Observations on mountain gorillas and bonobos in Zaire : report to IUCN, WWF, FPS, INCN and IRSAC
Publication
1975
Authors
MacKinnon, John Ramsay
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Farmer Field Schools demonstrating conservation agriculture with trees to scale up soil conservation
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SME Training and Coaching Loop to support small and medium enterprises
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The SME Loop responds to this need. It is a combined training and coaching approach and aims to enhance competitiveness, income, and the demand for labor. The SME Loop consists of seven phases and is implemented over a six-to-nine-month time span. After their selection, entrepreneurs follow two alternating classroom business trainings and several individual coaching sessions on business analysis, strategy formulation and business linkages among others. The SME Loop was recently adapted to the specific need of women led enterprises, start-ups and social enterprises.
More information and training material is available on the website of the International SME Loop Association e.V. (sme-loop.com).
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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.
Protecting the Critically Endangered Lillie Cycad
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This project is part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, which is co-funded by the European Union
Farmer business school (FBS): Entrepreneurship training to understand agriculture as a business.
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.
Training for Post Harvest Loss (PHL) Reduction
More than 30% of the world’s food is lost between the field and the plate, which threatens food security. PHL have been addressed in almost all country packages of the Green Innovation Centers. In 2020, a so-called “PHL Booster” has been launched in 8 country packages targeting various value chains. Women play a major role in post-harvest activities and are specifically targeted. The post-harvest management (PHM) is generally part of training approaches on Good Agricultural Practices and Farmer Business School. However, specific training material has been elaborated in some countries. The training not only refers to technical solutions, but also assesses the perceptions of stakeholders along the whole value chain and identifies critical loss points to locate the most effective entry points for successful interventions.
The main implementing organizations are partners from the public and private sector and training centers in the countries.
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Gender transformative approach to promote women in fisheries and aquaculture
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Saving the lions of the Mpem-Djim National Park, Center Cameroon
Lions appear to have dispersed over 400km to Mpem-Djim National Park (MDNP), in the Centre Region of Cameroon, an almost miraculous natural reintroduction in a rainforest-savanna mosaic. Lions and people are both adapting, and several livestock depredation events have occurred and proved challenging. This project on saving the lions of the MDNP was achieved by combining surveys of the local population, information gathered by local authorities, calling stations and camera trap techniques. Sensitization has been done in the targeted villages, and the local communities have been capacitated in boma techniques using local material like dry straw, earth brick, and tarpaulin. Since the start of the project activities in the area, human lion conflicts have been reduced by about 65% and the local communities are increasingly becoming tolerant to the presence of lions in the area. A major lesson learnt is that the participative approach in project implementation remains the most effective approach.
From bare to cover: Kasale Community roll up sleeves to dress up the deforested Mvai Forest Reserve
In Ntcheu District, Malawi, a Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) project, supported by FAO, IUCN, WRI, GIZ and funded by BMUV, empowers local communities to conserve Mpira Dam Catchment. The catchment is essential for the ‘life ‘of Mpira Dam which is source of drinking water for Ntcheu as well as surrounding Districts. The catchment is source of rivers that feed into Mpira Dam. Mpira Catchment also harbors the famous Mvai Forest Reserve. The reserve is 5600 ha. The reserve is divided into five blocks for ease of management. However, the blocks got deforested through unsustainable practices such as charcoal making and farming. Through the Forest Landscape Restoration under the Alliance for the Restoration of Ecosystems and Landscapes in Africa AREECA, the blocks committees and surrounding communities were strengthened to manage the reserve at block level through natural regeneration. One such block is the Kasale community who embarked on a journey to conserve the Kasale Block of 1400 ha.
