Appropriate tourism development is an important means and opportunity for Protected areas (PA) and communities located adjacent to them to meet their aims and needs.

In the case of the Protected Areas, the aims are:

- to provide a recreational service to visitors

- to increase public awareness and understanding of the importance of conservation

- to generate incomes that enhance management and strengthen sustainable financing for that purpose.

In the case of local communities, the aim is to increase sustainable incomes, improve and diversify livelihoods.

In both cases, the emphasis is on “appropriate” tourism, i.e. tourism that does not overwhelm or degrade the fundamental tourism attraction (i.e. the pristine nature and cultural landscape). In the PA’s case, there is also an emphasis on educational and awareness aims. This requires that tourism development is carefully planned and focuses on maximizing overall longterm benefits, rather than short term financial benefits.

In this context, project's support concentrated initially on developing a sound strategic vision for the Ajara PA system as a whole and individual colchic forest PAs in particular. On this basis, appropriate tourism development was supported on the ground both in the new Machakhela NP and generally in the valley.

The objective of the project was to increase the long-term effectiveness of conservation and land use in the colchic forests of Ajara, and this necessitated building the capacity of all relevant stakeholders to undertake appropriate activities and development in the future.

To build such capacity, the project pursued a multi-faceted approach involving:

• provision of key equipment and infrastructure to National Park (NP) and local households
• practically orientated trainings of Protected Areas (PA) staff and local stakeholders – formal / semi -formal training by specialist trainers or contractors
• study tours within Georgia
• in process / on-job practical experience

In the latter case, the project strategy was to ensure involvement of project stakeholders as much as possible in the activities led by outside contractors and consultants. The rationale behind this was to build as much local practical experience as possible in order to maximize the possibilities for beneficiaries to be able to undertake such activities themselves in the future. In other words, to build the practical experience and “on-job” capacity of beneficiaries (PA staff, local communities, local service providers, etc.).

Pasture management Planning in Tajikistan

Overgrazing, especially in the immediate vicinity of villages puts significant pressure on the communal pasture lands and leads to serious land degradation. This land degradation puts the livelihood and food security of the rural Tajik population at risk. Despite the adoption of the pasture law in 2013 (which sets the framework), community-based controlled grazing mechanisms are not yet widespread. Main reasons are the absence of by-laws and weak law enforcement. Sustainable pasture management planning is consequently a crucial tool to be applied by pasture users.

Improvement of the legal framework

Tajikistan faces a major problem of unsustainable grazing pressure from high livestock numbers and insufficient pasture management. The country is in dire need of better pasture governance based on a solid legal basis. Therefore, GIZ Tajikistan has worked on the improvement of the legal framework and facilitated a dialogue between different stakeholders.

Additionally, and institutional analysis on pasture management in Tajikistan that outlines the institutional and legal set-up and distribution of roles and responsibilities in the pasture management sector of Tajikistan has been conducted together with other organisations to support the governance process in the future. 

Further, a Pasture Management Networking Platform has been supported. The objective of the PMNP is to contribute to the sustainable management of pastures in Tajikistan. The objective is pursued through national dialogue and knowledge exchange based on practical and on-the-ground experiences of the pasture management network members.

The project seeks to establish, together with the main local stakeholders, ecological restoration demonstration sites in the buffer zone of the PNCAZ, from which landscape connectivity can be re-established, generating spatially scalable experiences. This connectivity will contribute to the maintenance of natural values and ecological processes within the protected area in the medium and long term, as well as to a better quality of life for the inhabitants. Natural regeneration, exclusion of threats and assisted succession are used to establish these restoration demonstration areas, which will directly benefit some 200 families, all within the framework of the Blue Agreements and as a result of a participatory management strategy of territorial planning through quality of life plans.The aim is to generate a learning community, as well as to strengthen the technical and organizational capacities of the population through field schools, training of trainers, producing tools that will be the basis for adaptive management, appropriation, sustainability and spatial scaling of the model.

The villages settled in the PNCAZ's Buffer Zone have been using the area's resources since before its creation, mostly for informal timber extraction. The settlers commented that they saw the creation of the protected area as a threat because of the restrictions that could be imposed on them. However, the joint work between SERNANP and CIMA-Cordillera Azul has promoted the development of alternative economic activities such as coffee and cacao in agroforestry systems, as well as the development of local management instruments such as Quality of Life Plans. After years, the local people recognize that they have stopped working for timber and have begun to conserve their forests and natural resources for the sake of future generations. The population has prioritized increasing forest cover in their territories to improve water supply and increase coffee and cacao production, for greater economic benefit and quality of life. Its replication in other areas around the protected area in the Tocache sector and in general throughout the San Martin region, one of the regions most affected by deforestation in Peru, makes it a very important initiative.

To garner political and local support for Sangai conservation in KLNP, advocacy was done with all stakeholders. In addition, appropriate measures are being undertaken to improve the awareness of the local people for conserving the species and promote Sangai as the mascot of sustainable development through various capacity building programmes.

The existing population of Sangai is being secured through integrated management plan, implemented by the Manipur Forest Department. Integrated management plan involves continuous habitat management strategies, habitat and population monitoring, enhanced patrolling strategies, genetic studies and involvement of local communities and different stakeholders at KLNP. 

Conservation Agreements (CAs) are binding grant contracts created and agreed upon by specific communities and the ECF. CAs set out clear, attainable and realistic conservation objectives and determine the scope of conservation measuresto be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives set by the ECF and local community use expert and local knowledge. Each agreement is tailored to the identified needs in the target community and the local landscape. These contracts bind communities to protect ecosystems but also assist traditional land users to use the land in a sustainable way. 

The communities that sign Conservation Agreements have been selected to do so because they show initiative, community involvement and potential through the FPA process and establishment of a CBO. In order to ensure the sustainability of the projects, the compliance of Conservation Agreements is monitored. Each community must submit annual technical reports. In case they fail to perform the planned activities, the payments under the agreement may be suspended until they meet the requirements, or subsequently terminated if they don’t comply for more than a year.

Clear land ownership and land tenure (the right to use land) are the basic preconditions for the implementation of any habitat management measure. Land-use rights of all beneficiaries needs to be clear and secure before project initiatives commence, to avoids risk of undocumented dimensions in the planning and implementation of conservation measures. It also secures long-term interest of the land user to manage the land sustainably. The purpose of this measure is to clarify, legally regulate, obtain and hold land tenure rights needed for conservation actions and for sustainable livelihood. Land tenure rights encompasses land ownership, lease of land and/or other rights related to the use of land. 

In Azerbaijan, most land is state owned. But after the breakdown of the Soviet Union land tenure rights have not been properly documented or registered. Today, traditional land-use rights are based on verbal agreements and traditions are translated into legally documented/registered leases by the CBOs representing their respective villages. Resolving uncertain land tenure is one of the major benefits the ECF is bringing to partner communities, providing them with a clear economic perspective for the future while preserving the existing community management of shared pastures and meadows.