A diagnostic and reflexive approach on values, knowledge and expectations at individual level is a useful baseline to prepare the group interactions and to balance representativeness and synergies in pluralistic settings

Eliciting perspectives and systems understandings from a larger group of people in a systematic way to better understand the key issues that the process is framed around. Key issues are useful entry points to start entangling system dynamics - What are useful entry points in your case and to whom? This phase also asks the question of what is already known about the system by the stakeholders and what are uncertainties according to the stakeholders?

By their nature, small-scale fisheries tend to have limited, poorly systematized data and short time scales. This scarcity of information represents a challenge for understanding, for example, the interaction of fishing gear with the ecosystem and its impact on the habitat; such information is fundamental in the implementation of a fishery improvement project. Around the world, different methodologies have been developed to generate information on the impacts of the fishery on the ecosystem; one of them is the modeling based on the Ecopath program with Ecosim.
COBI used this tool including information generated by fishermen and fisherwomen through fishing logs, as well as biological and ecological information for the species that inhabit the fishing zones. In addition, to strengthen the model, the traditional ecological knowledge of the fishing communities was integrated through the application of interviews, from which relevant information was obtained on the diet of the species, their geographic distribution, reproductive season, etc.

To achieve success in the sustainability of fishery resources, there must be active participation of diverse stakeholders (fishing communities, government sector, academia, civil society organizations and the market). In 2018, COBI began monitoring the costs (economic and in-kind) associated with the implementation and development of fishery improvement projects. From this exercise, it was documented that generally at the beginning of the projects, philanthropy makes the largest economic investment through CSOs, while fishing communities make it in-kind (e.g. making their boats available for activities), and other actors also participate (e.g. government bodies or academia). The objective of community co-investment is to ensure that, over time, the fishing communities become organized and committed to continue paying the costs associated with this type of project, and to achieve greater financial autonomy. COBI and the fishing communities jointly developed a written strategy with a five-year term, in which the communities commit to maintain a gradual percentage of economic contributions to achieve co-responsibility and manage the project on their own.

La PEM aporta un enfoque de gobernanza oceánica integrado, novedoso a nivel de la Macaronesia. La decisión política y la participación pública son elementos fundamentales en esta política, que necesita del entendimiento de la PEM tanto a nivel de cada archipiélago como a escala transfronteriza.

Las guías de PEM de la Macaronesia europea pretenden informar y apoyar respectivamente a decisores políticos y partes interesadas en su importante papel en la PEM, incluyendo su participación activa en la preparación y desarrollo de los planes. Ambas guías hacen un repaso sintético de varios elementos importantes en esta materia:

• La Macaronesia como región biogeográfica y sus componentes clave;
• La PEM como política emergente;
• El marco legal de la PEM en España y Portugal;
• Los contenidos fundamentales de los planes de cada región;
• Desafíos y oportunidades que presenta la Macaronesia.

Las guías también aportan información sobre los beneficios que conlleva participar en el proceso para los actores, así como los principios que orientan la toma de decisiones. Por último, se proporcionan recomendaciones de futuro para la participación y la toma de decisiones en Azores, Madeira y Canarias a partir de lo aprendido durante el proyecto.

Public awareness and trained community groups in old town on plastic waste substitution, recycling, reduction, recovery, and safe disposal practices. 

Equipping the women artisans with machinery, tools, and equipment for making sculptures and items out of plastic waste as well as training women artisans on product development and packaging was very well informed.

Empowerment is just a means to an end in ensuring that plastic waste management is mainstreamed.

CEJAD realized the value of engagement is very critical in getting various stakeholders with different needs to realign consequently unlocking resources as well as forge alliances for meaningful participatory development.

Forums were held in the community to ensure that public participation is at the heart of the marine plastic waste as well as getting community groups to own the problem and take charge.

Partnerships are critical for scaling and innovative idea like boom and traps as well as getting the buying from the government as well as unlocking funding for scaling.

To prevent mismanagement of plastics waste from reaching beaches and the marine environment, the investment of litter booms, traps, and other technological solutions is and still a priority.

As part of the regular government budget cycle, DECR submits a selection of output and outcome indicators to demonstrate progress and justify funding requests. Capacities to track the state of ecosystems are therefore relevant not only to support conservation, but also as means for the department to report on its performance.

This building block therefore focused on the development of capacities to monitor ecosystem health and use monitoring results to communicate the benefits of ecosystem management. These capacities were built with support from the BEST 2.0 Programme funded by the European Union, focusing on coral reefs in the Key Biodiversity Area of Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park, as a pilot project.

This included the implementation of a training program for DECR staff and partners in the use of the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment (AGRRA) methods and the development of a tailored Reef Health Index (RHI) for TCI. The RHI itself and the underlying indicators were recommended as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for DECR to report on their activities. In addition, further KPIs were compiled for DECR to monitor social and economic outcomes that could be associated to coral reef health, and hence, to their conservation activities.