The project invested significantly in building capacity for Eco-DRR implementation. Firstly, awareness raising for different audiences (communities in the project area, government, university and other local and national audiences) was conducted by various means such as radio, conferences, workshops, factsheets and posters, 3D model and video.
Secondly various workshops on Eco-DRR implementation were undertaken at the local level to instruct on nursery management, early warning and preparedness, community resilience centre management, as well as trainers training. Field demonstrations and practical trainings at the provincial and national level served as a basis for strengthening Provincial and National Governments’ understanding of Eco-DRR practice in order to sustain future implementation and replication of Eco-DRR measures.
Finally, the project involved universities in Afghanistan in national and provincial EcoDRR conferences and trainings, in an effort to mainstream Eco-DRR concepts and practical knowledge in university programmes.
Having a long standing relationship and working with local organizations and actors is important for a good communication strategy and enabling capacity building. Furthermore, additional funding enabled a learning exchange to promote Eco-DRR and CCA in the region between Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan.
Dialogue, involving stakeholders and working with local organizations, having a local pilot demonstration project and investing heavily in strengthening capacity are key for sustainability.
Mainstream Eco-DRR into local and national development planning processes
Community-based mapping
UNEP
The project designed a Green and Resilient Development Planning template to be used at the village level, and proposed a model to scale up local planning to integrate ecosystem and disaster to the landscape level. Community-based mapping, GIS modelling and remote sensing assessments were undertaken to better understand the current and historical changes in disaster risk, ecosystem health and land use, while taking climate change into account. A visioning assessment with the local community was also conducted to better understand the community’s development needs.
In the template, the planning process starts with a thorough examination of existing physical, social, cultural, religious, and socio-economic conditions, as well as identifying and locating key hazards and disaster prone areas through community consultations, field visits, and local expert knowledge. Once the information is collected, communities are encouraged to discuss and identify local development priorities with respect to livelihoods, village development, disaster prevention and improving community resilience. A village development map, accompanied by a short report explaining the findings, development goals and strategies make up the final plan.
The project realized it would be more useful to embed the development planning process of the project into institutionalized, local development processes. Due to some challenges with this (see lessons learned), the project took advantage of the location of the seven target villages, which were within the boundaries of the Shah Foladi Protected Area, and influenced the design of the protected area management plan to scale-up the ecosystem-based measures within the larger landscape.
One of the challenges faced by the project was how best to support the integration of Eco-DRR elements in local development planning in Afghanistan. While the project started by creating the green and resilient developments plans to be used within the project, it decided to influence the existing development planning process under the Government’s National Solidarity Programme (NSP). However, the NSP is currently under revision, and a new NSP process is being worked out at the national level. Therefore, the project was unable to embed green and resilient development planning into the NSP. However, it has put everything in place so that this can happen in the future.
Mainstream Eco-DRR into local and national development planning processes
Field interventions at the village level
Develop local and national capacity for Eco-DRR
Support provincial and national level advocacy on Eco-DRR
Ensuring Sustained Utility
A well-housed model will prolong it's longevity
The Nature Conservancy
In order for the finished product to have practical value, the model should be i) hosted in a location convenient and conducive to land use planning, ii) hosted in a place free from environmental elements (rain, wind, salt water, etc), iii) visible by community/state planning agencies, iv) revisited on a regular basis to incorporate spatial information into ongoing planning exercises
- A hosting space/agency free from environmental elements
- Enthusiasm for use by state and community planning groups
If a case can be purchased/provided, covering the model will extend its shelf life by years.
Where commercial lionfish harvesting is not practical or permitted (such as in protected areas), or if the current fishing pressure is not sufficient to suppress lionfish populations below site-specific management targets, a combination of alternative removal methods can be used to reduce lionfish populations, including:
culling by SCUBA, either by protected area managers or dive operators
lionfish culling competitions (also known as derbies or tournaments)
deep-water traps, whilst still at the design stage, have the potential to be used as a tool within a package of lionfish management actions
Multiple stakeholders may need to conduct one or more of these activities at a given site to achieve a desired level of lionfish suppression.
Lionfish management targets must already be known so that ineffectively controlled sites can be identified
A lionfish task force must be active so that sites are prioritised for management based on best available knowledge
Culling by SCUBA requires an active and informed diving industry, as well as capacity for adequate management and enforcement of regulations (e.g. to prevent divers from targeting other species while carrying out lionfish culls)
Given the widespread nature of the lionfish invasion and limited resources, it is unlikely that lionfish populations can be controlled in all areas of conservation importance. Therefore, sites for management should be prioritised via a a lionfish taskforce, in consultation with communities and stakeholders.
Culling can cause reef damage if not properly managed: inexperienced divers may damage corals with spears, or special permission for lionfish culling can make enforcement of otherwise prohibited activities difficult (e.g. spearfishing within protected areas). These challenges must be addressed before implementing any programme.
Lionfish tournaments do not provide regular enough removals to sustain lionfish population suppression if not coupled with additional strategies. They do however provide an excellent opportunity for awareness raising.
Risk of traps causing physical damage to reefs or catching by-catch must be eliminated before traps are introduced.
Interactive booth with educational games and lionfish tasters
Blue Ventures
Social marketing campaign banner
Blue Ventures / Cobalt Creative
In order to establish a commercial lionfish market, it is important to understand the perceptions of stakeholders (particularly fishers and restaurant owners) and the general public towards catching and eating lionfish. For example, in a survey of the general public undertaken in Belize in 2015, around half of respondents who had not eaten lionfish stated that they would not try a free sample because they believed it to be dangerous. Furthermore, lionfish exploitation was significantly associated with knowledge about the invasion.
Once the barriers and misconceptions around catching/eating lionfish have been identified, they can be resolved by developing a targeted outreach programme with the general public and social marketing campaign targeting restaurants and consumers that informs people about the lionfish invasion in a way that reflects local concerns and values.
Activities may include:
cooking demonstrations
educational presentations
lionfish tasting events (held in partnership with local restaurants/cooks)
safe-handling workshops
interactive, educational booths with lionfish tasters
Specialized surveys with particular groups:
interviews with fishers to understand barriers to lionfish fishing, including the economic viability of lionfish markets compared to traditional fisheries markets
questionnaires with restaurant owners / seafood suppliers to identify attitudes about lionfish and barriers to increased lionfish exploitation
surveys amongst the general public to assess their knowledge about the invasion, and their perceptions of lionfish as a seafood dish
To reach a wide range of audiences, awareness raising activities can be held at many different kinds of events including food festivals, lionfish tournaments, and with schools, restaurants and recreational dive tours.
Safe-handling workshops are ideally carried out as a knowledge exchange, led by a fisher or fishers already engaged in lionfish fishing.
