition to including CC into an existing management plan. It provides substantial information on how CC affects the sensitivity and adaptation capacity of each conservation target, how existing threats are exacerbated and what strategy is appropriate. Gathering all information that is basis for the revision of the management plan
In order to minimize current and future climate impacts, management plan can be revised using existing information (no need to wait for complete VA information) as it can be updated progressively. Link between CC and existing threats should be clearly defined to facilitate the level of CC impacts for each target.
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Identification and implementation of adaptation options
Four criteria were used to prioritize the relevant adaptation option such as the range of benefits that the adaptation option provides, opportunities that enable its implementation, required costs for its implementation (capacity and resource needs, etc.) and risks at different level (social, ecological, economic, etc.). Identification and prioritization of adaptation options are a step by step process: - Step 1: For each VA target (ecological and social), experts in charge of vulnerability assessment have provided long list of possible adaptation options. - Step 2: this list were discussed with the MPA managers and stakeholders involved in coastal marine conservation and resource use, as well as other people working on PA issues (national and local authorities, NGOs, etc.) to prioritize those with highest potential to enhance resilience of MPA conservation targets and local people who depend on it. - Step 3: community consultations to check and validate if those prioritized adaptation options really address local needs, particularly those related to sustainable livelihoods.
Build adaptation options on the vulnerability assessment outcomes. Assess the existing ground action to ensure complementarity between the activities (which lower the cost) and to avoid a long list of adaptation. Much focus should be given to adaptation option having multi-benefits - Conducting the prioritization process through a technical workshop and village meeting
Participants should have at least a basic knowledge on climate change adaptation (CCA) to be able to better participate in the selection of right adaptation options. A sound understanding of the four criteria, their meaning, ranges and significance, by the participants before the prioritizing process is needed in order to avoid bias during the scoring exercise and to ensure they have the same level of understanding. Existing development and conservation initiatives in the area must be identified ahead to avoid redundancy of activities and to ensure complementarity with existing work that will lower the cost.
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Vulnerability assessment to climate change
Vulnerability assessment was conducted to identify hotspots of climate change vulnerability and adaptation options that help to strengthen and/or maintain the site’s resilience, focusing on the MPA’s conservation targets. They allow an understanding of the status of bio-ecological and social targets with regards to climate change impacts and give guidance on how to increase their resilience. They were guided by multi-expert and multi-partners processes. Results will guide the revision of existing management plan.
Multi-expert process considering linkages between MPA conservation and social targets but not a stand-alone analysis - Adapting renown methodology to local context and particularly to available data - Involvement of a GIS team in the VA process considering that the final outcome is a multi-target vulnerability map, one key decision tool for MPA managers to tackle future CC impacts - Use of standard and credible VA methodology that will allow to compare results from one site to another site.
Linkages and synergies between each target vulnerability assessment should be established. A common scale is needed to produce an overall MPA vulnerability map and particularly to identify the most vulnerable area within the MPA that merits particular attention. Lack of data should not a barrier to start a VA, it can be complete by traditional knowledge. Simplify but credible VA methodology will help to move quickly to adaptation action in the ground instead of spending more than three years in this process.
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Climate Witness Community Toolkit
The participatory Climate Witness Community Toolkit allows the documentation of local climate change impacts and devising appropriate adaptation measures for communities. It includes several participatory exercises, such as mapping, seasonal calendar or species inventory. The community is asked to identify changes that have occurred over the last years. The discussion will allow for identification of key problems with the main causes and adaptation options. The final outcome is a community action plan describing priority adaptation options.
A mix of young and old people from each main villager category (fisherman, farmers, etc.) as well as non-active villagers - At least three days village meeting/workshop to discuss all the tools described in the toolkit. Discussion with a group of old people in the village who have good records of long-term past event and related impacts. Minimum level of climate change understanding of the surveyor (not necessarily for local communities)
Relying on community knowledge helps to address the lack of long-term climate data and its impacts on livelihoods and natural resources, particularly in a country like Madagascar where this kind of data is missing at local level. It also serves as guidance to and complements further quantitative research, especially socio-economic vulnerability assessments. Results from using this tool will allow to adjust adaptation measures already implemented by local communities (which are sometimes a maladaptation) as well as to start implementing preliminary adaptation measures.
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Climate change capacity building for MPA managers
WWF pirogue in Nosy Hara
WWF has provided climate change related capacity building to Madagascar National Parks MPA managers, with the aim of updating their management tools by enhancing knowledge on climate change key concepts and potential impacts for coastal and marine areas. MPA managers were also trained to conduct reef resilience surveys to quantify basic resistance and resilience indicators for coral reef assessments. This particularly helps in monitoring the effects of sea temperature rise on coral reefs, incidences of coral bleaching and the effects of climate change on small-scale fishing.
Useful training tools understandable by various targets including local communities. Practical examples that show the link between business as usual work and adaptation. Field exchange visit which helps MPA managers and local communities to learn from other adaptation experiences
All initiatives on climate change adaptation (CCA) should start with capacity building to ensure a common understanding of climate change concepts by MPA managers, allowing them to apprehend its direct impacts to biodiversity and livelihoods and its interaction with existing threats. Capacity building allows putting in place appropriate management tools and strategy that helps to build a resilient MPA in a changing climate. Similar training tools should be developed for local communities as their involvement in the MPA management and monitoring is key.
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Obura, D.O. (2009). Coral Reef Resilience assessment of the Nosy Hara Marine Pr…
Use of artistic tools for raising conservation awareness

Poems, songs and drama about conservation issues were developed by PECC committee members and were performed at community events, particularly the monthly meetings of the village councils. The committees often engaged other people as well, particularly school children, to perform the songs, raising awareness about conservation amongst the youth. The awareness raising tools and events helped to communicate the conservation message to the community in an accessible, effective manner. Experience shows that the community enjoys and responds very well to such events. The events also served the purpose of educating the communities about restrictions in the park, to gain a better understanding on what is permitted, and what is not

The village councils agreed to give a space to PECC committee members during each council meeting to perform songs etc., or at least to speak about issues of conservation and management of the national park. Low levels of literacy in the villages encourages different forms of engagement with the community members on issues and when conveying information and ideas. People know and appreciate songs, story telling, drama etc., and so are very used to learning through such mechanisms.

As a result of these events, most villagers adhere better to the park regulations than previously; however, some illegal activities still continue. Committees and other community members appreciated this activity, and would like to receive further support in developing it, e.g. through other communication tools such as videos.

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