Ecosystem Management Taking into Account the Interests of Local Communities Project
Asia is the largest and most populous continent with an area of 44,579,000 square meters. and makes up about 30% of the global territory, rural communities in Asia produce food and raw materials for themselves and the rest of the world. There is no doubt that land tenure becomes a significant issue when growing populations demand more products, and when environmental degradation and climate change reduce the amount of land, fisheries and forestry, thus the likelihood that these lands would be exploited uncontrollably, which would lead to fierce competition for its resources.
Rural Development Fund as a member of the International Land Coalition (ILC) (since 2012) has implemented the project "Ecosystem Management Taking into Account the Interests of Local Communities" (CBI 6). The project was designed for 3 years with the participation of such countries as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, India, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines. RDF has been implementing the project in partnership with the Philippines Xavier ; Science Foundation (XSF) with the support of the International Earth Coalition (ILC).
The initiative aimed to strengthen communities in the management of environmentally unsustainable ecosystems by documenting, replicating and disseminating community-oriented land management experiences through government policies and programs.
Participants of the CBI 6:
RDF, KAFLU, UWUA, Kyrgyz Jaiyty Kyrgyzstan),
IESD (Kazakhstan),
JASIL (Mongolia),
Prayatna Samiti, SARRA, AIPP India, FES (India),
KPA, JKPP (Indonesia),
AIPP (Thailand),
NGO Forum, Star Kampuchea, AIPP Cambodia (Cambodia),
PAFID, XSF (Philippines)
The main tasks for a 3-year period were:
Objective 1. (Mobilization). Documenting and sharing experiences, strategies and best practices of local ecosystem projects of ILC Asia member countries as examples that can be adopted and adapted in other countries;
Objective 2. (Mobilization/influence). Strengthening the capacities of various stakeholders on strategies and processes related to local ecosystem principles, using various intergovernmental platforms;
Task 3. (Connection). Strengthening strategic partnerships on locally managed ecosystems, both with ILC members and beyond, especially at the regional level;
Problem 4. (Influence). Presentation of experiences in relevant national and global platforms, recognition and acceptance of people-centred land administration.
Relationship in ILC-Asia members:
- Imposition of a communication strategy between the participants.
-Strengthening ties between members of the ILC-Asia.
Activities included regional meetings of ILC-Asia member-members:
First meeting - counselling and initiation. At the start of this initiative, regional meetings were held with participating members to discuss and agree on the promotion and policies of local ecosystem management in each country and sub-region.
The second meeting - was held in the second year of the project, when pilot communities with experience in local ecosystem management were identified, during the meeting, participants would make presentations on the international coalition of the land.
The third meeting was to conduct training for members of the International Coalition. In the 3rd year of this initiative, participants would be able to attend training programs, and representatives of intergovernmental organizations were also invited to this event.
The results of the project - Community-managed ecosystems were identified, documented and published. Improved capacity of civil society and communities to promote and facilitate local governance of ecosystems were ensured.