The Commission on Environmental Law of IUCN – The World Conservation Union
Publication
1992
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‘Food from Our Ancestors’: A solution to inter-related food, nature and cultural socio-ecological challenges
At !Khwa ttu, an indigenous San heritage centre on 850ha in South Africa’s Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve, food tells a story. The team asked: What if our restaurant truly reflected San culture? With guidance from regenerative chef Christiaan Campbell, they redesigned the space, rethought the menu, and embraced the idea: “Serving heritage on every plate.” Meals now carry flavours of the land—wild herbs, seasonal plants, and tastes once used by San hunter-gatherers. While they can’t gather large amounts daily, every dish has at least a touch of the indigenous—a spice, a leaf, a flavour connecting guests to land and people. Visitors can explore further on tours showcasing how the San blend ancient knowledge with modern agroecology to restore plants and wildlife in a changing climate. The menu also builds relationships: !Khwa ttu works with 40+ local producers, grows herbs, blends teas and forages wild foods. Nothing is wasted. Food here is more than a meal—it connects past, land, and community—a recipe for a healthy planet.
Planning Lead Service Line Replacement to Advance Safe Drinking Water, Public Health, and Climate Resilience
Planning and financing lead service line replacement is a critical challenge for utilities and governments working to protect public health, restore freshwater systems, and support climate-resilient water infrastructure. This solution documents an applied planning approach developed by Environmental & Public Health International (EPHI) that supports utilities, regulators, and local governments in systematically estimating, prioritizing, and planning lead service line replacement programs.
The approach integrates public health considerations, infrastructure planning, and equity-oriented program design to assist decision-makers in addressing legacy lead contamination in drinking water systems while aligning with regulatory requirements and long-term resilience objectives. The solution can be applied across diverse regulatory and utility contexts and supports transparent cost estimation, program structuring, and stakeholder engagement in lead service line replacement planning.
Repurposing old wells for Bukhara deer in Ile-Balkhash State Nature Reservat – Kazakhstan
Since 2018, as part of the “INtroduction of the Amur tiger tot he Ile River Delta”, Bukhara deer has been actively reintroduced to the rezervat (through joint efforts of WWF and the Kazakh government). The current population is estimated at 200 individuals, however, maintaining a stable population is challenging due to prolonged drought stressing important forage species. Bukhara deer also require access to freshwater, and Lake Balkhash is highly saline. To address these issues, ACBK, in collaboration with staff the nature rezervat and experts from the Institute of Zoology Kazakhstan, worked to repurpose drinking water wells originally developed during the soviet era for geo-exploration to be used as wildlife watering holes. More than 50 years have passed since the wells were drilled, and 2 wells were restored in areas with high deer concentrations. Pumping equipment is powered by solar panels and, although it can be fully automated remotely. Rezervat staff can monitor wells during their routine inspections.
SMART-Informed Approach to Mitigating Human-Wildlife Conflict in Indonesia
This solution applies an integrated, multi-level approach to mitigating human-wildlife conflict (HWC) in Indonesia under the CONSERVE Project, implemented in Aceh and Bengkulu. In Sumatra, such conflicts threaten both biodiversity and community livelihoods. The approach is SMART-informed, using systematic patrols beyond protected areas to generate data on species presence, conflict hotspots, and threat dynamics across multiple-use landscapes. These findings inform targeted interventions at both policy and field levels. Monitoring results support policy development, multi-stakeholder coordination, and task force establishment. At the operational level, SMART data guide the use of GPS collars as early-warning systems, installation of electric fences, construction of tiger-proof enclosures, and promotion of elephant-unpalatable crops as natural barriers. Overall, the solution strengthens evidence-based decision making, coordination, and coexistence outcomes.
Safe Passage for Pond Turtles
The project aims to protect the pond European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis), Serbia’s only native aquatic turtle species, by addressing threats such as habitat fragmentation, mortality due to motor vehicles, and agricultural disturbances. The supported project focuses on revitalizing movement corridors and facilitating the crossing of a local road, to ensure safe nesting and movement for the turtles at the Deliblatsko lake. Additionally, the project involves community engagement, educational activities, dissemination of information, and raising conservation awareness through workshops, informational materials, and public events.
The overall objective of the project is to conserve and improve habitats and movement corridors for the European pond terrapin (Emys orbicularis) within Special Nature Reserve (SNR) “Kraljevac.
Kehatiku: Where Wildlife Conservation Pays
KehatiKu is Borneo Futures’ flagship community-based wildlife conservation pilot, testing a novel approach of paying for wildlife data across 9 villages in Indonesia. Over 800 non-specialist villagers act as data collectors. KehatiKu provides real-time wildlife population metrics, currently based on >160,000 wildlife observations, allowing our team to conduct occupancy analyses that contribute to a growing database of species presence to support effective, outcome-based conservation. Observers voluntarily gather wildlife records during routine activities, using mobile phones. Observations may be photos, videos, or sound recordings. Observations are uploaded to our server and verified by our biodiversity experts. Once verified, observers receive a payment corresponding to species rarity and difficulty of observing them, providing sustainable income. The program is very popular and has resulted in spontaneous wildlife protection. We have evidence that now forests and wildlife is valued more for conservation than exploitation.
Reducing human-jaguar conflicts through an integrated coexistence strategy in Iguaçu
The Iguaçu region, located at the tri-border area between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay, is home to one of the last viable populations of jaguars in the Atlantic Forest. Interaction with human activities, particularly agriculture and livestock farming, has led to conflicts, economic losses, and negative perceptions of the species, thereby increasing hunting pressure on it. To address this challenge, Iguaçu National Park, through the Onças do Iguaçu Project, has implemented an integrated strategy for the coexistence of big cats with local communities in the region. The approach combines responses to predation incidents, preventive measures, training, community engagement, and institutional coordination. A structured protocol guides these actions, including assessment, mitigation, and continuous monitoring. On a regional scale, the Tri-national Coexistence Network strengthens cooperation between Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. The solution helps reduce conflicts, increase tolerance, and promote the conservation of the jaguar in the landscape.
Scaling Solar-Powered Irrigation for Climate-Resilient Coffee Farming
Coffee farming in Masaka District has been highly vulnerable to climate variability, including prolonged dry spells and erratic rainfall that disrupt flowering and reduce yields. Although irrigation improves productivity, adoption has remained low due to high upfront costs and reliance on diesel-powered systems, which are expensive and environmentally unsustainable. As a result, many smallholder farmers have depended on rain-fed agriculture, leading to low productivity and income instability.
The project introduced solar-powered irrigation as a sustainable solution, providing reliable and affordable water using renewable energy. Solar pumps, water storage, and drip irrigation systems were installed to improve efficiency and yields. Farmers and Community Resource Persons (CRPs) were trained in installation, operation, maintenance, and water management.
Pilot farmers established demonstration sites, supported by hands-on training. CRPs now provide local technical support, while partnerships with solar system suppliers.
Promoting Co-benefits for Migratory Birds and Rural Livelihoods through Bird-Friendly Rice Farming in the Liaohe River Estuary
The Liaohe River Estuary in northeast China is a key stopover and breeding site along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, supporting waterbirds, including endangered Saunders’s Gull. The area is also a major rice-producing region sustaining local livelihoods. However, intensive rice farming has degraded wetland habitats, reduced biodiversity, and increased economic risks for farmers.
To address these challenges, this solution promotes a bird-friendly rice farming model integrating rice cultivation, crab co-culture, and improved water management. The approach transforms rice fields into multifunctional agro-wetlands that support biodiversity while maintaining stable production and farmer income.
Implemented through pilot demonstrations, farmer training, ecological monitoring, and market development, the model strengthened local capacity and encouraged sustainable practices. Pilot results show increased waterbird diversity and improved farm income, demonstrating that conservation and agriculture can be mutually reinforcing.
Enhancing Ecosystem Services, Grazing Sustainability, and Livelihoods in Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve
Imam Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Royal Reserve (IARR) provides a compelling model of how arid ecosystems can recover when adaptive, science-based management is combined with strong community engagement.in the past the reserve suffered from drought, debris accumulation, and unsustainable grazing that drove vegetation cover to critically low levels, threatened biodiversity, and limited the benefits that communities could derive from natural resources.
In response, IARR adopted an integrated approach focused on ecological restoration, sustainable grazing management, biodiversity recovery, and diversified livelihoods. Between 2022 and mid-2025, more than 10,830.41ha of degraded land were restored with 1.02 million native trees planted, raising vegetation cover from 0.13% in 2022 to 0.45% in mid-2025. Importantly, this was not a tree-planting campaign alone—it was a structured program combining natural regeneration, habitat rehabilitation, and rotational grazing to reduce pressure on fragile ecosystems.
Revive & Rewild: Community-Led Frankincense Woodland Restoration in Puntland, Somalia
The Revive & Rewild Initiative, led by the Somali Relief and Development Organization (SORDO), is a community-driven and youth-powered restoration model that protects and regenerates critically endangered Boswellia carteri frankincense woodlands across the Uur-Caleed corridor and Golis Mountains in Puntland, Somalia. The project restores degraded dryland ecosystems, strengthens climate resilience, and enhances sustainable livelihoods by integrating ecological restoration, community stewardship, rotational grazing governance, and youth eco-guardianship.
Through restoring 14 hectares of frankincense woodland (within an 800-hectare landscape of ongoing restoration), clearing invasive Prosopis juliflora, planting 2,000 native seedlings, establishing community conservation areas, and empowering 40 eco-guardians, the initiative demonstrates an effective, low-cost, and replicable model for dryland biodiversity recovery.
Building Climate Resilience in Coffee Farming Through Agroforestry Solutions
In Masaka District, widespread tree cutting and land degradation have significantly reduced soil fertility and threatened coffee production, a key livelihood for thousands of farmers within the region. These challenges are further exacerbated by climate change, characterized by erratic rainfall patterns and long dry spells, as well as declining tree cover, which have weakened the resilience and productivity of coffee farming.
To address these challenges, Masaka District Farmers Association, as a recipient of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) Small Grants, is implementing a solution focused on restoring coffee farms and degraded landscapes through agroforestry and large-scale tree planting
This effort is reinforced through the establishment of centralized tree nurseries to ensure a reliable and sustainable supply of appropriate, coffee-friendly seedlings. Farmers are supported through targeted training and continuous technical guidance in agroforestry practices and sustainable agricultural land management (SALM).
