In Eastern Province, Zambia, a significant transformation of fishing practices in small waterbodies was achieved under the Fish for Food Security (F4F) project. This change involved reducing the use of illegal fishing gear among local fishers, aligning their activities with the FAO’s Guidelines for Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries.

Initially, the management of these fishing practices faced challenges, including a lack of baseline data on fish stocks and the use of harmful small-meshed nets (mosquito nets) or poison. To address these challenges, the F4F project adopted a multi-stakeholder approach, partnering with entities like the Aquatic Ecosystems Services Consultancy for fish stock assessments. Likewise, they worked on restructuring the Dam Management Committees (DMCs) in collaboration with the World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and Zambia Governance Foundation (ZGF), ensuring the inclusion of fisherfolk representatives.

The F4F further developed a training manual on sustain-able fisheries management of small waterbodies and rolled out the trainings to the DMCs, fisherfolk and traditional leaders with support from the Department of Fisheries (DoF). Among others the topics varied from ‘Leadership’ and ‘Financial Management’ up to ‘Fishing Practices’, which attracted a lot of discussions especially from fishers. 

Later, the community and DoF set up regulations on restricting the use of illegal fishing gear and encouraged the use of wide-meshed cotton nets. The involvement of the fisherfolk has helped curb illegal and unregulated fishing, as they understand the adverse effects on the fish stocks, the environment, and the sustainability of their business.

Engaging and educating community members to ensure they understood the project, its benefits, and actively supported its implementation. This involved clear communication of project goals, addressing concerns, and fostering a sense of ownership among the community. Public participation was facilitated through monthly meetings in Kamungi Conservancy (KC) to create awareness on the benefits of the 10% Fence Plan, hazards, and overall project objectives. These meetings served as a platform for open dialogue, where community members could voice their concerns, ask questions, and provide input. Additionally, the meetings were designed to disseminate crucial information about the project, including how the fences would mitigate human-wildlife conflict, protect crops and livestock, and improve overall community safety. Educational sessions within these meetings focused on practical aspects of the 10% Fence Plan, such as maintenance and repair techniques, as well as broader conservation principles. This consistent engagement ensured that the community remained informed, involved, and supportive of the project's goals.

The local community was consulted into the spatial planning process. The process involved holding big workshops for local community and inviting several interest groups, especially those of livestock owners, tourism workers, and hunting enthusiasts. The purpose was 2 main things; 1) to collect local data and knowledge into the planning product and more importantly to build a sense of ownership and belonging of the local community to the potential planning product.

Data from various sources were collectively integrated and put into a spatial prioritization and optimization algorithm based on targets stemming out from the Primary Management objectives of the Reser. This Algorithm is known as MARXAN working under a process termed as simulated annealing.  

The resulting planning product is then shared back to the local community and other stakeholders including governmental and non governmental entities to collect thier feedback to further tweak the product for maximum sustainability.

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• Our transnational cooperation was largely based on personal contacts and larger efforts were dependent on external funding. The work for the preparation of the joint management plan has allowed us to structure the transnational cooperation and formalize it. All these measures will contribute to a more sustainable and long-term cooperation that isn´t so dependent on personal connections. 
• Now we have a better explanation of the tasks and organization of the transnational cooperation group, and we also included all municipalities in the area in the group.  
• An expert panel will help in management questions considering protection of World Heritage values and give valuable input to both site managers and the transnational cooperation group.
• Personnel from different levels in the management authorities in both countries will meet regularly, and this is written into the management plan.   

To be able to write a joint management plan, we need to agree on what we have to manage. A shared understanding of the key values and attributes is crucial. An important step for us was to facilitate meetings that brought  the national geological surveys in both Sweden and Finland together so they could discuss land uplift and ice age traces and consider the site in its totality. These discussions gave important insight on the geological attributes of the site. 

To get a clear overview of the key values of the property, excerpts from the SOUV for High Coast/Kvarken Archipelago were analysed and grouped together as seven key values. Attributes were listed for each key heritage value. This process gave a clear connection between the SOUV in the everyday work with WH management. It makes the abstract concept of World Heritage more tangibly associated to its management.