Establishing a community-based organization (CBO) is the step between the FPA process and signing a Conservation Agreement. CBOs are created with ECF’s guidance and are responsible for:

i) securing and implementing a Conservation Agreement

ii) the fair and equitable distribution of benefits among the community

iii) acting as the legal entity representing the community in a Conservation Agreement.

CBOs are formed under the national law that is appropriate to its purpose, country and region. If creating a CBO is not possible, an NGO can act as a CBO in the Conservation Agreement. 

To establish a CBO the local community must make a long-term commitment to cooperation and take responsibility for conservation actions. In this way the CBO contributes to strengthening the social capital and increasing sustainable land-use practices. CBO’s help build community connectedness, communication and resilience related to nature conservation efforts. CBOs are encouraged to consider biodiversity as part of the local economy and work closely with ECF to agree on sustainable land-use. CBOs are encouraged to seek other sources of funding for community projects and to develop their activities as a sustainable business during the implementation period of the Conservation Agreement. 

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 Armenia, 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. 

Establishing a community-based organization (CBO) is the step between the FPA process and signing a Conservation Agreement. CBOs are created with ECF’s guidance and are responsible for:

i) securing and implementing a Conservation Agreement

ii) the fair and equitable distribution of benefits among the community

iii) acting as the legal entity representing the community in a Conservation Agreement.

CBOs are formed under the national law that is appropriate to its purpose, country and region. If creating a CBO is not possible, an NGO can act as a CBO in the Conservation Agreement. 

To establish a CBO the local community must make a long-term commitment to cooperation and take responsibility for conservation actions. In this way the CBO contributes to strengthening the social capital and increasing sustainable land-use practices. CBO’s help build community connectedness, communication and resilience related to nature conservation efforts. CBOs are encouraged to consider biodiversity as part of the local economy and work closely with ECF to agree on sustainable land-use. CBOs are encouraged to seek other sources of funding for community projects and to develop their activities as a sustainable business during the implementation period of the Conservation Agreement. 

The WWF Nature Academy cycle ends with a final event were all ambassador schools present the results of their projects and the protected area they are an ambassador of. The final event is hosted by one of the participating protected area and the goal of the events is to share success, lessons learned and promote networking among the ambassador schools and PAs. An important element of the final event is the press conference for local and national media.

During the academic year the ambassador schools share their results on the WWF Nature Academy Facebook page (a closed group for project participants), on their school websites and Facebook groups and they communicate them to the local media together with the protected area.

After the final event each ambassador school becomes a mentor to a new school participating in the academy and hands them over the “mentoring box” with suggestions, motivational messages and handmade souvenirs. In this way ambassador schools of the same protected area start to cooperate and in time build a school network of the protected area.  

Very important for the end of the academy cycle – celebrate the success at a thematic biodivesity party! 

Cooperation between PAs and local schools had benefits for both sides. PA staff implements education activities according to their management plan and gets a strong partner in local schools for promoting PAs natural and cultural values to the local community. The schools get the chance to implement outdoor activities and enrich the extra curricula activities in the school. 

Cooperation between the PA and the schools includes: 

1. Ambassador school project teams in cooperation with PA focal point develop a detailed program for the school project. The program includes specific activities and a timeline for implementation.

2. Implementation of project activities is from December to May. Activities can be implemented in the school (during winter months – workshops, surveys, art work) or outdoors in the protected areas (during spring months) and should include as many pupils as possible.  

3. Ambassadors schools promote the values of the PAs and their project results to the local media.

4. Each project team writes the final report and submits it to WWF prior to the final event. 

The education program aims to develop key competencies of teachers and their students that lead to active citizenship for nature conservation. Each school participating in the program implements an environmental project in cooperation with the management of the protected area in their close proximity.

The education program is divided into two phases: 

1. Developing the WWF Nature Academy guidebook with 5 chapters: protected areas, ecological footprint, active civic participation, project management, and working with the media. 

2. Five days training for teachers and students using the previously developed WWF Academy guidebook. The training has a strong focus on interactive and hands on activities in nature. After the training schools become Ambassadors for the protected area they live close to. Each school receives an Ambassador plaque and an “Explorer toolkit” with various didactical tools and materials, including the WWF Nature Academy guidebook. 

The informal collective trademarking system was jointly developed by the Potato Park communities (represented be the Association of Communities of the Potato Park) and ANDES, through a joint process including several community meetings facilitated by ANDES researchers. The informal collective trademark allows microbusinesses and biocultural innovation in the Potato Park region to present a distinct, place-based Potato Park identity to others, clustering the diverse microbusinesses operating within the territory and generating cohesion among park communities who are otherwise quite fragmented. The trademark is collectively owned by and linked to the Potato Park. 

Related to the trademarking is the process of equitable benefit-sharing; 10% of revenues from trademarked products and services – such as tea, food or toiletries – go into a communal fund, before being redistributed to communities as per the benefit-sharing agreement. This equitable benefit-sharing, alongside the intangible benefits of social cohesion and sense of place, encourage community engagement with the Potato Park and enhance local capacity, in turn bolstering support for and sustainability of the park. 

The Potato Park is a biocultural heritage territory, collectively designed and governed by the communities that live around it. Established in 2002 among six Quechua communities (with 5 still active), the park itself holds over 650 varieties by western scientific classification (or over 1300 by traditional classification), as well as other Andean crops. There are 18 potato varieties resilient to drought and frost, plus one virus-tolerant variety. Thus, the park acts as a gene reserve, and a repository for tools for climate-change resilience. 

The park is managed using the traditional aylluvalue system as a model, focusing on protecting the indivisibility and interconnectedness of agrobiodiversity within the park. The governing body, the Association of Communities of the Potato Park, hold the communal land title for the territory. Communities themselves defined the structure and operation of the association, with the support of ANDES, and includes representatives of leadership from each of the five communities covering the park. The association allows the communities to enter into legal agreements and to negotiate effectively as a group regarding any innovations or microbusinesses associated with the park, such as beauty or food products.

The purpose of this building block is to have relevant projects that provide a benefit for Lamington National Park. Examples include revegetation projects, public events, education programs and materials. By working together with the community and volunteer organisations, projects can be guided/developed to benefit Lamington National Park and its stakeholders. Having structured projects and programs provide volunteers with a purpose for their time and also assist in implementing the management plan for the park.