This building block emphasises community participation in monitoring, utilising citizen science and accessible data platforms to ensure local knowledge informs adaptive management and contributes to the long-term success of mangrove restoration.

The building blocks of NoArk's solution are interconnected to create a comprehensive, efficient system for conservation and environmental management. Bio-acoustic and chemical sensors collect critical ecological data, while Edge AI processing ensures rapid, on-site analysis, enabling immediate detection and response. These components are supported by LoRaWAN connectivity, which facilitates reliable, long-range communication in remote areas. The processed data is centralized on the PAMS dashboard, where it is visualized and analyzed for actionable insights, fostering better decision-making.

This system is strengthened by hyperlocal climate data, which enhances precision in risk assessments and planning. Finally, community and stakeholder engagement ensures the data and tools are effectively utilized, promoting collaboration and adaptability. Together, these elements form an integrated solution that empowers conservation efforts, addresses ecological threats, and supports sustainable development.

This Building Block involved the following  actions: 

• Constructing a protective gabion wall to mitigate wave action and coastal erosion.
• Planting mangrove trees along the coast to stabilize the shoreline and protect against sea level rise, erosion, and storm surges.
• Rehabilitating stairs at Husuni Kubwa Palace which had been impacted by natural forces, specifically wave action.

In collaboration with the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute, and Kenyatta University, a research study was initiated to quantify the impact of ICS on pollution reduction, health outcomes, and deforestation. The study aims to assess social implications related to health and savings, evaluate the contribution of efficient stoves to mangrove conservation, analyse the role of fuelwood in carbon emissions at both county and national levels, and provide actionable recommendations for short- and mid-term strategies at national and local levels.

Following the successful pilot in Matondoni village, there has been high demand and acceptance of the ICS, with neighboring villages and organisations seeking support. As part of the upscaling effort, 41 cookstoves were built in Pate village including Pate Primary School and involved an additional 13 trainees. 

Further, the County Government of Lamu partnered with Wetlands International to install 10 cookstoves in five wards on a pilot basis. This initiative aligns with the County's Integrated Development Plan 2023-2027, which highlights the significance of cookstoves in enhancing energy efficiency. A total of 3,010 people continue to benefit from these cookstoves in Lamu.

A scoping survey was conducted along Kenya’s coast to identify efficient cookstove models, assess their sustainability, and recommend the best options for adoption. This survey provided insights into the need for cookstoves, suitable designs, and market considerations for effective community interventions.

Three-levels of a Co-living community

By implementing a three-level urban renewal strategy of shared neighborhood, shared courtyard, and shared building, the scattered and limited spaces in the Fayuan Temple area are organized.A top-down communal living system is established to solve the difficulties of residents' relocation, outdated infrastructure, and the protection and utilization of historical buildings. 

Shared Neighborhood

We analyzed the activity paths of different groups of people in the Fayuansi neighborhoods. The clear functional division of different areas leads to lack of intersection among various groups, which invisibly forms social barriers and is not conducive to long-term development of the city.

In the shared neighborhood, the entire block is taken as a shared space and considered as a whole, with a management center as the core to lead the co-living system. By dispersing the public functions throughout the block, the daily life of the local residents in the block has been transformed into a distinctive experiential tourism product. Overlapping activities are happening in composite physical spaces, which generates continuous energy for the neighborhood.

Shared Courtyard

The current living condition inside the courtyards is barely acceptable. Illegal construction such as kitchens and bathrooms has become a common phenomenon and the importance of public spaces are severely downgraded. There is hardly any public spaces left other than basic transportation space. 

Most of the young generations have moved out. Among the remaining residents , elderly and young children are the majority as well as some short-term tenants. The continuous reduction of vitality among the neiborhood has become an attention-grabbing problem.

While improving the overall courtyard environment, priority is given to ensuring the basic living needs of residents. This project adopts a four-step (evaluation, repair, demolition, and addition) measure of courtyard renovation. As the number of vacated households increases, existing illegal buildings will be demolished and public service facilities such as shared kitchens and shared laundry rooms will be added. These facilities will be integrated with internal courtyards and public green spaces to form a pubic core for the neighborhood.

Shared House

The vacant houses in the Fayuan Temple district are all made up with "rooms" with various ownerships. Using "room" as a basic unit for renovation is an effective way to reduce the risk of conflicts regarding property ownerships, and also flexible units can better adapt to the living needs of different types of people. By analyzing the dimensions of the courtyards, a 10-12 square-meter room unit was determined as a standard renewal module. The combination of dual and multiple units enables the possibilities for various functions such as long-term apartment, youth hostel, and Café etc.

During the 2019 Beijing International Design Week, we invited the local citizens from the nearby neighborhoods to participate in the workshop of "urban additions and subtractions" in order to collect public opinions and expectations for the renovation of Fayuan Temple district.

The followings are the conclusions that we drawn from the interviews and questionnaires collected from the workshop.

• For the multiple choice question of “What do you want to add to the district?” , pocket parks were selected the most by 19.78% of the participants.
• Many of the citizens complained that the space within Hutong (the Alley) was cramped and lack of greenery.
• The inhabitants of Hutong complained that the public restrooms and markets were relatively far, it can hardly meet the daily needs.
• Many of the inhabitants expected more communication and social space within the neighborhood.
• A majority of the inhabitants deemed that the amusement facilities for children and fitness equipment for the public were not sufficient.

The visitors of Hutong claimed that the hotels and recreational facilities were not sufficient to support the basic tourism needs.

In the framework of the project, in terms of achieving sustainable management of forest pastures, a District Pasture Commission (DPC) was established to discuss and make necessary decisions at the level of the administrative territory of Bazar-Korgon district. The Commission consists of directors of forestry services, heads of pasture committees, representatives of the district state administration, district department of agrarian development, and members of the district association of pasture committees.

The main task of the committee is to regulate the sustainable management of pasture resources at the level of one district. 

Meetings of the District Pasture Commission(DPC) are held as needed, but at least three times a year.

In the meetings of the District Pasture Commission at the district level, there are discussed urgent issues on pasture use, interaction between forest services, pasture committees and rural municipalities.

Decisions of the district pasture commission are recorded in the protocols and are required for all members of the commission.

Since the existence of the district pasture commission, many issues were discussed and decisions were made. The agenda of the DPC meeting mainly includes such pressing issues on pastures as:

The main issues of discussion at the DPC were the following:

• Information on pasture capacity and grazing rates
• Access to new pastures
• Timing of moving cattle to SLF pastures
• DPC's contribution to infrastructure development
• Provision of information on pasture users by pasture committees
• Allocation of pastures within forestry farms
• Procedures for issuing pasture tickets
• Collection and payment for pasture use
• Control of animal diseases
• Organization of resting places for livestock when moving to pastures
• Review of the implementation of the tasks to identify problems

All decisions of the District Pasture Commission are accompanied by relevant orders from the District State Administration, which gives the activities legal status and efficiency in the implementation of the decisions. 

The core objective to achieve sustainability was to integrate the Education for Sustainable Development methodological course using the GIZ manual, into regular teachers training courses. This particularly contributes to the achievement of SDG 4 “Quality of Education”. 

Another main objective was to integrate a methodological course on ESD into the standard curricula of teacher training institutions, both for in-service teacher training and pre-service teacher training. To achieve this goal CAMP Alatoo and GIZ consultant made a stakeholders’ mapping and identified educational institutions responsible for in-service pre-service teachers training and willing to develop ESD in the country.

In 2021-2022 three institutions (I. Arabayev Kyrgyz State University (KNU), M. Rakhimova Institute of Professional Development and Retraining at I. Arabayev KNU, the Republican Institute of Professional Development and Retraining of Educators at MoI and KR) on a basis of a Memorandum of Understanding were trained and coached throughout the process of developing ESD based courses, testing and adaptation of the learning materials and training of pre-service and in-service teachers. 

The fourth institution Osh state university inspired by the ESD trainings requested support in training its teachers. After trainings the university also introduced ESD into its curricula.