The Iyendwe Valley runs along the South-East border of Nsumbu National Park, and unlike many areas bordering a national park in Zambia, Iyendwe is not part of a Game Management Area (GMA), nor has a Community Resource Board (CRB) that manages the area. In 2020, the Nsumbu Tanganyika Conservation Programme (NTCP), a conservation partnership between the Frankfurt Zoological Society (FZS) and Zambia’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) and the community living around a proposed conservation area in Iyendwe committed to collaborate on the development of the Chitimbwa Iyendwe Conservation Project (CICP), to provide the community with a means of self-determination.
Alongside work to support capacity development and map out the conservation area, the NTCP supported the CICP to establish a feedback mechanism. The purpose of the feedback mechanism is to provide a transparent and efficient process for receiving, evaluating and addressing feedback raised by stakeholders related to CICP and NTCP activities and operations.
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.
Lancetilla participa activamente en el conteo navideño de aves, el esfuerzo colectivo de todos los participantes ha rendido frutos. Principiantes, entusiastas, fotógrafos y expertos se reunieron del 1-3 de diciembre de 2023 para registrar la mayor cantidad de aves en las rutas establecidas en el Jardín Botánico Lancetilla, PN Punta Izopo y PN Jeanette Kawas.
Este conteo reunió no solo a Teleños, sino también personas provenientes de Tegucigalpa, Guaimaca, San Pedro Sula, La Ceiba, Omoa, El Progreso, Ocotepeque, Roatán, Guanaja y Siguatepeque.
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:
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 Randilen Wildlife Management Area (RWMA) in northern Tanzania, bordering the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, serves as a critical habitat for numerous threatened species such as African elephants and lions. Protecting the RWMA allows the local community to benefit from tourism-related income from the area’s business ventures.
During a survey, the Randilen community highlighted human-wildlife conflict as a significant challenge. To address this, the project provided training and introduced an innovative toolkit designed to deter crop raiders, such as elephants.
As a result of the project, there was a substantial reduction in retaliatory killings, as farmers could effectively protect their crops using the innovative Honeyguide toolkit. The innovative tool has proven to be 90% effective in safeguarding crops, contributing to improved coexistence between humans and wildlife.
This project is part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, co-funded by the European Union.
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.
In Ntcheu District, Malawi, a Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) project, supported by FAO, IUCN, WRI, GIZ and funded by BMUV, empowers local communities through Farmer Field Schools (FFS). Addressing challenges such as low community engagement, unsustainable land use, and economic pressures, the project leverages local leaders and lead farmers to build capacity and ownership of restoration practices. FFS blends traditional knowledge with sustainable techniques, demonstrating economic and environmental benefits that align with community needs. By providing hands-on training in agroforestry and soil conservation, FFS increases yields and offers alternative incomes, reducing reliance on deforestation-driven practices. Through strong support systems, continuous monitoring, and strategic alignment with local socio-economic goals, the project creates a replicable, resilient model that fosters both ecological restoration and socio-economic growth, enhancing resilience against climate impacts and safeguarding vital water resources.
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.
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).
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.
The Lillie Cycad Reserve on Selati Game Reserve (South Africa) is a site of unique ecological significance as it is the sole natural habitat of the critically endangered cycad species, Encephalartos dyerianus. Cycads worldwide are facing extinction at the hands of poaching for the horticultural trade. Through a grant received via the IUCN, we were able to embrace technology and human resources for both remote and on-the-ground monitoring and have avoided unnatural losses of cycads to date since their deployment. The project enabled us to gain recognition and form a partnership with cycad specialists who are guiding us on a comprehensive drone monitoring survey. Using RGB and LiDAR technology, we hope to gain an accurate baseline population density, providing crucial insights into the species’ demographic trends and spatial distribution.
This project is part of the IUCN Save Our Species African Wildlife initiative, which is co-funded by the European Union
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.
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