Subnational | PANORAMA

Establishing minimum criteria for the location, design, and functions of the trail centres, and the information that they must provide to users

Architectural sketch of trail centre

Tegnestuen Mejeriet

Architectural sketch of trail centre

Matters

To ensure the success of trail centres, the project members developed a number of minimum criteria for the location and design of the trail centres. Criteria was also established regarding the minimum service functions that the trail centres need to accommodate as well as the information that centres need to present.

Minimum criteria:

located at the centre of a varied range of trails, routes, and tracks that are preferably marked
situated in an interesting park area, terrain, landscape or natural area
information about e.g. the routes’ terrain, length, degree of difficulty, changes in altitude
parking spaces
a common room that all sports associations can use
a covered area for e.g. gatherings, warm-up stretches, abdominal exercises
a good range of relevant service functions

Each of the centres that have been, or are being, developed adhere to these minimum criteria. They are all located in or near natural environments that provide access to different outdoor sporting activities. Core service functions are integral to the architectural designs of each centre.

Communication with local partners to understand user needs and determine core design functions.
Clear vision: Project members established core purposes of trail centres
- Increasing social coexistence and understanding across different user-groups
- Developing all-in-one facilities that meet different user-group needs
- Increasing participation in, and accessibility of, nature-based sports/exercise
- Increasing awareness of, and interest in, the nature that underpins their activities
- Inspiring others to establish high-quality trail centres based on the above goals

Cross-sectorial collaboration is crucial for determining what criteria is deemed necessary for successful centres, as well as to better understand user needs.
Establishing minimum criteria for trail centres ensures that these will accommodate and fulfil the service functions that are required and desired by users – critical for informing the architectural design of the centres.
Determining minimum criteria also ensures that trail centres are situated in natural areas that provide opportunities for diverse outdoor activities. This guarantees that trail centres are located in the most suitable natural environments and in areas where many activities can be practiced. In some cases, it also provides opportunities to bridge the gap between urban and natural environments and facilitates access to nature for urban populations.
Requiring trail centres to share information about their surrounding areas ensures that users have easy access to information relating to their outdoor activities as well as the best-practices and codes of conduct that one must adhere to whilst participating in outdoor nature-based activities.

North Europe

Trail Centres: Bringing together outdoor sports and nature conservation

Casper

Lindemann

Establishing minimum criteria for the location, design, and functions of the trail centres, and the information that they must provide to users

Cross-sectorial cooperation and participatory approach to planning and design

Increasing and improving access to natural spaces and outdoor sporting activities

Educating users about how to respect and behave responsibly in nature

North Europe

Trail Centres: Bringing together outdoor sports and nature conservation

Casper

Lindemann

Establishing minimum criteria for the location, design, and functions of the trail centres, and the information that they must provide to users

Cross-sectorial cooperation and participatory approach to planning and design

Increasing and improving access to natural spaces and outdoor sporting activities

Educating users about how to respect and behave responsibly in nature

Drone Data

From drone data to canopy height model

Drones play a pivotal role in the 3LD-Monitoring system, complementing other data collection methods.Drones are essential tools in partner countries to fortify technical skills among local staff. These skills encompass flight planning, navigation and image evaluation. The drone monitoring aims to empower project staff to capture data tailored for photogrammetric analyses, from which crucial geoinformation emerges.

The drone mapping methodology encompasses five stages, with the first two focusing on drone operations:

Mapping mission preparation (desktop work)
Mapping mission execution (fieldwork)
Development of Digital Surface Model (DSM) & Orthomosaic generation (desktop work)
Data analysis and refinement (desktop work)
Integration into the prevailing data system (desktop work)

Drone data aids in evaluating indicators linked to carbon/biomass, such as mortality rates and forest types. Notably, with the application of allometric equations and proper characterization of the land type, above-ground biomass estimations of trees can be determined.

Drones with pre-set flight planning capability ensure seamless orthophoto creation from individual images. This enables individual snapshots to seamlessly merge into an orthophoto (aerial photograph corrected for distortions, allowing accurate measurements). It's also vital to consider the availability of these drones in the local markets of partner countries. Leveraging local knowledge by involving local academia is paramount in this process. They can provide essential allometric equations, grounded in tree height, that facilitate precise biomass calculations.

Drones generate high resolution images, allowing a detailed overview of land cover changes, tree survival and erosion rates, among others. Combined with field data, drone-based monitoring is strengthened, guaranteeing a sound monitoring.

The heterogeneity of trees and vegetation density often hinders a sound extraction of common key points between the images, which is necessary to estimate the heights and other indicators. In this regard, increasing the overlap between images to a minimum of 85 % frontal and side overlap can improve the extraction of key points. Also, increasing the flight height of the drone reduces perspective distortion, which facilitates the detection of visual similarities between overlapping images. However, too much overlapping, i.e., high overlapping percentages result in higher amount of data, making data processing more time intensive.

Another aspect already mentioned is the availability of suitable drones in the partner countries. Importing drones to the respective countries is difficult, and bureaucratic barriers persist.

Satellite Data

Screenshot of the existing F4F-Dashboard application

Satellite data forms the bedrock of the 3LD-Monitoring system, harnessing the capabilities of open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and LANDSAT satellites. An algorithm, meticulously developed by Remote Sensing Solutions (RSS) GmbH, revolutionizes this process. Users can seamlessly submit the shapefile of their area of interest, prompting the algorithm to automatically fetch and analyze relevant data. A spectrum of robust analyses are conducted including the 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI for assessing vegetation gains or losses, 5-year vegetation moisture analysis through NDWI, and a nuanced 5-year rainfall trend evaluation. Additionally, the algorithm facilitates the visualization of vegetation changes since the inception of the project, bolstering the monitoring framework with dynamic insights. Satellite data, a vital component of the 3LDM-Monitoring system, leverages open-source imagery from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission and LANDSAT satellites. For predefined areas, this data is automatically fetched and analyzed for specific parameters. Key analyses include a 5-year vegetation trend using NDVI as a proxy for vegetation gains or losses, a 5-year vegetation moisture trend through NDWI, and a 5-year rainfall trend. In addition vegetation changes from project start can be visualized.

Effective use of this building block hinges on users drawing and saving areas in GIS platforms like QGIS. Additionally, enhancing the shapefile with project specifics, such as start dates and FLR type, optimizes analysis. Proper training in these skills ensures accurate data input and tailored monitoring, making capacity building in these areas essential if not present.

While satellite data, especially open-source, offers broad insights, its capability for species identification is highly restricted, if not unattainable. This limitation emphasizes the indispensable role of field work in discerning species composition and characteristics. Additionally, understanding the innate constraints of satellite imagery, especially with young tree plantations, reinforces the need for integrating field and drone data to gain a comprehensive view of forest terrains.

Field Data

Team setting up sample plots in mangroves (Madagascar)

Satellite and drone images, despite their undeniable contribution for monitoring, they are limited in the initial years of FLR efforts. Data collection at field level is crucial in the first projects years.

Data collection at field level is further divided into three participative approaches:

Permanent sampling plots: Fixed plots, where tree height, DBH, and tree survival rates will be estimated. Permanent sampling plots will be assessed in 3-year interval, due to their high labor and time input.
Land use planning: discussion rounds for the assessment of information, as well as identification of endangered species according to the Red List of Threatened Species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). It is integrated into other land use planning processes, and thus, has not a defined assessment interval.
Transects: Identification of floristic and faunistic species, as well as forest structure composition, in an assessment interval of three months

All relevant indicators included in the three participative approaches are collected using the KOBO Toolbox. This software offers suitable conditions and is easy to operate, aligning with the monitoring objectives of the project.

A participative approach is essential in guaranteeing a long-term monitoring of the restored areas. The symbiosis of local knowledge and training/capacity building of local staff and regional partners is the core of this approach. Identifying the needs of the community, organizing discussion rounds, involving the local community in the developing and testing of the monitoring system, encourages consciousness and connection to the restored landscape.

Field Data Priority: In early FLR stages, field-level data collection is more effective than relying solely on satellite and drone images.
Participative Approaches: Employing participative methods like permanent sampling plots, land use planning, and transects involves local communities and enhances monitoring.
Appropriate Technology: Using user-friendly tools like KOBO Toolbox aligns well with project objectives and simplifies data collection.
Local Community Engagement: Engaging and training local communities ensures long-term success and fosters a connection to the restored landscapes.

West and Central Africa

East and South Africa

Triple Level Digital Monitoring (3LDM) - Remote sensing and IT solutions for monitoring Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR)

Manding

Suwareh

Field Data

Satellite Data

Drone Data

Assessing and strengthening institutional capacity for mainstreaming landscape restoration in sectoral plans

To ensure landscape restoration is adequately mainstreamed in sectoral and local action plans, TRI Tanzania undertook an assessment on institutional capacity for mainstreaming restoration in institutions with mandates related to SLR. The undertaking aims at identifying key capacity gaps and generating recommendations for enhancing institutional capacity for mainstreaming landscape restoration in the target plans. Target sectors are those with mandates relevant to SLR such as agriculture, livestock, land, water and mining. On enabling Ministerial mandates and operational arrangements, the assessment revealed low levels of staffing and competence on SLR. In terms of supportive policy and legal instruments, existing sectoral policies and strategies need to be reviewed and updated to accommodate emerging environmental global issues and ambitions. Cross-sectoral coordination structures exist, most of which are passive with limited capacities to coordinate SLR. Identified gaps and recommendations will inform the design and implementation of capacity building modules and programmes to enhance restoration integration in cross sectoral plans. Continuous strengthening of institutional capacity is a critical step towards supporting environmental restoration and biodiversity conservation in Tanzania.

TRI was able to build institutional capacity for mainstreaming SLR because of the expertise the project gathered. Other major factors are interest and willingness of target Ministries and Local Government authorities in participating in the assessment. The effectiveness of the capacity building programme depends on the extent that it reflects and addresses stakeholder issues. Critically, the participatory ROAM assessment informed the National Environmental Masterplan formulation process and ensured the right areas were prioritized in recommendations.

The existence of conservation regulatory frameworks alone is insufficient to advance and sustain restoration objectives in the face of competing sectoral priorities and land uses. A critical process is integration of restoration in sectoral and local action plans. Mainstreaming is critical for minimizing negative impacts of regulatory frameworks on SLR and maximizing synergies between restoration and development objectives. By undertaking assessment and delivering tailored trainings, TRI Tanzania has learned how to strengthen institutional capacity for mainstreaming SLR in sectoral and local plans. Institutional capacity for mainstreaming SLR comprises of both in-house technical capacity and adequacy of regulatory frameworks. Identification and assessment of the relevancy and strength of existing frameworks defines the nature of impact of such frameworks on SLR.

Implementation

Subnational

National

Facilitating the Integration of Natural Resource Management and FLR Policies at the County and Local Levels

TRI has worked to integrate natural resource management and FLR policies at the county and local levels by facilitating the elaboration of multiple county policies. This includes the creation of a policy influence plan (PIP) to mainstream FOLAREP within county units and enable effective integrated restoration that targets multiple benefits for both people and the environment. TRI also provided technical input and logistical support for the creation of three County Environment Action Plans in Marsabit, Isiolo, and Laikipia counties. The final action plans have been drafted with validation workshops to take place now that recent elections have concluded. Once validated, the plans will go through the county assembly where they can be approved and actualized. These policies will facilitate the implementation of FOLAREP and further promote FLR with greater local context in the three counties. Furthermore, Isiolo County has developed a County Climate Change Policy and a County Rangeland management bill that both await approval. Additionally, the county produced a County Prosopis species management plan that has been operationalised.

To be able to elaborate these county policies, TRI benefited from a willingness from county officials to implement policies that included FLR and sustainable natural resource management measures as well as the enthusiastic participation of local leaders in the consultations and workshops needed to draft the action plans. Without the political will to pursue FLR policies, the action plans would not have been able to be drafted.

Throughout the process of creating the various county policies, TRI was able to learn lessons around how county policies and regulatory frameworks can be better suited to effectively integrate FLR in natural resource management and implement national FLR policies. The process also provided a road-map on how to elaborate and adopt policies at the county level. By working to develop the county action plans, TRI now knows better how to successfully enact future policies further promoting FLR and sustainable natural resource management.

Implementation

Subnational

Policy Influencing Plan