MARRS at Work: Restoring Coral Reefs in Tun Mustapha Park

Tun Mustapha Park (TMP) is Malaysia’s largest multi-use marine protected area, supporting diverse coral reef ecosystems and coastal communities that rely heavily on marine resources for their livelihoods. However, like many coral reefs globally, parts of TMP’s reef systems have been severely degraded due to destructive fishing practices, climate change impacts, and other human-induced pressures. To address this, a large-scale coral restoration initiative was introduced using the Mars Assisted Reef Restoration System (MARRS) — an innovative method that uses hexagonal steel structures, called reef stars, to stabilize rubble fields and accelerate coral regrowth. A key strength of this initiative is its emphasis on collaboration and local engagement. The project actively involves local communities and stakeholders fostering a sense of shared responsibility in reef rehabilitation. Through these partnerships, the project has improved coral cover and fish habitat, and strengthened stewardship of marine resources.

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Women-led Fire Management in Ngao Model Forest

Ngao Model Forest in Lampang, Thailand, faces significant wildfire challenges due to agricultural burning, which affects the environment and local livelihoods. The community, led by a team of women in Ban Pong village, has successfully managed to keep the area fire-free for the past decade through regular patrols, awareness campaigns, and the use of modern technology. Their efforts have not only reduced wildfires but also expanded community forests, created economic opportunities, and empowered women in leadership roles. This initiative highlights the importance of community engagement and sustainable practices in addressing environmental issues while bringing social and economic benefits.

Sustainable farming that benefits people and nature in Thailand

Ngao Model Forest, located 250 kilometers from Thailand’s second-largest city, spans 175,159 hectares. Established in 1964 to address social, economic, and environmental challenges, it joined the International Model Forest Network in 2000. The community’s shift towards sustainable practices has preserved over 60% of forest cover and diversified economies with bamboo businesses, medicinal plant cultivation, and edible insect farms. Biodiversity conservation is central, ensuring species survival and contributing to global carbon emission reduction.

Strengthening Community Governance for Sustainable Mangrove Restoration in Kilifi, Kenya

In the south of Kilifi County, Kenya, deforestation pressures intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic led to extensive degradation of mangrove ecosystems. In response, WWF-Kenya, through the Bengo Project, partnered with the Kenya Forest Service and the Mtwapa, Takaungu, and Kilifi Community Forest Associations (CFA) to restore these vital landscapes. This solution focused on revitalizing community governance by restructuring the CFA, building local capacity through training on governance and leadership, and developing a Mangrove Participatory Forest Management Plan. Other actions included supporting community-managed mangrove nurseries and deploying trained community scouts. The initiative restored 47 degraded mangroves, enhanced community ownership, improved local livelihoods, and increased resilience to climate change, demonstrating how empowering local institutions can lead to long-term ecosystem recovery.

Innovative Technology Empowering Biodiversity Protection in Montenegro

In response to growing environmental challenges, Montenegro is embracing digitalization and new technologies to safeguard its biodiversity. As part of the “Biodiversity Mainstreaming into Sectoral Policies and Practices and Strengthening Protection of Biodiversity Hotspots in Montenegro” (GEF 7) initiative, the project has facilitated cross-sectoral and multi-institutional cooperation while piloting innovative solutions aimed at improving decision-making processes and biodiversity protection through enhanced data collection, institutional collaboration, and the application of new technologies.

Securing Sustainable Lion Populations and their Connectivity through Promoting Coexistence with Communities in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area.

Lions like any other big carnivores need large, connected areas to thrive, but in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, human-lion conflict—especially due to lion-livestock attacks—has prompted to retaliatory lion killings. To address this, KopeLion developed the Ilchokuti model which involve training and employing local pastoralist young warriors from Maasai and Tatoga pastoralist communities. These trained individuals monitor lions, warn herders of the presence of collared/non-collared lions, recover lost livestock, and respond to conflicts. By reducing threats to both lions and livestock, the Ilchokuti help foster coexistence and build community support for conservation. Their work has improved tolerance for lions, reduced lion killings, stopped traditional lion hunts and enabled safe movement for dispersing lions across village lands. As a result, lions are increasingly seen as a valued part of the landscape, and the Ilchokuti model is now a vital part of securing sustainable lion populations and connectivity in the area.

“CAZ4Lemur” Capacity building and joint action with the local community in Madagascar

This solution is set in Madagascar’s Ankeniheny-Zahamena Corridor (CAZ), a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot that shelters numerous endangered and vulnerable lemur species. The project site, Fierenana—a rural commune in the western CAZ—is designated as an Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) site, uniquely identified as the only place on Earth where at least one critically endangered species survives in its natural habitat.

Despite this ecological importance, conservation efforts face major challenges, including habitat degradation, weak law enforcement, and limited local capacity. The solution, implemented through the “CAZ4Lemurs” project with support from BIOPAMA, addresses these issues by empowering local community-based organizations (COBAs) to manage forest buffer zones and monitor lemur populations. The initiative has enhanced patroller skills and fostered law enforcement. Environmental education is being integrated into school curricula, while legal training strengthens enforcement, and promotes livelihoods.

Enhancing a participatory approach to ecological restoration with the River Guardian Program of Koitajoki

Koitajoki Watershed Restoration is a basin-wide river restoration project. The 200-km-long Koitajoki River flows through peatlands and boreal forests in the borderlands between Finland and Russia. The restoration project takes place on the Finnish side of the watershed. Since the 1950s, the river system has suffered from hydropower construction, peatland drainage, forestry, as well as gold and peat mining. The restoration project aims to bring key features of the Koitajoki watershed back to ecological health by restoring drained peatlands and dredged streams and rivers. The project was initiated by the non-profit Snowchange in 2022 and it is on-going at least until 2027.

In 2023, as part of the restoration project, Snowchange established the very first River Guardian Program in Finland. It is a community-based monitoring program with 18 local individuals, families and communities from the Koitajoki Watershed who all share a passion – recovering Koitajoki as seen through the local socio-cultural matrix of lived landscapes.

Resilience Assessment and Adaptive Collaborative Management of Shanglin Community’s Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes (Chiayi, Taiwan)

Shanglin community (Chiayi County, Taiwan) is a plain landscape with predominantly Han Chinese population. Bamboo shoot cultivation is the main production activity. The riparian zones of bamboo and secondary forests in the area are home to the endemic Farmland tree frog (Zhangixalus arvalis). It is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List. In recent years, the decline of the bamboo shoot industry and changing land use patterns have led to its habitat loss and fragmentation.
In 2018, the Chiayi Branch of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency began promoting Farmland tree frog-friendly farming practices in Shanglin community. In 2021, resilience assessment workshops (RAWs) were used as a tool to better understand local challenges and align conservation and development priorities. RAWs results elicited the need to enhance biodiversity-based incomes and diversify marketing channels, effectively manage water quality and quantity, and strengthen the residents’ resilience to natural disasters.

Coping with Human Lion Conflict Kunene, Namibia, community engagement and response

A prolonged, twelve year drought in Namibia’s arid northwest has exacerbated Human Lion Conflict. Prey species numbers and livestock numbers have plummeted over time (as in November 2022) and continue to do so (November 2024). Farmers, already reeling from severe losses cannot afford additional losses to this free-ranging lion population. An IUCN SOS grant enabled significant mitigation efforts in 6 Conservancies with an area of some 15 000 square kilometers and provided momentum to reduce impacts. Community consultation indicated that, several mitigation measures be implemented. These included developing early warning system, building predator proof kraals(with solar lights), response to incidents, support a community based Lion Ranger system, and concerted community engagement. Impacts of these efforts resulted in increased tolerance amongst community members and a reduction in livestock losses.

How supporting rangers and capacitating them to screen for disease, poisoning and poaching assisted in diagnosing a novel disease in African elephant

Zimbabwe and its neighboring countries have the largest African Savanna elephant population in the world. Some areas have a plethora of animals and these high densities are concern for diseases, poisoning and poaching. VFWT worked with conservation partners to train ZimParks rangers in North West Zimbabwe on differentiating elephant mortality events to determine natural disease incidents vs. wildlife crime scenes, and how to secure and document a crime scene. This all came to fruition when there started to be a number of elephant mortality events in the region. Through investigation and collection of samples, that were subsequently analyzed in the laboratory a novel disease Bicaard taxon 45 was discovered to be the cause of the mortality event. The disease had not been found in African elephant previously, and as a close relation to Pasturella multocida, was cause for concern as to how the disease would affect elephant species.

Advancing National Wildlife Disease Surveillance Planning in Liberia

Wild animal populations are critical for ecosystems and people. In Liberia, surveillance is not routinely conducted in wildlife, despite growing health threats. In March 2025 a training was held to strengthen Liberia’s capacity for wildlife surveillance, building on IUCN-WOAH “General Guidelines for Surveillance of Diseases, Pathogens, and Toxic Agents in Free-Ranging Wildlife”, providing a chance to apply the Guidelines in a national context and gain feedback. Organized with national and international stakeholders, the training sought to enhance knowledge and intersectoral collaboration to monitor and mitigate wildlife-related health risks, through an overview of surveillance; reflection on recent surveillance initiatives; the ALERT game that simulates real-world surveillance scenarios; a field-based portion for surveillance scoping at human-animal-environment interfaces; and designing surveillance programs. A visit to the Central Veterinary Laboratory and Fendell Wetland reinforced surveillance system connections.

Mujeres resilientes en las áreas protegidas y conservadas del Municipio de La Calera: una experiencia con el Parque Nacional Natural (PNN) Chingaza, Colombia

La conformación de la red de mujeres inició a partir de una Serie de Talleres teórico – prácticos sobre Clima cambiante y gestión del riesgo de desastres en el territorio Chingaza, como actividades de fortalecimiento de capacidades para guardabosques, líderes comunitarios del Municipio de La Calera (Cundinamarca, Colombia), auspiciado por la Alcaldía de La Calera y el PNN Chingaza. Se buscaba reconocer las áreas protegidas y conservadas del municipio como patrimonio estratégico y en sí como una solución basada en la naturaleza para la reducción del riesgo de desastres y la adaptación al cambio climático. Se hicieron visitas al parque Chingaza, reconocimiento de algunas amenazas de origen socionatural dentro y fuera del área protegida, conocimiento de las zonas de riesgo identificadas en el Plan de Gestión de Riesgos de Desastres Municipal. Se realiza una incorporación del enfoque de innovación para la vida, a través de la educación, comunicación, cooperación y protección de los modos de vida de las comunidades rurales.