Learning about the importance of Conservation has no age limit, and schools are a powerful entry point for long-term impact. In Fierenana, the BIOPAMA Project worked with 27 public and private primary and secondary schools to integrate lemur conservation into teaching practices. Through a series of workshops, 144 teachers were trained to incorporate environmental protection and sustainable resource management into their curricula, with a special focus on lemurs. CI also collaborated with the Ministry of National Education to embed lemur conservation into the national environmental education framework.

A highlight of this initiative was also the use of public events to raise awareness about lemur conservation. This took place thorugh the annual Lemur Festival, organized as part of the CAZ4Lemur project. The first two editions attracted 1,200 and 1,500 participants respectively. Led by the mayor and supported by local authorities, COBAs, school representatives, and community members, the festival featured a carnival, official ceremonies, and creative activities such as poetry, theatre, and dance. Children wore lemur masks, colored themed sheets, and participated in workshops. The slogan, “Varika: tsy fiompy, tsy fihinana, fa haingo ary mampaharitra ny ala” (“The lemur is not a pet, nor food, but a beauty that preserves the forest”), captured the spirit of the event. The festival concluded with a documentary screening on lemurs and environmental protection.

Complementary activities included law enforcement training for patrollers and pre/post-festival workshops for teachers. 

Due to a lack of knowledge and/or application of existing laws related to biodiversity conservation efforts in the CAZ region, the CAZ4Lemur Project focused on building legal awareness and capacity among key stakeholders. This included training members of COBAs, judicial police officers (mayors, forestry agents, gendarmes), and senior judicial officers (judges) on environmental and protected area legislation.

Through participatory workshops in Fierenana, participants learned how to identify, report, and follow up on environmental offenses. Training covered legal responsibilities, reporting procedures, and the use of tools like the ALOE app (Accès aux LOis Environnementales), which provides digital access to environmental laws. Practical simulations and case studies reinforced learning, and participants were introduced to a free hotline (#512) for reporting offenses or seeking legal guidance.

The project benefited from strong collaboration with the Moramanga CIREF, whose technical officers co-led sessions on biodiversity law and protected area management. Monthly reports from patrollers to CIREF include biodiversity data and threats, though delays in legal action remained a challenge. To address this, COBAs proposed applying “Dina”, a traditional community regulation associated with community self-governance of natural resources in Malagasy society—for minor offenses—allowing for immediate, locally accepted sanctions. This approach, documented in a jointly signed responsibility charter, helps maintain order while reducing administrative delays. Serious offenses were escalated to CIREF or the courts. For high-risk missions, collaboration with military or gendarmerie units was recommended to ensure safety and authority.

Agroecology is a holistic approach, often described as a practice, a science and a social movement. Agroecology is the base for all interventions suggested in this solution.

As the initiated mindset change requires a fundamental, global behavioural change, an essential part of the efforts are directed to advocacy and awareness building activities such as information spreading through media houses, social media channels and conducting field visits with stakeholders from government, policy makers, educational entities, NGOs, donors and the private sector. 

Malawi has a population of around 22 million (worldometer 2025), of which almost 18 million are smallhoder farmers. If the initiated grassroot movement can be strengthened, Malawi could act as a leader in the global agroecological movement.

27 farmers benefitted directly from learning how to prepare their own biofertilizers and biopesticides with locally available ingredients. The goal is to gradually reduce mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides until it they are completely quitted.

To strengthen the enabling environment for sustainable freshwater aquaculture, state-level Multi-Stakeholder Platform (MSP) were initiated in the states of Assam and Odisha. The platforms were designed to bring together actors from government, the private sector, cooperatives, academia, and civil society to collectively address sector-specific challenges and align efforts across policies and programs.

The project incorporated awareness-raising campaigns to educate the Maasai community about sustainable land use practices and the importance of ecosystem restoration. Specific opportunities, such as grass seed banking, were introduced to provide economic benefits, particularly for women and youth. These campaigns aimed to shift perceptions of rangeland management from merely subsistence grazing to a multi-benefit approach, combining ecological health with economic empowerment for marginalized community members. The learning by doing by the community helped to foster restoration skills among the members, thus making the community restoration champions on their own land.