Volunteer agreements (Memorandum of Understanding) exist between each association (LNHA and GMNHA) and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Partnerships (QPWS&P). The agreements sets out the roles and responsibilities of both parties. Although they are not legally binding, it establishes the commitment of the department and volunteers that has contributed to the longevity and growth of the relationship.

Monitoring is an essential component of any adaptive management program.  To understand whether the artesian spring management program was successful, a suite of monitoring and assessment was undertaken. This involved photographic monitoring and condition assessments of the springs based on the amount of grazing, ground disturbance and visual water condition. Biological assessment of species diversity of plants and endemic gastropods were carried out.

While landscape based pest management programs reduce pest animals numbers, they often leave sufficient animals in the landscape to cause significant and ongoing adverse impacts. Targeted high conservation value spring wetlands have been fenced to exclude pest animals while allowing native species access to the wetlands. Two types of fencing techniques were trialled, one larger area which enclosed the spring and wetland area, and one smaller area that allowed the ‘tail end’ of the spring to flow outside the spring and wetland area

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Feral goats, pigs, horses and cattle have been identified as a key threat to the spring wetland biodiversity and the overall biodiversity of the national park. The program aims to reduce the impacts of domestic and introduced ungulates to improve the condition of artesian spring ecosystems. The pest control program involves baiting (poison), mustering and culling to remove pests from the landscape.

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 measures to be implemented within communities that demonstrate the have the organization, motivation and commitment to follow 10-year habitat management plans. Conservation objectives are determined by the ECF and the local community using 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 Georgia, 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 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 CBO is the step between the FPA process and signing a Conservation Agreements. 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 requires the local community to 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 toagree 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. 

In Tajikistan, precipitation varies by season. In spring, precipitation is relatively high, while in the summer months are hot and dry. Irrigation water is provided through meltwater. Depending on the type of land use and local climatic conditions, different activities on harvesting and conserving water can be undertaken for making it available for annual crops.

Water from snow and rain can be harvested by installing contour trenches alongside contour lines or terraces. The trenches should be discontinuous and shifted, following a scheme of a chessboard. The trenches should be dug with 1m width, 1.5-2m length and 0.5m depth. This method has several important benefits:

• Enables water infiltration, making it thus available for annual crops
• Prevents the water run-off
• Averts  soil erosion, soil degradation, gullying and landslide

Planting different annual crops in a particular order over several years on the same field, also known as crop rotation helps to ensure long-term soil sustainability as the crops have different requirements in terms of nutrients. This prevents the accumulation and propagation of soil-borne diseases and pests. In Tajikistan, many farmers prefer cultivating the same cash crops, e.g. cereals in rain-fed areas, instead of applying crop rotation as in short-term this produces more income. In order to avoid the long-term negative effects, oil crops (flax, sunflower, and safflower) and pulses (chickpeas, green peas, and lentils) can be used to promote crop rotation and diversification. Pulses fix nitrogen and thus improve soil fertility. Crop rotation can be combined with the no-tillage practice for having an even better effect.  

An example of a three-year rotation could be:

-  Year 1. Cereal crop, e.g. winter wheat

-  Year 2. Legumes, e.g. lentil, chickpea

-  Year 3. Oil crop, e.g. safflower 

Rotation of annual crops with perennial fodder plants as alfalfa or esparcet may also be considered, as these have a very positive effect on soil fertility.

The traditional technique of soil cultivation in Tajikistan using a plough or a disc for breaking and turning the soil's surface leads to a loss of fertility by the destruction of organic matter, reduced capacity for water retention and soil erosion, especially on slope areas. Therefore, soil cultivation within fields of rainfed annual crops should be limited to a minimum. In order to prevent the negative effects of the traditional cultivation methods, farmers are encouraged to apply the no-tillage or low tillage techniques. When applying the no-tillage technique, the soil is not disturbed as only a small slot is opened for collocating seeds and eventually fertilizer. When applying the low-tillage technique, the soil is cultivated superficially with discs but not turned at all as it occurs by ploughing. Both techniques can be applied by using a single axle (two-wheel hillside) tractors which are promoted by the project. No-tillage or low tillage must be carried out along contour lines on slope areas.