Independent National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTFs)
CBF endowment proceeds will be channeled through the NCTFs, which in turn will lead the grant-making process for on the ground and water activities. They are governed by majority non-government member boards reflecting a broad range of sectors and interests, and provide grants to both government and civil society.
Drawing on internationally recognized standards, the characteristics of NCTFs to be supported by the CBF are:
Purpose: Purpose aligned with the purpose of the CBF.
Board composition: Broad composition and representation, with majority civil society board membership and no single majority interest group dominating the board.
Civil society board members: Board members representing civil society not solely selected by the government.
Asset control: Well-designed and independent asset control.
Grants: Grant making to government and civil society.
Multiple-stakeholder dialogue to guarantee participation of all relevant sectors in governance structures.
Clear legal instruments that reflect independent structures and guarantee the rights and responsibilities of the different stakeholders.
It is challenging to find the right balance between government and civil society representation in governance structures at the national level. Government actors may feel that majority non-governmental governance structure will exclude them from decision making and civil society may feel that majority government boards will result in inefficient institutions controlled by government.
Donors have a strong preference for NCTFs governance that is independent from government control, although government may participate in it.
Finding a balance in NCTFs constitutive instruments and other agreements to different points of views, needs and requirements, and reassure all stakeholders that the governance structure and decision making process will be transparent and inclusive is essential.
Governments are key in the success of the regional collaboration. Their political commitment to the Caribbean Challenge Initiative (CCI) Goals has been essential to attract donors to help achieve these goals, including building the finance architecture. Governments participate as observers and/or focal points in regional trust fund board meetings and are also part of the National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTF) boards.
Open, transparent and direct dialogue with governments.
Identifiable benefits for advancing national and regional conservation priorities.
Donor’s and partners’ commitments to provide funds and other technical assistance.
Building political commitment is a lengthy process that requires technical and policy inputs at multiple levels in government from technical staff, to middle/senior management positions and the highest levels ministers/heads of governments.
Donor’s commitment provides countries with additional security and confidence with regards to their political commitment and knowing that partners are ready to assist.
Independent National Conservation Trust Funds (NCTFs)
Successful trust fund operationalization
Strategic plan and fundraising strategy
Common trust fund monitoring
Marine Spatial Planning
A multi-use zoning design for the Grenadine Islands
A guided marine spatial planning exercise leads to the development of a multi-use zoning design for the area. This increases the capacity to protect, manage and sustainably use the marine resources. Potential mismatches between the area’s existing jurisdictional (legal-institutional) and geographical (social-ecological) scales requires consideration.
Pre-existing cross-scale partnerships (i.e. multi-stakeholder working group) and stakeholder engagement mechanisms for communication and information exchange
Academic-NGO partnership to address the mismatch between the existing jurisdictional (legal-institutional) scale and the geographical (social-ecological) scale
Collaborative data collection & validation processes supported trust and ownership in MSP information
GIS analyses were useful to determine the spatial allocation of the sea in a way that maximizes societal benefits and mitigates possible conflicts. Although the system was used to support transboundary MSP, inadequate sub-regional governance mechanisms constrain the implementa¬tion of the marine zoning plan by either country. Although framework legislation and national environmental management strategies are in place, formal institutional systems for national and transboundary marine management need to be clearly established. The realisation of effective transboundary cooperation and regional governance is needed to determine the appropriate and feasible institutional arrangements. Likewise, the fostering of environmental political will is essential for the development and implementation of new environmental management policies, plans and institutions.
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) applications provided a framework for effective data management and integration of information from a variety of scales and sources, thereby increasing spatial understanding of marine resources and corresponding spatial uses. The system was used to demonstrate practical GIS applications valuable for ecosystem-based decision-support and marine spatial planning. Using a participatory GIS approach supported the development of ecosystem-level GIS spatial analyses of the region to be conducted and presented in ways that increased stakeholder understanding.
GIS capacity and access to funding for GIS software, which is generally costly.
Well identified actual problems that were of concern to stakeholders and could be addressed with the information acquired.
Continued public access to the transboundary information produced via the research website maintained by the NGO-academic partnership
The usefulness of integrating interdisciplinary information and multiple sources of knowledge for marine spatial planning is well documented, yet the actual framework and practical methodologies for acquiring holistic ecosystem-based information is lacking. We found a participatory GIS approach useful for identifying, collecting, integrating and understanding interdisciplinary information. Practical GIS analyses were applied to produce relevant ecosystem-based information. Additionally, the application of a participatory GIS approach (in terms of both information integration and visualization) proved beneficial in the conduction and presentation of information generated in ways that increased stakeholder understanding, thus supporting marine governance. Despite the overall success of participatory GIS, the maintenance of the MarSIS will require additional capacity building, particularly in terms of GIS skills.
Stakeholders gathering information on the use of marine ecosystems
Collaborative data and information gathering was used to: identify and acquire secondary information; document local knowledge of resources and space-use; develop an appropriate habitat classification scheme; conduct marine habitat mapping field surveys; validate information produced; and ascertain the technological capacity and information preferences of stakeholders. Furthermore, participatory research demonstrates the relevance of information provided by stakeholders, strengthens capacity and provides ownership of the information produced.
The preliminary appraisal was essential to understand stakeholders’ capacity for participation and develop appropriate methods.
Periodic validation meetings allowed for the production of accurate information based on local knowledge. This also demonstrated to stakeholders the legitimacy of their knowledge thereby promoting ownership of the information.
Public access to information served to empower stakeholders, build capacity and cultivated a cross-scale alliance.
PGIS resulted in the production of comprehensive and accessible information tailored to the needs of the Grenada Bank stakeholders. Collaborative data and information gathering served to: identify existing information; build stakeholder capacity in the understanding of the marine environment and related human uses; provide credibility to local knowledge; increase confidence and ownership in the information produced; and underscore the role stakeholders can and should play in marine governance. Communication and information exchange are important aspects of this building block and should not be underestimated. Providing access to all data, maps, and information via a public access website supported transparency and inclusiveness and served to strengthen the capacity and ownership of information by stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement was used to refine research objectives; guide methodology development; acquire/document information including local knowledge; share and validate information produced; develop locally relevant and accessible information; and appraise the application of participatory geographic information systems. To allow for transparent, inclusive and equitable cross-scale interactions, stakeholders were engaged through one and two-way communication mechanisms (newsletters, press releases, flyers, technical reports, a website, summary and validation meetings) and through a dedicated internet e-group.
The application of clearly defined governance principles was of key importance to the collaborative construction of an appropriate ecosystem-based PGIS
A large initial investment (time and effort) to conduct a thorough preliminary appraisal was essential to appropriately design and implement the PGIS
Periodic validation meetings not only provided quality assurance but the recurrent sharing of results showed stakeholders how information was being used
Participatory geographic information systems (PGIS) resulted in the production of comprehensive and accessible information tailored to the needs of the Grenada Bank stakeholders. The PGIS process also strengthened cross-scale linkages, promoted a transparent and inclusive working environment and built capacity across a transboundary scale. Despite the overall success of PGIS in this context, there are constraints that should be considered. First, the cost of PGIS should be carefully evaluated. Accordingly the timeframe and objectives of a PGIS should be well defined and level of participation to be expected clearly elaborated before undertaking a similar endeavor. In this building block, stakeholder engagement was time-consuming, yet instrumental in fostering a collaborative work environment and creating buy-in.
