Cooperation between protected areas, NGOs and local people in Pogradec Protected Landscape, Albania
PONT
PONT strategy promotes transboundary cooperation between government and non-government partners
The PONT strategy was elaborated by drawing on the experiences of the PONT partners who have worked in the area for a long time. By working directly with these NGOs and protected area management bodies the main conservation and capacity development objectives were determined. This resulted in a strategy focusing on the financing of the gaps and building of strong partnerships with stakeholders that have a mandate, vision and the expertise to achieve the conservation results in the PONT Focus Region. The PONT strategy promotes transboundary cooperation between government and non-government partners based on previous experiences.
A comprehensive study gathering lessons learned of what was done in the last 25 years and where the remaining gaps are
Making use of the PA Management Bodies and NGOs to work on the PONT Strategy on a transboundary level for the entire PONT Focus Region
Available funding for both government and non-government partners
Instead of re-inventing the wheel the previous experiences were gathered by PONT partners who have been working in the geographical area for a long time. This was done under coordination of WWF Greece who knows the area very well and could verify the results. The recommendations for the conservation objectives were verified by the protected area bodies and this formed the basis for the conservation objectives for the PONT strategy. With the help of PONT expertise other objectives such as organisational development and capacity development were identified and added. Over the years and several rounds of grant giving this resulted in an updated participatory developed strategy for the extended PONT Focus Region that was accepted by both government and non-government stakeholders within and across state borders. To focus financing on the identified gaps potential grantees are identified based on their mandate, vision, proven track record and expertise to work in the area. Eligible PAs being ‘PONT ready’ are directly invited to apply for grants while most NGOs enter the partnership via open Calls for Proposals.