Field Testing and Demonstration Plots

Testing these microbial formulations on coffee farms ensures their effectiveness and builds local capacity in sustainable agricultural practices. 

Science-Driven Sustainable Agriculture

The project uses genomic sequencing and metagenomic analyses to identify effective bioactive pest control agents. These lab-based solutions are translated into practical, farmer-friendly products through farmer field schools and demonstration plots. The project’s microbial formulations were developed with a plan to optimize and re-test the most effective formula for broader adoption. 

Connecting WWF local offices and National Rowing Federations and clubs worldwide to collaborate on impactful actions & projects

The Healthy Waters Alliance connects the Rowing community with WWF communities worldwide to foster collaboration. Together, they co-create and jointly deliver local projects and initatives that protect and restore healthy waters through awareness and hands-on action, benefiting rowing, communities, and ecosystems. Working with WWF ensures that actions implemented by rowing communities are relevant from a nature conservation perspective. 

 Projects can be initiated by National Rowing Federations, clubs, athletes, event organisers, or WWF local offices. After contacting the Healthy Waters Alliance, through submitting their interest via an online form partners agree on a locally impactful project recognized by the Alliance. These projects focus on community engagement, nature restoration, waste reduction and other areas.  

  The rowing community benefits from the platform through access to educational workshops, working groups, global visibility of local projects, and healthier waters for rowing. In turn, WWF offices gain partners who help raise awareness on the freshwater & coastal ecosystems' crisis and promote solutions, while engaging with event organisers to drive visibility at major rowing events with wide media coverage. 

  • A platform connecting the rowing and nature conservation communities locally to facilitate collaboration 
  • The possibility for various rowing stakeholders to initiate projects 
  • WWF's expertise ensuring projects deliver a positive impact on nature 
  • Communications and visibility platform provided by rowing events and organisations to nature conservation causes through concrete initiatives on the ground 
  • A fundraising model established by the partnership and run by external consultants. To look for targeted funding opportunities and partners that would like to support the Alliance as a whole or individual projects of interest. 
  • Clear communication channels accelerate coordination
    Establishing an accessible online form and Alliance framework streamlined the project initiation process and helped all partners to quickly align on impactful actions.
  • Local context drives engagement
    Projects that resonate with local communities and ecosystems gain stronger support and lead to more sustainable outcomes.
  • Cross-sector collaboration requires mutual understanding
    Time invested in learning each other’s priorities: WWF’s conservation goals and rowing’s operational realities.
  • Visible impact builds momentum
    Highlighting early success stories and media coverage from major events helped raise interest from other  National Rowing Federations and WWF offices, expanding the initiative’s reach.
  • Education is a powerful enabler
    Workshops and knowledge exchange sessions empowered rowing stakeholders (event organisers) to take more informed and effective action on water health and conservation.
  • Flexibility supports innovation
    Allowing diverse stakeholders (clubs, athletes, event organisers, etc.) to propose projects encouraged creative, locally tailored solutions.
Free diver collecting waste from the Oslo fjord.
West and South Europe
North Europe
East Europe
World
Rowing
Reinforcing the World Rowing – WWF International partnership to evolve from awareness-raising to action
Connecting WWF local offices and National Rowing Federations and clubs worldwide to collaborate on impactful actions & projects
Athlete ambassadors as key players to the success of the Healthy Waters Alliance’s objectives
Free diver collecting waste from the Oslo fjord.
West and South Europe
North Europe
East Europe
World
Rowing
Reinforcing the World Rowing – WWF International partnership to evolve from awareness-raising to action
Connecting WWF local offices and National Rowing Federations and clubs worldwide to collaborate on impactful actions & projects
Athlete ambassadors as key players to the success of the Healthy Waters Alliance’s objectives
Free diver collecting waste from the Oslo fjord.
West and South Europe
North Europe
East Europe
World
Rowing
Reinforcing the World Rowing – WWF International partnership to evolve from awareness-raising to action
Connecting WWF local offices and National Rowing Federations and clubs worldwide to collaborate on impactful actions & projects
Athlete ambassadors as key players to the success of the Healthy Waters Alliance’s objectives
Using the SIREN App to Raise Awareness and Strengthen Community Connections

The SIREN app is a mobile tool developed by AMMCO to collect data on marine wildlife sightings, strandings, and bycatch, while simultaneously serving as an educational and engagement platform for coastal communities. Beyond data collection, SIREN helps raise awareness among fishers and youth by delivering marine conservation messages directly through mobile technology.

What makes this approach unique is the dual function: it informs and empowers users to act as citizen scientists, while also fostering a sense of community through shared environmental responsibility. Users, mainly small-scale fishers and local conservation volunteers are connected through common reporting goals and periodic in-person exchanges (e.g. during trainings or events like the Street Whale Symposium), enhancing trust and collaboration across regions.
The app is introduced through outreach sessions in coastal villages.
 

To implement SIREN, we apply the following steps:

  • Users receive basic training on species identification and reporting procedures.
  • Each report (sighting reported through the app) is reviewed by AMMCO staff, who provide feedback and clarification.
  • Educational content (Virtual Reality, posters, storybooks, videos) is developed based on the reports, and delivered through schools or fisher meetings.
  • Shared results and feedback loops build trust and stimulate user engagement and connections.
  • User-friendly mobile interface with offline capability
  • Existing trust between AMMCO and fishing communities
  • Regular communication and in-person follow-up
  • Integration of local languages and culturally adapted visuals
  • Low literacy and limited smartphone access require regular in-person engagement and the use of visual/voice features.
  • Incentives and recognition (e.g. being invited to events or featured in newsletters) help maintain motivation.
  • Community ownership improves when feedback is timely and reports lead to tangible conservation actions.
Elevating public awareness

 Featuring black bear science education as an exhibition zone in the Hubei (Wuling Mountains) Wildlife Specimen Museum, externally promoting and popularizing species knowledge and project achievements. Nature educators organized public museum tours, conducted wildlife rescue activities, science lectures, etc., with annual public reception exceeding 35,000 person-times. By displaying spectacular black bear footage captured by the project, publishing science articles, and streaming real-time videos, visitors observed bears without disturbance. In recent years, illicit excavation, deforestation, and poaching have nearly vanished. Local residents now fully recognize the species’ importance; diverse educational approaches fostered comprehensive multidimensional understanding of Asian black bears, acknowledging them as part of the reserve community while avoiding intrusion into bear habitats.

1.Biodiversity conservation concepts have landed and rooted in China; vigorous publicity and retransmission by major mainstream media elevated attention to black bears;
2.High prioritization by Houhe NNR management leadership; full cooperation from the reserve’s professional nature education team; continuous reporting by communicators;
3.The reserve possesses an effective external display platform—a multifunctional, technologically advanced specimen museum with diverse exhibition methods, centrally showcasing outcomes of black bear initiatives;
4.Obtained black bear footage was exceptionally compelling, shattered traditional perceptions, and sparked public discussion.

1.Timely dissemination of project outcomes within reserve communities invited media to narrate black bear stories; collaborated with residents to film species-related documentaries, enhancing community recognition;
2.The reserve regularly submitted promotional materials to CCTV, leveraging mainstream media for nationwide publicity, amplifying project influence;
3.Published research findings in academic journals, targetedly proposing species conservation and human-bear conflict mitigation solutions;
4.Research outcomes require transformation into science education materials easily understood by the general public.

Implementing robust protective measures

To effectively resolve wild beasts harming farmers, the Houhe Reserve invested 244,000 yuan, purchasing 63,000 meters of fencing nets for free distribution to communities, and issued 160 sets of prevention alarms; explored installing 5,000 meters of pulse electric fences; annually acquired 50,000-100,000 yuan in wildlife damage insurance, installing real "insurance" for residents' production and livelihoods. Through alarms, fencing nets, and electric fences, effectively warned of black bear presence, blocked bears from entering community areas, alleviating human-bear conflicts.

.1.Social organizations’ attention to "human-bear conflicts," opening purchase and compensation channels for wildlife damage insurance to reserve communities;
.2.High prioritization by reserve management leadership, annually directing dedicated funds for purchasing related materials and wildlife damage insurance.

.1.Alarm installations maintained appropriate distances from residential points, reducing triggered alarms and noise disturbances to residents while effectively warning of wildlife proximity.
.2.Protective fencing requires sufficient coverage area to effectively safeguard residential zones and production assets.
.3.Wildlife damage insurance claim recognition and compensation procedures need optimization toward intelligence—current recognition processes and compensation implementation require substantial manpower with lengthy process completion times.
.4.Alarms and fencing only partially mitigate human-bear conflicts; amid expanding black bear populations, new pathways must be explored to balance wildlife conservation and community development.

Launched the special black bear survey

 The Houhe NNR applied for financial support through multiple channels, and the black bear survey project secured 300,000 yuan from the "Green Mountains Public Welfare Nature Conservation Initiative" fund. Subsequently, scientific staff from the Houhe NNR selected 20 high-frequency black bear occurrence sites to deploy infrared camera traps, installing three infrared cameras at each trap point to capture individual identification markers of black bears. Simultaneously, they collected bear feces, hair, and other trace information to assist in population analysis. Using infrared camera traps, they identified and marked a portion of captured individuals, estimated the black bear population size in Houhe via mark-recapture methods, and concurrently conducted surveys through semi-structured interviews, completing a total of 193 questionnaires.

1.Sufficient funding ensured carrying out team investigations, study tours, and fieldwork;
2.Invited relevant experts from the Chinese Academy of Forestry's Forest Ecology and Environment Institute for on-site guidance, enabling reserve researchers to master relatively mature survey and research techniques and methods;
3.An enthusiastic research team ensured the effectiveness of the work;
4.Full cooperation from community residents who truthfully provided feedback completed the questionnaire surveys;
5.The black bear species possesses distinctive traits – the V-shaped chest patch can serve as an identification feature for individuals.

1.Invited community residents familiar with mountainous terrain to participate in fieldwork, and conducted initial technical training for field staff at the project's outset;
2.During the preparatory phase, utilized monitoring data from past years for preliminary analysis, laying the foundation for subsequent field deployment planning;
3.Community survey sample size and representativeness were limited—193 questionnaires could reflect some issues, but coverage of more villages and diverse stakeholder groups (farmers, tourism practitioners, conservation staff) would yield more comprehensive data;
4.Integration of multi-year monitoring data and long-term monitoring mechanisms need improvement; current data primarily supports short-term research; recommends establishing a black bear population dynamics database, combining GIS technology to analyze human-bear conflict hotspots, providing basis for long-term conservation.