Through participatory Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM)assessments in Guinea Bissau’s three geographical zones, Cacheu, Quinara, and Tombali, TRI was able to identify mangrove restoration opportunities in ten sites (five in the Cacheu, two in Quinara, and three in Tombali) and confirm the 1200 ha of mangrove landscape to be restored during the project’s implementation. The ROAM processes, which took place between 2020 and 2021, included all parts of the community discussing what the village priorities are, especially in regard to rice farming, one of the main competing priorities for mangrove restoration. Additionally, the processes also facilitated the development of the definition of intervention zones and the initiation of mangrove and rice field restoration. The implementation of the ROAM assessments ultimately contributed to the development of the project’s policy tools such as the National Mangrove Law and National Mangrove Strategy by enabling the actors and stakeholders involved in mangrove landscapes to move away from singular sites and consider the landscapes as a whole. Providing community input into village priorities and what a buffer zone in the law should look like, localized information was able to help develop the national policies.  

To further facilitate the implementation of FLR, TRI DRC worked to integrate major policies and restoration in general into the local development plans of the Kabre and Ngweshe Chiefdoms in South Kivu province. Though the local development plans were supported by GIZ without technical input from TRI DRC, the team successfully worked to add annexes to the plans that incorporate data received from the ROAM assessments and restoration caveats. Additionally, TRI DRC has also worked to integrate the Provincial Strategy for the Restoration of Forest and Landscapes in South Kivu as well as the two legal documents (one on bushfires and one on FLR) into the local development plans to help upscale restoration on the ground. These local development plans will be finalized at the end of September, 2023 and with the new inclusion of FLR, will be instrumental in the strengthening of FLR frameworks on the ground.  

Implementing SLM practices leads to economic benefits for farmers compared to practicing business as usual. Without information and training however, the risk of reversal of the carbon storage through a change in land use during the crediting period is high. Through long-term extension services on various SLM practices, participating farmers are equipped with the knowledge they need to continue the practices throughout the whole project period and potentially beyond and are empowered to estimate consequences of different types of land-use. All participating farmers receive these bi-annual consultations throughout the whole project duration of 20 years. They are independent of their land-size which means that benefits are distributed more equitable and weaker households in terms of carbon sequestration and size even benefit disproportionally. The extension services are provided by community-based organisations, which assure the availability of the services long-term. In addition, organisations that are locally based can build stronger connections to the farmers and thus gain greater trust which is, not only but to a big part, needed to provide assistance when it comes to transferring the farmer’s rights on the stored carbon to the local coordination entity (in this case SCCS) so that it can be sold as a carbon credit.

Through participatory Restoration Opportunities Assessment Methodology (ROAM) processes, TRI was able to outline restoration potential by identifying high-priority restoration opportunities, noting feasible restoration intervention types, and assessing finance and investment options. Activities identified included promoting the production of ecological charcoal, developing a plant production sector, and constructing water points in restoration sites. TRI conducted these ROAM assessments in three pilot sub-national landscapes, Waza, Mbalmayo, and Douala-Edea, where local and national stakeholders have been engaged. Pre-validation workshops occurred in each landscape with representatives of government ministries, local council representatives, local community representatives, and community chiefs, while a final report explaining the findings of the assessments was finalized in October, 2021 through a national validation workshop that included representatives from government ministries, international organizations, as well as local representatives and chiefs. Once finalized, a leaflet with the main findings was shared with stakeholders to quickly disseminate information and ensure those who do not have access to the internet can understand the ROAM assessments.

The implementation of the technical architecture and monitoring programme has ensured the availability of a big database of information both of the species and its environment. Data availability is key to ensure that park staff (managers, rangers, technicians, etc.) makes informed decisions when it comes to territory and species management strategies. Besides, the local design of the monitoring programme and the parameters within it, has increased the capacity of the park staff not only to manage it, but also to improve it and eventually apply it to the monitoring of different species and even other phenomena.

The acoustic component of the project holds special significance, as it played a pivotal role in the automatic detection of over 138 species, with 95 of them being integrated into our pattern matching algorithms. This forms a robust foundation for the continuous monitoring of the region over the upcoming years, allowing us to observe how various environmental factors influence species presence