Subnational | PANORAMA

Compiling guide books

Guide books for the re-enactment event were compiled using the historical documents.

Some skills in layout and design are required to compile guide books for the re-enactment event. Writing guide books requires time, money and the availability of someone who is suitably skilled to do the task. This is an ideal task for a retired park ranger or scientist to relive a part of history and make it come alive for the young people on the walk.

Perfection is not essential, as long as there is adequate supervision of the publishing task. This time we ran out of time to achieve publication standard, but the walkers found the guide books very helpful to develop their understanding of the journey they were undertaking.

Subnational

Dunphy Adventure Guide books

Compiling historical material

Historical notes were compiled from the State Library, conservation and walking community groups a collection of extracts from historic diaries of a famous past conservationist, historical maps and photographs.

Scanning old and fragile maps using a large format scanner. Digitally photographing historic documents and photographs at high resolution. Using all historic material collect to push the re-enactment event through social media to create a following in the general community.

Capturing the enthusiasm of young people to undertake fairly simple historical research tasks will take them on a journey of discovering in their imagination. In doing so they will learn lessons from past events and how these relate to current conservation issues.

Subnational

Dunphy Kowmung Adventure

Dunphy Kowmung Adventure walk - Working Group

Creation of a team of volunteers to design and implement re-enactment of historic event.

A core network of volunteers from a number of non-government conservation-based community groups who are inspired by the proposed re-enactment of a historic conservation achievement and a handful of young people keen to play a part as role models for others in the re-enactment. In this instance, conservation groups in the Blue Mountains worked with walking clubs, Rotary and an environmental education centre working with is association with the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

An accurate record of decisions made by the volunteer working group, someone to drive the meeting processes, a sense of humour, patience with government agencies and bureaucracy, reach out to others once initial historical re-enactment concept has been defined.

Subnational

Dunphy Kowmung Walk

Pyramid structure of management institutions

The management committees from each village constitute the bottom of the pyramid; they are responsible for implementing the action plan for the management of the forest as decided by the two paramount associations; they identify management activities to submit for approval to their paramount association; they are also responsible for designing and implementing the village development Plan. The two paramount associations coordinate the work programs of the management committees; they elaborate policy guidelines for the management of the forest; they consolidate the village development plans and are also responsible for fundraising. The federal association (at top of the pyramid) will be the official manager of the Tanoé forest on behalf of the villages of the project area.

All management committees and the two paramount associations have been established following the requirements and procedures of the national administration. Their bylaws and organizational schemes have been officially registered by the appropriate governmental authorities. The same procedures will be followed for the establishment of the "federal association" that will be the official interlocutor of the government.

It is important that local institutions are formed in compliance with the country’s laws and administrative procedures. In this case the process took some time because villagers needed to be well informed about the procedures and to be trained in elaborating the bylaws of their associations. Also the project focused on capacity building on the governance of local associations so that these associations become definitively functional.

Sustainable fisheries

Lobster fisher from Quintana Roo showing pride for the fishery improvements his cooperative has implemented.

COBI

Fisherwomen cooperative located in the Gulf of California. They are working on improvements for the clam fishery.

COBI

We promote the adoption of international standards for responsible fishing in collaboration with fishing organizations, governments, academia, and industry. We use the Fair Trade (FT), Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), and Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA) standards to frame our action plans. The four phases of the building block are:

1. Healthy stocks. We evaluate the status of the fisheries in order to determine the proper management methods and instruments to apply, depending on the fishery (e.g., catch shares, effort control, size limits).

2. Healthy ecosystems. We evaluate the effect of the fishery on

other species and habitats, as well as the effects of environmental change to fisheries and community. The latter to promote adaptation.

3. Robust governance systems. We promote the formation of groups to

define management rules (both formal and informal) in a collective, transparent,

and democratic way. We also calculate investment costs in sustainable fishing and define sustainable financial plans.

4. Social justice. We apply social justice principles and practices within the fishery: clear access rights, compliance with occupational, health standards, and access to fair prices.

1. Well-organized cooperatives willing to make improvements in their fisheries.

2. Existing legal framework to adopt the standards.

3. Government officials that are keen to support the transition to sustainability.

4. Industry interested in paying premium prices for seafood products.

In the Mexican fisheries Act there is no definition of what sustainability means. Thus, the international standards for sustainable fishing provide a good framework and great tools to start with. The adoption of the standards can only be achieved through collective action. NO single actor can do this by him/herself. The fishery improvement projects (FIPs) seem an attractive scheme for artisanal fisheries, first because the costs are more affordable and second because this scheme is meant to involve market commitment to sustainability.

Implementation

Documentation and dissemination of results

Local

Subnational

National

Sustainable fisheries program

Sustainable fisheries projects

Espinosa-Romero et al. 2017. Enfoque ecosistémico en Puerto Libertad

Capacity building for leaders and fishing organizations

Capacity building program on leadership with a gender-equality perspective.

COBI

Kanan Kay Alliance, 46 institutions working together for the Mesoamerican Reef.

COBI

We have three capacity building programs to pursue legal, sustainable and competitive fishing practices:

1. Capacity building for leaders: It focuses on human development at the individual level. We identify community leaders and provide the tools and knowledge to strengthen their leadership for the common good. The leaders develop sustainable fishing and marine conservation projects, to which COBI provides follow-up. We have had 38 fellows from 18 communities.

2. Capacity building for fishing cooperatives: It provides legal guidance and

training to fishing cooperatives to improve their operations, be more competitive, and ensure financial sustainability in the mid and long-term. 26 cooperatives have participated in the program.

3. Capacity building for fishery committees and alliances: Designed to increase collective action in working groups that represent different stakeholders

and interests within a given area or resource. The program provides guidance to define common goals, rules for decision-making and operations, working plans, and a follow-up strategy. Four committees and an alliance have participated in the program.

1. Leaders in fishing communities.

2. Cooperatives willing to make improvements in their organizaiton and fisheries.

3. Multi-stakeholder groups that want to work together towards a common goal.

Sustainable fisheries and marine conservation efforts will only be successful if there is fishing organizations are strong. We need to pay enough attention being paid to the individuals and organizations we work with. Only strong organizations can invest and transition towards sustainability.

Implementation

Monitoring

Documentation and dissemination of results

Capacity building program for leaders and fishing organizations

Capacity building projects

Moreno et al. 2016. Fostering fisheries management efficiency through collabora…

Social indicators

The effectiveness of natural resource conservation in protected areas is closely and directly linked with the effectiveness of communication and stakeholder coordination strategies. However, social rapprochement efforts often occur within the limits of protected areas, without taking into consideration actors located in the areas of influence or buffer zones. For GMWR and its surrounding “conservation gap areas”, it was important to assess and improve the effectiveness of the current communication strategies and to build trust to facilitate dialogue concerning the protected area. For this, a new methodology was developed, using a set of 6 positional and global indicators based on the social role of each actor (nodes). The information was collected through several participatory activities, such as community workshops, and individual consultations with local community leaders and government representatives. The data were analyzed with UCINET and Net Draw mathematics and graphics programs. Each activity had the objective to review and update progress made, and to reach agreements on next phases; these iterative steps augmented the sense of transparency and openness of the process being conducted.

Local and sub-regional communication and coordination networks.
Organized community groups existing in the area.
Interest from communities and government in understanding the characteristics of their current social networks.
Willingness and experience of local stakeholders to cooperate.
The management authority recognizing the need of local engagement.
Scientific and empirical knowledge is available.
Management authority and staff on site are responsible for management.

Building trust with the local people increased their willingness to engage, and stay engaged, in the process.
Measuring social activity, levels of trust from others towards each social group and the social group’s power to intermediate, are three key variables that can help assess the social role of stakeholder groups.
It is possible to measure the intent of stakeholder groups to build partnerships with other groups in the area. Some groups place their efforts in partnerships with groups outside the area (national or international levels); only a minority of groups has a positive intent to build partnerships amongst themselves.
There is an urgent need to understand the importance of social connectivity and the characteristics of communication and cooperation networks.
Community workshops are a good means to foster engagement and also build capacity by creating awareness and sharing information. It is best when these workshops do both, offering and capturing information.

Entirety

Local

Subnational

Awareness raising storylines

The Municipal Plans for the Conservation and Restoration of the Atlantic Forest are normally focused on restoring biological connectivity for maintaining biodiversity conservation. In this solution, two additional principles were added: Ecosystem-based Adaptation and Coastal-Reef Connectivity. To deal with these complex concepts, experts used storylines as awareness tools for the planning process. A storyline is composed by the main cascading impacts of climate change, and how the impacts in one component will affect the others. Five main storylines were developed for the region: (1) Impacts of climate change on the Brazil current, affecting upwelling patterns, benthic production and fisheries; (2) Impacts of climate change on sedimentation in rivers and reefs and in tourism and fisheries; (3) Impacts of climate change on wave dynamics and coral reefs, affecting erosion and sedimentation, causing impacts in estuaries and tourism; (4) Impacts of climate change on forest fragmentation and fire, causing loss of biodiversity and changes in species distribution; and (5) Impacts of climate change on river flow and saline water intrusion, affecting biodiversity.

• The participants were informed about the importance of EbA and Coastal-Reef Connectivity in the beginning of the process; • Technical expertise was available to support decision during all process; • The final recommendations and activities were revised by the experts.

• The availability of technical staff was critical to support the decision process maintaining the focus on Ecosystem-based Adaptation and on Coastal-Reef Connectivity; • Even complex technical issues such as EbA and Coastal-Reef Connectivity can be easily assimilated by local stakeholders with simplified explanations and examples, in this case represented by storylines. The plan received very good contributions from the stakeholders on both issues.

Planning phase

Subnational

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment

One of the first products of the project "Ecosystem-based Adaptation in marine, terrestrial and coastal regions as a means of improving livelihoods and conserving biodiversity in the face of climate change" in Abrolhos was a regional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment, built with a participatory approach. To produce the assessment, collaborators conducted a series of studies to improve the knowledge base of climate change impacts in the region. They worked with two extreme scenarios, one dry and one wet. The results of these studies, together with other relevant science, formed the basis for expert identification of major climate change impacts and adaptation responses. During a final workshop involving specialists and stakeholders of multiple sectors, the participants built storylines and identified the most vulnerable areas considering social and ecological aspects. The Ecosystem-based Adaptation activities proposed in the Municipal Plan were based in the results of this analysis.

• The regional Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment was available when the Municipal Restoration Plan was started; • Vulnerability Assessment was built with a participatory approach, and was known and recognized by local stakeholders.

Background information about climate change effects, such as the regional vulnerability analysis, is critical to change EbA activities into policy.

Documentation and dissemination of results

Subnational

Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment of the Discovery Coast and Abrolhos She…

Integrated Watershed Action Plan

The specific strategies for each watershed are identified in an Integrated Watershed Management Action Plan, which is adaptive and evolves from a scientific basis. The Plan includes specific actions to be implemented with the participation of public, private and local stakeholders. The Action Plan is jointly developed by local stakeholders and will enable priority watersheds to recover their functionality and better provide ecosystem services, such as clean water to support healthy mangroves that provide climate adaptation benefits.

The collaboration of local stakeholders.
A commitment by local stakeholders to implement the action plans.
Consideration of pre-existing efforts.
A local agent that leads the process.

There is previous work in some of the priority watersheds. Action plans should not ignore existing efforts, but promote an inclusive environment for all stakeholders to feel welcome to participate.
Action plans allow having healthier watersheds since the investments from different institutions are aligned.

Implementation

Local

Subnational