We hope to share our experience in integrated management with protected areas with similar situations and learn more from them. Therefore, we have jointly launched the Forum for UNESCO multi-designated sites with Shennongjia Global Geopark in China, Chilento Global Geopark in Italy and Azores Island Global Geopark in Portugal to exchange experience in integrated management.
In 2021, our research on integrated management of Huangshan got support from UNESCO seed funding. GGN newsletter and China News Agency both made special reports on the integrated management of Huangshan. We were invited to introduce the experience of integrated management at the UNESCO training course on biosphere reserves in Northeast Asia. At the 9th UNESCO International Geopark Conference, we shared Huangshan's experience in applying the Green List standard to promote integrated management.
1. Our integrated management has achieved certain results
2. Cross industry communication
3.Networking of the 3 UNESCO designations
Networking is mutually beneficial, and achievements can be actively exchanged and shared.
This building block is still ongoing. There are two complementary directions: (1) to the SRI policy, and (2) to the regional and local stakeholders. Regarding the SRI policy direction, the project outcome is now integrated into a pool of input to design the SRI plan as it was presented to the TSRI team, and the documents were submitted. The main challenge is to what extent our findings are utilized in the national SRI policy. Regarding the regional and local stakeholder direction, our team (SDG Move and the regional teams) is exploring the possibility of establishing a regional network for SDGs, based on the participants and the outcome of the regional foresight workshops. The regional teams are encouraged to use the regional outcomes of the project to engage with local policymakers and stakeholders to form a network to address the regional priorities on the ground.
Designing the project with the knowledge user, in this case, the TSRI is crucial for moving to the next stage. When the project was designed together, the project outcomes are usable and used by the policymakers.
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The fact that the SDGs is a global agenda to which the government officially commits and is an obligation for both national and regional government agencies to address, making it easier for our regional teams to push forward the regional and local stakeholder direction.
A reason that TSRI is interested in integrating localized SDGs issues into the SRI plan was because of their awareness of the SDGs’ importance and of the localized policies. However, not all government agencies are aware of these issues. Regular knowledge communication and engagement with the policymakers and government agencies would help them realize the importance of the SDGs. Creating a platform in which the policymakers and government agencies interact regularly with local stakeholders and their practices would also increase awareness.
Academia is in a great position to bridge the government agencies and CSOs using evidence-based and participatory approaches. The approach would provide some credibility and legitimacy to academia as a bridging sector.
A political process to negotiate what works for whom and to find a solution that all parties get some of their priorities is expected. This process even presented itself in our project. Each regional team also has their own local agenda. We need to find a way to balance the project objectives and their agenda so that everyone wins.
Several types of data were collected throughout the process of this project. In the Horizon Scanning phase, socio-economic-environmental secondary data using SDGs as a framework were collected along with data from social media trends. This phase was mostly done by SDG Move. These data were processed and challenging social, economic and environmental issues were selected and made each of them into a 1-page report. Each region contextualized the 1-page reports and selected or added regional specific issues. In the Delphi method phase (regional level), expert opinions (assessing and commenting on the 1-page report in the first round and prioritizing the challenging issues in the second round) were collected and processed to identify regional priorities. The priorities were then utilized in the regional foresight workshops, in which Backcasting method was used in a multi-stakeholder consultation for obtaining the regional aspirations involving the regional priorities and strategic directions to achieve those aspirations. Outcomes of all regional processes were synthesized. A list of more than 10,000 research projects was analyzed against SDGs and the synthesized regional outcomes to obtain research gaps.
The expertise of the regional teams made the contextualization of challenging issues possible with little effort. Their social capital, with personal connections to stakeholders from several sectors in the region, helped identify the stakeholders with experienced and engagement with the existing movements, enabling us to obtain grounded and current perspectives of these challenging issues.
A well-planned data collection process and regular and open consultation between SDG Move and the regional teams were also crucial for in-time data collection.
Academic and Civil Society Organization experts are the second-based source to fill the data gap. This is possible because the data are not used for complex statistical methods but to understand the situation of the challenging issues. So the quantitative data was only one piece of the puzzle.
Clear objectives, timeline, and deliverables for each regional team help their planning. The timeline should account for delays and unexpected regional or local limitations. Regular check-in was important to update the project status and obstacles. The earlier the obstacles are identified, the better.
SDG Move as a coordination team has to be open-minded and listen to the voice and concerns of the regional teams since our plan is not perfect and might not fit regional and cultural contexts. The morale of the regional teams also needs to be observed and boosted when needed. The project progress and prospects, and a compliment from the TSRI office were good morale boosts.
Enabling policy establishes the conditions that make fisheries co-management legal, designs of "Managed Access" areas with no-take reservers implementable, and data-based management functional.
This building block requires relationships with government at multiple scales, including national, provincial, and district levels. It also requires relationships with community-based institutions whose input can set policy priorities and whose functionality demonstrates value to decision makers in government. Finally, enabling policy is dependent on a clearly defined policy strategy that identifies key goals, evidence-based solutions, the stakeholders who will be most impacted by policy changes, and those best positioned to advocate and enact change.
Policy change is slow, and Rare has learned that government processes often work on their own timeframes regardless of project plans. This is true for the development of policy documents, the passage of laws, and the approval of submitted plans and proposals. In all cases, Rare found that steady and regular engagement with government partners was key for sustaining momentum. Likewise, Rare learned the importance of working simultaneously at multiple geographic scales. Enabling national legislation is essential for effective management, but it is insufficient for meaningful implementation. For this, Provincial and District policies are necessary, including the allocation of local budgets, the procedures of implementing agencies, and the active support of local elected officials. Finally, we found that an adaptive approach to policy work is the most effective strategy. Government priorities can shift quickly when elections and appointments bring new decision makers into the conversation, and when circumstances require the government’s immediate attention.
