Collaboration with the local population has been a major factor in the success of anti-poaching operations, and must be maintained in order to strengthen confidence and build up the sources of intelligence essential for well-targeted actions in the Protected Areas (PA).

The objective of restoring public confidence in the security and defense forces (FDS) and creating a climate of serenity was 100% achieved under the project. The mixed units not only had access to eco-guards from the communities, but were also able to interact with the local population, exchanging ideas and restoring their confidence. This contact between the mixed units and the local populations was a unique opportunity that should be repeated.

Contact cells (intelligence cells) from the communities were also set up, with the overall mission of infiltrating the area covered by the PONASI complex in order to detect any suspicious poaching or criminal activity, and to quickly pass on information, process and analyze it, and initiate action or have it initiated.

Training was a key factor in the success of anti-poaching operations.

The different elements did not have the same working procedures, the same work rhythm or the same rigor.

The men all received technical and tactical training, as well as knowledge of wildlife and the forest environment. This training was highly beneficial, enabling the men to reinforce their knowledge in various fields (forest combat, combat first aid, IST, ISTC, navigation, operational motorcycle driving, camp defense, logistical and operational mission preparation, RETEX, etc.). A total of 10 operational training modules are delivered each time a force projection is planned.

The capacity-building achieved through the operations supported by the project should be maintained for future operations, as it fosters close collaboration and a climate of trust between the various units deployed.

Throughout the project, the involvement and collaboration of the administrative, military and paramilitary authorities representing the State has enabled the launch of large-scale joint anti-poaching operations capable of dissuading any desire to occupy the Protected Areas, given the level of insecurity.

This strong involvement of the State has enabled the various local security actors (FDS) to come together around the same table, bringing them to federate their efforts to achieve common goals.

The army's full collaboration in these kinds of activities is essential, and was a reality in the context of this project, enabling all members of the mixed units to be equipped with protective gear, weapons and ammunition.

A stakeholders workshop was conducted to share assessment results, address questions from the 2nd workshop, and discuss an action plan for mitigating identified negative impacts. Actions, activities, and timelines were discussed for each impact.

Based on the collected data, TT successfully engaged donors in funding projects aligned with reducing the negative impacts.

To mitigate the Human-Wildlife Conflict (HWC) negative impact, TT has constructed a 33km Elephant exclusion Fence and 8 additional 10% fences,  reducing HWC by over 80%.

To address the lack of water, TT provided 110 dam liners, each with a capacity of 56,000 L, resulting in the harvesting of over 6 million litres of surface run-off water.

In support of schools, TT is offering scholarships to 9 students and has constructed and equipped a Science and computer laboratory in a local secondary school.

To overcome information barriers, TT established a BULK SMS platform and grievances log to facilitate communication on key issues, ongoing projects, and address grievances between TT and communities.

TT is currently developing a SAPA review scheduled for July 2023 to assess the impact and change in perceptions resulting from the implemented interventions in communities.

The choice of IMET Coach was a challenge, given that experts in this field are in short supply. Based on its management procedures, CEW followed a process ranging from the call for applications to the contracting of an IMET expert, a park curator in Northern Cameroon who braved the 700 km distance between his base and the implementation site several times. Thanks to his experience and ability to teach an adult audience, the workshop to fill in the IMET tool went off without a hitch. Organized in the deliberation room of the Ngog Mapubi town hall, the workshop was attended by some thirty people (sub-prefects, mayors, forestry and hunting station chiefs, municipal councillors, communal executives, population representatives, members of the peasant forestry committees, local guides and traditional chiefs from the two arrondissements). During the workshop, discussions were open, ambiguities and concerns were cleared up, and recommendations were collected.

This building block emphasizes the main solution to the lack of capacity of wildlife rangers. Doing this activity requires good planning and preparation to convene a successful training. The activity enhances the capacity of wildlife rangers so they would be able to carry out the enforcement, seabirds monitoring, and invasive species eradication activities effectively. This building block is very essential, therefore, the wildlife office continues to search for funding, as much as they could, to cover all the cost of these capacity buildings to ensure that all their rangers are well equipped to execute their responsibility. 

This building block emphasizes the major concern of the Government of Kiribati regarding the challenges in the management of the protected areas and seabirds. The Government of Kiribati, through the Wildlife Conservation Unit (WCU) of the Environment and Conservation Division (ECD), has been struggling for the past 30 years in managing the protected areas in Kiritimati Island. But through the development of this integrated management strategy and action plan, the Government of Kiribati is able to manage and address the identified or common environmental challenges that are affecting the health of the seabird species successfully and effectively.

The Turtle Foundation maintains a very close relationship with the local conservation authority and the national police for several years. We provide extensive professional, financial, human, logistical and technical assistance to support the authorities' law enforcement efforts against sea turtle poaching.

The project includes the use of conservation dogs and modern night vision technology (drones and binoculars with thermal imaging technology) and their professional application within the framework of coordinated operational concepts and strategies. The operational concepts are developed in cooperation with the police, who partly accompany the operations or are on call in case our teams uncover a poaching case.

While previous strategies focused mainly on preventing poaching activities through the presence of rangers and volunteers on the beaches, the more proactive approach of the Dog & Drone team involves detection, intervention and prosecution of poaching activities.

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.

Field missions associated with IMET only take a few days to conduct. It is therefore important that the project team be adept at using the IMET prior to the field mission. Building the technical capacity of the team will enable smooth implementation and reduce the risk of overrunning timelines. In our project, we underwent a series of capacity development sessions. During project design, we underwent several online training sessions organised by BIOPAMA. These meetings provided the knowledge and skills needed to conduct the data collection and analysis within a short period of time. Equally important is ensuring that the computers to be used  are up to date in terms of specifications. Thus, capacity development includes technical and logistical aspects of the project.