The building block emphasized the importance of using data for informed decision-making in conservation efforts. To facilitate this, the solution promoted the adoption of conservation technologies such as Survey 123, camera traps, and GIS software. The use of these technologies enabled more efficient and effective data collection and improved the planning of strategic patrols, while also incorporating intelligence data from community members. The adoption of GIS software and the Protected Areas Management System (PAMS) using the Survey 123 Mobile Data Collector provided tools to create hotspot maps, tables, and charts, making it easier to identify priority areas and plan targeted interventions. The use of data resulted in targeted conservation efforts, which improved the overall conservation strategy and highlighted the critical role of data in conservation efforts, and increased joint protection activities.

The solution trained 214 Village Game Scouts (VGS) from 19 adjacent villages to USNFR, including 32% women, on Human Rights, the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) handheld devices, and Participatory Management of the Nature Reserve. Additionally, the project provided patrol gear such as uniforms, gumboots, tents, GPS handheld devices, etc., to facilitate effective mobile camping patrol operations. The solution also supported joint foot anti-poaching patrol operations (which mentors local communities), mentoring local communities to conduct their own patrols in respective forest adjacent areas. The patrol teams consisted of TSF staff (22.3%), VGS formed from local communities (44.5%), and anti-poaching unit rangers (33.2%), with 10.4% women of all participants indicating increases in their participation. These efforts increased protection activities, reduced pressure from the forest, and ensured the sustained supply of goods and services that the forests offer. As a result, other villagers were willing to offer intelligent information on poaching incidents.

The purpose of the community engagement was to increase partnership and community involvement in the management of the USNFR. This led into achieving conservation goals and also increased benefits to local communities through:

• Meetings with Village Natural Resources Committees (VNRCs) which resulted in exploration of the means of collaboration, and a way forward in intervening the issues faced by them.
• Conducting Community Benefits Assessment (CBA) to assess the perceived benefits of the forest reserve by local communities, which revealed that a majority of respondents agree that using the forest reserve brings them benefits.
• The results of CBA led into the solution to facilitated access to non-timber forest products and social services provided by the USNFR through special permits supervised by VNRCs.

In order to meaningfully deploy the solution, it is essential to undertake training for all project and non-project staff that will be engaged. In the project, two groups were targeted for training; system administrators and field-based users. System administrators consist of management staff who would maintain the software and configure devices and additional applications while offering continuous training for field-based users. A training of trainers (ToT) was conducted for this group on the structure of the software, customization and implementation. The field-based users were the rangers who conduct daily monitoring routines and the would-be bearers of the mobile applications. Training for this group entails efficient use of mobile devices, mobile applications and submitting data.

The main SAGE workshop started with pre-workshop orientation of participants and facilitators followed by two days assessment. During these sessions participants were provided with an initial overview of the SAGE process through presentations, followed by printed score cards for each of the 39 SAGE questions based on the ten principles of good governance and equity, from which each stakeholder group discussed the question, scored the results and presented to the plenary. The major differences in opinion between the different stakeholder groups could likely indicate governance challenges therefore these differences were well noted and justifications of their scores were provided.

This process continued by provision of ideas for action from each stakeholder group on the areas where the major differences occurred. For example, differences of opinion on benefit sharing among different actor groups may occur because the different stakeholder groups may have different information or different understandings of the available information. Therefore, for this to be easily resolved, recommendations for better transparency and sharing of proper information among stakeholder groups could be identified as a recommended solution as well as the plans for its implementation put in place.

Since the software being deployed (SMART) was not being developed but rather an implementation, there existed other organizations that have used it. It was necessary to adapt and capitalize on the experience of other partners for a smooth process. This project engaged Space for Giants (SFG) who monitor large mammals in the landscape to provide guidance, templates and training. The training of trainers was conducted by SFG who also offered support in the development and configuration of necessary databases, online platforms and data collection models.

Two years before the project was conceived, a collaboration between Ol Pejeta and Vulcan Inc. through the Tech Lab saw the creation of an online visualization platform, EarthRanger that has since been used to integrate reports from various sources within the organization and from partners.

The following activities enabled delivery of the outputs defined in Building Block 1. Prior to being deployed into the field to engage in monitoring, surveillance and data collection, the ranger team needed to be equipped and trained as demonstrated by the activities below.

Activity Implemented 1.3 - Procurement of equipment and supporting hardware and software for use in monitoring of targeted areas within PSEPA

Activity Implemented 1.4 - Conduct training of surveillance personnel in the use of monitoring equipment

The SAGE methodology uses a stakeholder-led, self-assessment process to assess the quality of governance and equity.

The initial activity started with the identification of the key actor groups who have significant interest in the WMA or have power to influence conservation activities likely to affect conservation either positively or negatively e.g benefit sharing, livelihood projects supporting conservation and environmentally damaging activities whereby five different actor groups were identified and engaged as participants in the SAGE process. These actor groups represented members of the AA (Authorized Association), the board, representatives from men and women community, representatives from government, investors and other partners working in the same area.

Engagement of these key actor groups was the very significant success of the SAGE process because they have the better knowledge of the local environment and all the underlining activities going around in their WMA and they provided the right assessment and recommendation of their WMA.