Multi-national | PANORAMA

Building relations and trust with local actors

Issues of poisoning are sometimes sensitive and people might be reluctant to share much-needed information. To gain their trust, the implementer approached the local government authority and signed a Memorandum of Understanding which enables us to work in the area. Another engagement meeting was done with the local leadership (chiefs, headman) to discuss our intention in the area as a conservation organization. These steps increased our transparency as an honest organization. Building on these strong relations and trust with local communities is essential to ensure that they share such information.

Time and the human capacity for repeated visits to spend time in the communities to build long-standing relationships of trust over time were enabling factors.

Long-term investments with communities are needed, taking into recognition that they have different cultural and social issues happening in the communities. Effective communication is essential to build the trust of the local communities.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Collaboration

Blue Parks relies heavily on collaborations with other conservation NGOs, communications and marketing professionals, government leaders, MPA managers, scientists, and local ocean champions. Growing the network of Blue Parks and amplifying the Blue Park standard for conservation effectiveness requires many partners.

Blue Parks has benefitted from the contributions of many partners. These collaborations have been made possible by a growing awareness that MPA coverage alone is not sufficient to safeguard biodiversity -- that we need to fully implement high quality MPAs in order to see conservation outcomes, and most MPAs are not yet well implemented.

These collaborations have also grown out of Marine Conservation Institute's long-standing history as a trusted partner among marine scientists, conservation organizations, and governments.

Nurturing collaborations across multiple sectors (government, NGO, academia) requires clear communication. We have found that regular, though not too frequent, outreach and communication with these partners keeps the collaborations active, and that these communications are most effective when they are designed for the audience, so we often send separate communications to partners in different sectors.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Incentive to improve MPA quality

2017 Blue Park Awards

Marine Conservation Institute

At the heart of Blue Parks is an incentive to improve MPA quality. Governments receive international attention for announcing big new MPA designations; they also need positive feedback for making good on those promises and implementing MPAs well. Being incentive-based, the initiative is focused on success stories of marine conservation and inspires governments, MPA managers, communities, and NGO partners to consider the possibility of excellence and the recognition that comes with excellence.

To be successful as an incentive to improve MPA quality, the Blue Park Awards must be well-known and desireable. Governments, MPA managers, community leaders, and NGO partners must want the award. To build this incentive, we offer a cash prize alongside the award, we make the award announcements at high-profile international meetings so that high-level government officials and compelling community leaders may participate in accepting the award, and we amplify the award announcement through press releases and online media outlets.

We have learned two important lessons -- the first is that conservation successes receive too little fanfare -- MPA managers, in particular, are so grateful for Blue Parks' recognition of their hard work. The second is that a small science-based organization is not well-positioned with the capacity for "brand building" -- we have relied heavily on partnerships to market Blue Parks (one of the other key building blocks of Blue Parks).

International Scientific Expertise - The Blue Parks Science Council

The Science Council is made up of over 30 renowned marine science experts from around the world who make award decisions and help refine the criteria. Their expertise is essential to the Blue Parks initiative as they ground the initiative in good science.

Science Council members are leading experts in science related to marine protected areas -- particularly marine protected area quality -- including management, governance, design, monitoring, and compliance -- and outcomes. These experts ensure that the Blue Park criteria are up-to-date, reflecting the best available science related to MPA outcomes, and provide a meaningful global standard for effective marine protection. With their deep understanding of Blue Parks' standard, the Science Council members also judge the Blue Park nominees against it, ensuring that the Blue Park Award decisions are credible.

The Blue Parks initiative depends on the credibility afforded by the roll that the Science Council plays in setting Blue Parks' standard and evaluating nominees. Science Council members volunteer their time and expertise to the initiative, generously dedicating themselves to improving global marine protection.

The Blue Parks team at Marine Conservation Institute endeavors to facilitate positive and productive experiences for those who serve on the Science Council. We are careful with member's time and good will, and we look for opportunities to collaborate in related research or other projects.

Facilitating consensus-based decision-making among members in diverse time zones is a challenge -- one that we are always working to overcome. We rely heavily on email, Zoom calls, and sometimes recorded videos to communicate about Blue Park Award decisions. We have found that careful documentation is important. It is also helpful to be able to connect in person periodically.

Blue Parks Science Council

Support government strategies for a sustainable wood energy value chain

Workshop on local charcoal assurance system

@giz

To shift from unsustainable to sustainably produced charcoal and alternative fuels (e.g. briquets from agricultural residues) they need to be competitive in the market. This can only be achieved with government support by regulating charcoal production and enabling competitive prices. These include the setting up of a formal sector and a sustainable forest management system (see building block 2).

The government of Ghana sees the need of reducing forest degradation through charcoal production and has set ambitious policy actions in the updated NDCs to achieve efficient and sustainable charcoal production. The government is also working on a national regulation for the production of charcoal and has included further measures like the promotion of efficient cookstoves and the establishment of woodlots in different strategies.

In the development of regulations and strategies for sustainable charcoal production, it is important to include the different stakeholders, especially the local communities and charcoal producers. They need to see the benefits of a formalized sector and regulation system and need to be supported to adapt to it. Besides that, it is important to develop alternative income sources to achieve the promotion of alternative fuels and a reduction of charcoal production.

Documentation and dissemination of results

National

Multi-national

Elaborate follow-up activities early in the process

Participants during group exercise

GIZ

The effectiveness of training is increased if follow-up with participants is ensured. This allows the organisers to check on the feasibility of follow-on activities discussed during the training and can account for the follow-up needs[NM1] of the participants. Follow-up activities can range from webinars to on-site activities in the respective countries

[NM1]Needs: unclear. = if something has not been understood or if there are follow up questions, or resources needed or something of the sort?

If so: see suggestion for possible re-formulation.

To design appropriate follow-up activities, the content of the training needs to be defined (see Building Block 2). The diversity of activities also depends on the support structure in the countries. If partner (health or climate) projects are in place in the respective participating countries, this allows for greater diversity in follow-up activities that can be conducted.

Consideration to possible follow-up activities should be given already during the planning process;
It is advisable to launch a survey to ask for participants interest and preference;
The creation of a What’s App Group is a quick, easy and cost-effective way to stay in touch with participants and continuously share relevant documents and news with them.

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

PPT on the Regional Training presented to GIZ colleagues from Health and Social Protection Network

First out of three follow-up webinaire with participants on specific topic of interest from the training

Be creative with the methodology

Participants during daily quizz

GIZ

Training on an intersectoral topic such as climate change and health is more challenging for participants because their academic and practical background knowledge might not cover both topics. The training will likely cover a lot of new information for each participant. Given the complexity of the topic, it is even more important to develop and utilise a wide range of methodological approaches to maintain energy levels and focus during the training.

Interactive and innovative methods require good preparation from the presenters. It is often necessary to prepare aids or specific content. Using some methods can be challenging for participants who have never encountered them before and may take more time than originally anticipated.

Add several animated or guided group work sessions
- For example: divide participants into different subgroups (i.e. by disease type: vector-borne, water and foodborne, airborne, zoonotic, direct impact) and have them work out which diseases to choose, how to investigate the link (vulnerability assessment), and how to adapt to climate impacts (national public health adaptation planning)
Refrain from lengthy reports that repeat the previous day's content; instead, ask questions in the form of a group game (quiz);
Share slides and summaries so participants can interact more freely and don't feel the urge to note everything down;
Use a different icebreaker each day so the group gets to know each other better;
Schedule site visits, guest lectures, and organise poster presentations to be held by participants.

formation-ccs_toolbox.pdf

Design tailored trainings to a specific purpose

Facilitator during one of the modules

GIZ

The relationship between climate change and health is very complex, as many different fields come together at this intersection. The training experience showed that there is a need to tailor the training to the participants. This should be based on the previous knowledge of the participants, their professional position and the general level of implementation of climate and health activities in their respective countries.
Based on the experience utilizing the training manual in practice, several customized formats are conceivable:

Beginner and advanced level training formats;
Thematic training: introduction to the scientific link between health and climate change;
Policy training: in-depth exercises to develop core policy documents such as a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and a national public health adaptation plan;
Climate governance training: analysis of the Ministry of Health's respective positions on climate – identifying how to integrate climate issues into health policy, how to develop climate policy documents, learning about possible coordination mechanisms, highlighting the international mechanisms on climate change, how to mainstream climate issues in the Ministry of Health

The success of tailoring the training depends on the information available at the preparation level and the skills and flexibility of the trainer. Prior questionnaires for participants can help determine their interest and prior experience. The trainer should have knowledge of climate change, health, hydrometeorology, and the environment, as well as being proficient in the core documents of the fields. Since this is a rare profile, determining the goal of the training early on also makes it easier to find a suitable trainer.

Potential instructors must be very experienced as the manual covers several different topics;
Using the 16 modules of this training in 5 days is too much content and leaves little time to apply more diverse training methods;
Objectives should be clearly stated from the very beginning of the process;
The preparation, coordination and implementation of the training requires a dedicated support team in the hosting country with enough time, personnel and budget resources.

Agenda of 5-day training

Focus on regionalisation

Winners of daily quizz

GIZ

Bringing together different stakeholders not only from different sectors (health, environment, hydrometeorology, university, etc.), but importantly also from different countries in the same region, allows participants to network, share their experiences, and find contextually appropriate, concrete and immediately applicable solutions. The use of a regional trainer helps to address sensitive issues related to governance and finance, and to relate theory to practical examples from the regional context.

The selection of appropriate participants depends on prior knowledge of the stakeholder landscapes of the participating countries. It is essential to be able to identify decision makers in the respective ministries who can place the topic in the policy dialogue.
Regarding the trainer, it is important to find a person with appropriate experience on the link between climate change and health, as well as expertise in andragogy.

The number of participating counties should be limited to three to keep the total size of the group below 30 while still including diverse stakeholders.
One starting point in identifying participating countries is the mix of topics according to their implementation status (developed documents and studies, pledges, etc).
There are very few suitable trainers, especially for francophone countries: a database should be developed and shared among partners. This would also enable continuity of the training and familiarity with the format and content.

Planning phase

Multi-national

Multiple Grant Agreements

Working Group meeting

GIZ/ Klaus Peter Schnellbach

11 grant agreements have been given to NGO and academic institutions in the three countries of the Selva Maya to implement research and pilot projects on One Health. The call for applications was launched early 2021 and based on an assessment grid the grant recipients were selected. Criteria included innovation, replicability, and interdisciplinarity. The grantees currently implementing their projects include WCS, ARCAS, BWRC, the Universidad del Valle Guatemala, CINVESTAV, BIOS A.C., etc. The 11 recipients are automatically AOHSM members and share their project results on the website. Through their AOHSM membership they have connected and created synergies with other grant recipient projects for upscaling and replicating.

Enhanced visibility of research endeavours and work on the ground through AOHSM events translating project results from science to the policy level. Grant agreements are designed in a way that gives the recipient maximum flexibility in the implementation.

Constant communication between and with the grant recipients is necessary to ensure synergies and avoid duplications. Conditions on the ground such as heavy tropical rains can lead to delays that make contract addenda necessary.

It is also important to highlight the benefits for the grant recipients of being members of the Alianza and publishing their results on the website. Support needs to be offered where possible, since all grantees are confronted with a high workload.

Implementation

Multi-national