We live in an increasingly diverse world with many different interests, spread across landscapes and varying health and socio economic conditions to name a few. Being able to create community engagement models that address and welcome diversity is key to success. The partnership developed varying practical engagement models for example varied delivery models; one day, half day, night and holiday experiences, targeted community outreach models; health, disability and lower socio economic communities, skill building models; training and youth and the list goes on, all that contribute positively to the environment.

The identification of hydrologic services that must be conserved or recovered is a very important step that helps set clear goals and objectives for the fund, identify key stakeholders that should be involved and develop strategies for achieving the goals set. Regulation of the Water Cycle, Sediment Control and Water Quality are some examples of hydrologic services that can be identified as goals for a water fund.

The identified ecosystem services are linked to a series of stakeholders for which the availability of these services is very important. As a next step in setting up a water fund, it is necessary to analyse the stakeholders present in the area that eventually will have a direct or indirect relationship with the mechanism. This exercise is of the utmost importance as it will help identify who are, or could be, the most interested in maintaining or recovering ecosystem services and, therefore, become partners and contribute financial resources to the fund.

A working group is formed to begin assigning specific tasks that will help advance the development of technical studies and facilitate and promote the water fund. The main functions of this working group may be the following: preparing a work plan that includes a detailed timeline with the legal establishment of the fund as its final activity, conducting meetings to coordinate strategies and define next steps, analysing alternatives for the preparation of initial studies, informing stakeholder institutions about the status of the fund’s establishment and analysing and facilitating the incorporation of new members to the working group. The working group’s composition should be duly formalized through a Memorandum of Understanding or similar instrument.

The water fund’s transparency, independence and long-term permanence must be justified in a study that analyses the different legal and institutional alternatives for its structure and operation. The following are some of the most important topics to be analysed in legal and institutional studies: - Current Legislation - Current Management Plans - Legal Nature of Potential Water Fund Partners - Resource Administration

Fair Trade Tourism (FTT) operates the world’s first and still only Fair Trade Tourism certification program. The program was developed 10 years ago and became the first tourism certification program in Africa to be recognized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council in December 2011.Tourism businesses that adhere to the FTT standard use the FTT label as a way of signifying their commitment to fair and responsible tourism. The process of moving internal and external business procedures toward certification serves as management tool to improve businesses practices and makes them both more successful and more responsible. For its clients FTT offers free on demand Business Development Services (BDS) through its BDS Manager, along with free workshops and training, free online resources and toolkits. Once on our system, our Sales and Marketing Team actively links our clients to markets and advises them on how to use the brand association with FTT as a competitive benefit that signifies a commitment to fair and responsible tourism. FTT provides platforms to promote FTT-certified businesses. Tour operators commit to provide preferential exposure to FTT-certified businesses, or to promote Fair Trade holidays.

In this stage the water fund’s structure and each stakeholder’s responsibilities are determined. A contract signed by the partners serves to formalize their agreement to unite efforts to carry out watershed conservation activities. It is also a guarantee to third parties wishing to contribute financial resources. Negotiating the contract must comply with fundamental legal requirements and corporate purpose of each partner, and must possibly be overseen by a specialized law firm. The fund’s board of directors will be responsible for overseeing the decision-making process. Therefore, it is crucial to prepare internal guidelines outlining the board’s operations, including e.g. decision-making mechanisms. A voting mechanism should be defined to guarantee the balance between the public and private sector, ensuring that decisions are reached in a consensual, independent and transparent manner. Prior to launch, the strategic plan (Goals; Priority Areas for Conservation; Cost Analysis of the Activities to be Implemented and Design of Financial Flow; Strategic Plan Preparation; Preparing Financial Flow) and fundraising strategy need to be designed.

For transboundary cooperation to work, it is important that the transboundary National Parks work together on common tasks and activities. This can be achieved through joint implementation of projects. In the case of Oulanka National Park in Finland and Paanajärvi National Park in Russia, many projects have been implemented in order to solidify these two entities into one real functional unit – a twin park – that serves as a model for transboundary cooperation. The Interreg/Tacis Joint Project “Oulanka-Paanajärvi – wilderness, experiences and well-being” contributed toward ensuring ecological and socio-economic sustainability of Oulanka and Paanajärvi National Parks while preserving and enhancing attractiveness of the region for visitors and to make the twin park the most important and attractive destination for nature-oriented tourism in the region. This in turn creates possibilities for entrepreneurship and preserves and strengthens employment opportunities for local people and entrepreneurs. Joint management and implementation of the project was an important tool in making transboundary cooperation part of the daily work in the management of the transboundary National Parks on both sides of the border.

Nature is the basis for nature-oriented tourism and recreational use of nature, thus nature tourism must be sustainable: not threatening natural values and respecting local culture. Sustainability of activities is a precondition for use of NPs, continuity of nature-based tourism and recreational use of nature, and regional attractiveness. Assessments of ecological sustainability of tourism and recreational use of nature were conducted in Oulanka and Paanajärvi NPs by research institutions. The method ‘Limits of Acceptable Change’ was used to determine limits of ecological sustainability as part of a Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy in Oulanka NP. Waste management practices and public awareness of waste management were developed in Paanajärvi NP. A Sustainable Tourism Development Strategy (STDS) was developed in Paanajärvi NP to match the already existing one in Oulanka NP. The STDS is an instrument for attaining long-term sustainability of ecological and socio-economic development of the territory. Work on STDS enables an objective assessment of the present situation of the transboundary NPs and adjoining areas in relation to development of tourism and to develop a plan of future activities for the whole territory.

A competent guide and site-specific information deepen the visitor experience and understanding of natural and cultural sites. There is a need for increased quality in the range of nature-based tourism products and guides specialised in sites and site-specific information to intensify the visitor’s experience. The project answered to this challenge by developing a training system for nature guides as well as the principles governing the certification of guides for Oulanka National Park in Finland. Four guides from the Russian Paanajärvi National Park participated in the training course for nature guides in order to learn about the training and its applicability in Paanajärvi NP and to enhance their knowledge of Oulanka NP as well as to form personal links with Oulanka NP staff. Other participants of the training were guides of local nature-based tourism businesses. In order to be certified, the guides had to pass the tasks specified in the training programme. The training was given by NP specialists and practical arrangements were organised by a co-operating educational institute.