Linking protected areas to the economy : guidelines for assessing the impact on the economy from protected areas

Cambodia’s inland fishery is one of the world’s largest and provides food and livelihoods for millions. Over 500 Community Fishery Organizations (CFi’s) – local fishers with a government mandate – nominally manage over 1 million hectares of fishery resources. Unfortunately, even among the few CFi’s that function well, most are underfunded. Reliance on limited funds from their members and external grants results in sporadic CFi management. Conservation International has provided 15 CFis with conservation trust funds and supports Women’s Saving Groups with capital grants. Each CFi’s US$5000 trust fund is invested as an interest generating term deposit. Saving group grants range from US$1000 – 1500 and are loaned out to members to support their small business activities. The interest of both the CFi and Saving group grants provides CFi’s with a consistent supply of funds that allows them to manage their local fishery resources.

Kenya’s South Rift is vital for free-ranging lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs outside protected areas. The “Connecting Carnivore Landscapes Through Coexistence and Collaboration” project aimed to foster human-carnivore coexistence across 1.1M hectares, ensuring connectivity between the Mara-Serengeti and Amboseli-Tsavo ecosystems. Key goals included:

1. Enhancing human-carnivore conflict response and prevention in eight communities (680,000 ha).
2. Increasing community tolerance and carnivore presence in these areas.

Strategies involved hiring community carnivore ambassadors and illaretok (seasonal livestock guardians) in conflict hotspots and training communities in first aid. This project is part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, co-funded by the EU.(https://iucnsos.org/initiative/sos-african-wildlife/)

The Kajiado County Natural Resource Network (KCNRN) exemplifies a governance-led approach to scaling Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). Registered in June 2022, the KCNRN unites over 25 member organizations under a shared framework for sustainable natural resource management. The network improves FLR outcomes through strategic planning, raising public awareness, and enabling collaboration among local actors, government institutions, and private partners. The network’s focus areas include wildlife, agriculture, rangelands, and community engagement, with an emphasis on sustainable land use and cross-sectoral learning. Innovative initiatives, like “Miti Festival,” highlight the network’s success in mobilizing resources and fostering public participation. This solution was implemented by WWF under the AREECA project, a Consortium financed by BMUV and composed of AUDA-NEPAD, FAO, GIZ, IUCN, the World Bank, and WRI. KCNRN’s strategic planning, financial policy, and governance structure provide a replicable model for scaling FLR.

SRI provides an agroecological and climate-smart solution by using less seed, water and fertilizer on soil that is rich in organic matter. SRI is grounded in four fundamental principles, which include promoting a rapid and healthy establishment of young plants, reducing competition among rice plants, creating fertile soils abundant in organic matter, and carefully managing water to avoid flooding and water stress, ensuring the optimal development of plants. To implement SRI, the Green Innovation Centers have developed, jointly with their partners, a cascade training strategy to disseminate the approach on a large scale. The experts train lead farmers, who supervise one or several groups of 20 to 30 producers each. Training involves practical comparison tests to demonstrate SRI in parallel to the conventional system. SRI involves six practices, ranging from land preparation and transplanting of seedlings to using organic fertilizer, weeding and harrowing, as well as irrigation management.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are considered an engine for economic and social development. However, framework conditions for their development are often unfavorable and support is not tailored to the context and situation of the individual enterprise. Responding to this need, the SME Loop approach was developed, refined and scaled up by different projects implemented by GIZ and financed by BMZ. The SME Loop is a combined training and coaching approach. It aims at increasing competitiveness, generating income and boosting the demand for labour. The SME Loop is implemented over a six to nine month time span. It consists of seven phases of alternating individual coaching sessions and class-room business training. Service providers, financial institutions, political partners and other relevant actors have been associated during different stages of implementation to insure the sustainability of the achieved impacts.   

Micro, small, and medium agribusiness enterprises provide incomes, jobs and feed the growing population. However, entrepreneurship, despite its importance to empower farmers for business and equitable participation in sustainable economic growth, remains a marginalized field. The FBS approach has been developed by GIZ in 2010 together with partners and with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) as well as the World Cocoa Foundation. FBS training strengthens agricultural smallholders’ business skills for more income from diversified production. During five subsequent morning sessions, male and female producers discover that agriculture

is business and how to improve it. Different public and/or private stakeholders pool resources to implement FBS training. By doing so they reduce risks of business and open access to a wider range of services and new business opportunities. In practice, FBS complements agricultural extension and financial services.