Subnational | PANORAMA

Empower local teachers through capacity building

Training of Club P.A.N teachers at the headquarters of the Office Ivoiriens des Parcs et Réserves in Soubre

All teachers and principals are trained with much care at the beginning of each school year. A workshop for 3 days is conducted to guarantee that the lesson plans, sessions and activities will have the utmost impact. We go though all sessions with the participants and also conduct all outdoor activities and experiments planned for the children. Together, we improve games, songs and theater plays.

Participation, motivation, engaging and enthusiastic trainers, good materials, nice training environment (we conduct training workshops outside for direct relevance to the material being discussed as well as a comfortable, healthy environment for participants).

The first school year showed that teachers and school principals needed to be trained intensively because their capacities were not enough to teach the program. They were happy for the extra effort and advice on how to teach well so that they could engage their students better. The skills they acquire during this training workshop can also be applied to the other disciplines that they also teach the children as part of the regular curriculum.

Local

Subnational

Indigenous-run tracker training school

The community is working to set up an indigenous-run tracker training school which would service Namibia and potentially also neighbouring Botswana. Due to low literacy levels in the region, indigenous peoples were previously kept out of formal conservation employment or underpaid for their sophisticated skills. Though anchored in Khwe traditional knowledge, the training and assessment methodology is based on international standards and is accessible to people from any background who have sufficient biodiversity and faunal / floral knowledge of a specific ecosystem. Research thus far indicates a strong demand for certified trackers by both government and private sector for conservation, anti-poaching and natural resource management.

The Khwe community has the first internationally certified trackers and assessors able to work with low literacy communities. Namibia has a national framework of Community Conservancies where trackers can be employed for wildlife conservation purposes. The Namibian government is open to setting national qualifications standards but this still needs to be developed independently and proposed to the national government.

Tracker assessment and certification helps address the bias and valorizes knowledge held in the community.Training school has been slowed down by resource constraints and the absence of a national capacity building framework to support decentralized training and certification for trackers and traditional knowledge holders.

Local

Subnational

IPACC has further documentation on the steps required to set up national standa…

Operationalising results of assessments in MPA management

The outcomes of the assessments are now being operationalised through a range of management tools and are informing development of a long-term sustainability plan (the Reef 2050 Plan) for the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area.

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Subnational

Creating the scientific evidence base

A Summary Science Case was compiled to provide the initial basis for international recognition of the Sargasso Sea ecosystem and its threats. This desk study was supplemented with specific analyses on shipping and fishing activities, and the European eel, to initiate science-driven discussions with interested governments about the need for establishing appropriate management and protection measures within the existing legal framework.

Available peer-review data on long-term time series of oceanographic conditions; data on species which utilize the area Willingness of scientists in Bermuda, the UK and the US to submit written summaries of their work on a volunteer basis Identification of expert consultants that maintain strong scientific reputations with governments and secretariats of international/regional organizations, for targeted studies; available funds for those studies

Additional resources would have allowed for more in-depth Science Case that could have analyzed potential threats to the system in more detail, provided more time for compilation, offered expert workshops and given honorarias for summary pieces Due to large size and scale of precedent set by this initiative when compared to past high seas MPA efforts, there was a demand for a fairly high burden of proof. Difficulty in supporting causal linkages between human activities and effects on the ecosystem in a data limited environment of the open ocean.

Subnational

Seeking international recognition for ecosystem

Support from multiple governments for international collaboration was gained after the Sargasso Sea was recognized internationally, through formal bodies, as an important ecosystem. Designation as an Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area (EBSA), and mention in the UN General Assembly Annual Omnibus Resolution on Oceans and Law of the Sea provide legitimacy for government involvement.

The initial Summary Science Case led to the basis for designation as an EBSA by CBD Parties. A scientific-expert driven process, working on a regional scale, provides a formal designation which can be leveraged when seeking government support for protection measures at international and regional organizations. Acknowledgement in the 2012 and 2013 UN Omnibus Resolution on of the Alliance’s efforts to raise awareness of the ecological significance of the Sargasso Sea, communicates the importance of the area to the full General Assembly.

Formal international recognition facilitated the approach to governments bordering the Sargasso Sea, or those interested in regional approaches to high seas protection, leading to the Hamilton Declaration Signatories and other supportive governments who plan to join the Declaration over time.

Subnational

Global

Development of international protection measures

A combination of providing strong, credible science and networking with governments (both scientists and political representatives) keeps an issue on the agenda and provides the necessary discussion documents to move it forward through the existing processes of each entity. Regular attendance at meetings allows SSA to foster relationships with scientists from management entity and serve as a credible resource on the Sargasso Sea.

Identification of expert consultants that maintain strong scientific reputations with governments and secretariats of international/regional organizations, for targeted studies; available funds for those studies Scientific analyses remain silent on suggested management measures or approaches to avoid politicizing the document, and therefore losing credibility

Transparent partnerships can be developed to fill information gaps. SSA consultants provided scientific analyses to meet information needs defined by the management entity. On-going communication between SSA, Secretariats of international/regional organizations and co-chairs of scientific committees is critical Regulatory Inertia - entities maintain a very high burden of proof of negative impacts from a specific human activity before they will contemplate protective measures Existing fragmented high seas governance system means little sharing of information and expertise across sectors. There is little willingness to accept lessons from other sectors or embrace an ecosystem context beyond individual organizational mandates.

Subnational

2013 INTER-SESSIONAL MEETING OF THE SUB-COMMITTEE ON ECOSYSTEMS

Establishment of the Sargasso Sea Commission

In the absence of any legally binding instrument for the management of the HS/SS, voluntary international cooperation can exercise a stewardship role at the regional scale. The March 2014 Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, signed by five governments (the Azores, Bermuda, Monaco, United Kingdom and United States) established a Sargasso Sea Commission which has no management authority but will “keep the Sargasso Sea’s health, productivity and resilience under continual review.”

Political will to sign non-binding Declaration and to work at a regional level within the context of broader discussions about a global framework for high seas MPAs Willing scientists of international repute to serve in a volunteer capacity as Commissioners

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Subnational

Updating the Reserve’s Master Plan

The triggering factor that started the updating process of the Reserve’s master plan, were the inhabitants’ concerns about floods affecting them. In response to this, CECON is leading a process of gathering, updating and analysing information to propose management actions and strategies to be included in the updated master plan. Additionally, final discussions with stakeholders and elaboration of the final version of the updated master plan to be presented and approved by CONAP are ongoing.

• Availability of information. • Ability of the institution in charge of the protected area management to generate widespread interest amongst different stakeholders. • Stakeholders are committed to participate actively in the process.

• The Reserve by itself will not be able to control the risk of floods inside its territory, without interventions outside of its limits. • Updating a management plan is not just a specific event in time, but a powerful process to establish permanent stakeholder engagement, and to link a protected area with its surroundings.

Planning phase

Subnational

Destination Positioning

Through a series of workshops and research, each Landscape uncovers their “unique point of difference” - what it is that makes their Landscape stand out from the rest of the country, and the rest of the world, the experiences that make them world class. This piece of work, known as Destination Positioning, forms a template for the delivery of their unique visitor experiences and informs a strategic framework for planning, regional tourism development, and marketing. The National Landscapes approach demonstrates the critical role an appropriate consultation and planning framework (through the Destination Positioning and Experience Development Strategy) can play in cultivating the necessary partnerships and ensuring a truly collaborative approach, is applied to regional tourism planning.

Ensuring all stakeholders participate in the planning process and ensuring the right governance and business principles are applied, means that the appropriate local knowledge and expertise has informed planning decisions and also means that if a proposal gains endorsement, stakeholders will be confident it has the endorsement of all relevant stakeholders.

Develop the right framework The right consultation and planning framework is one supported by an annual action or implementation plan that can identify the priority projects for the next year, give focus to the work of those responsible, help build stakeholder support and draw attention to successes. Once the first project is successfully completed, it provides valuable credibility to the approach and can assist in demonstrating the ‘”shovel readiness” of the priority projects and assist in leveraging further interest, investment and resources for subsequent projects. For example, several priority projects have been delivered that successfully linked indigenous aspirations and regional economic development opportunities for indigenous communities.

Subnational

Experience Development Strategies

Each Landscape must develop an Experience Development Strategy (EDS). This is a tool for focused destination management planning, driven by each Landscape’s Destination Positioning. It provides a framework where regional partners collaborate to consider new tourism projects, infrastructure needs, conservation impacts and marketing to improve the stock of world class experiences and their delivery to the target market. Each EDS includes an implementation plan identifying priority projects; sustainability initiatives; business opportunities; visitor management, infrastructure proposals and more. Wherever possible EDS’ link or integrate with other regional planning processes. Implementing these strategies to develop new or improved visitor experiences creates new opportunities for international standard product to be marketed domestically and internationally.

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Integration into state and regional planning processes Landscapes taking a strategic regional view and integrating the EDS into state and regional planning processes, have been most successful at completing major projects and leveraged most financial support. One Landscape attracted $100,000 and matched it with funds from stakeholders to start construction of an interpretation centre. The planning and regional stakeholder engagement involved in this initial project helped leverage an additional $550,000 from within the region to complete the project. Integration of EDS priorities into regional planning processes has also allowed large projects to succeed across multiple boundaries. After one landscape engaged all key stakeholders to capture priority projects within the state level strategy, $500,000 additional implementation funds were leveraged to complete a project crossing State Crown, Resort and Natio

Subnational

Experience Development