Management and Meteorology (MECDM), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources ..... Train, brief or provide information to other field staff to include in their ...
Strategy for Provincial Government implementation of the NPOA: Progressively building capacity for Community Based Resource Management + Strengthening the role of provincial level governments in Community Based Resource Management Part 2: Strategy
Preamble The Australian funded Pacific Public Sector Linkages Program supports strengthening of development-focused public sector linkages and transfer of capacity building skills to public sector counterparts in Pacific countries. It is implementing two activities in support of the Solomon Islands Coral Triangle initiative (CTI) National Plan of Action (NPOA). These activities are: 1. Support for the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM) and the Solomon Islands National Coordinating Committee (NCC) including Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR), to undertake prioritised implementation planning for their National Plan of Action (NPoA). 2. Provincial level governments are widely considered to be a fundamental authority for supporting and enforcing the implementation of Community Based Resource Management (CBRM+). Therefore, the second activity intends to assess the needs of provincial level governments to more effectively support CBRM+ and develop recommendations for how these needs might best be addressed by MECDM and the NCC. This includes policy development, planning and coordinating donor support for provincial level government.
The present report addresses Activity 2, specifically the recommendations on meeting capacity needs through provincial implementation, and will contribute to the core of the implementation plan in activity 1. The NCC approved Central and Guadalcanal provinces as the target for the review and this was carried out in the last two weeks of June. The following consultations and workshops were held with provincial stakeholders: a. Central Islands Province: meetings held in Tulaghi, including field visits to Koilavala and Burungia b. Guadalcanal Province: meetings in Honiara and field visit to Naro village. The author wishes to thank all stakeholders for their time and input. The report does not aim to represent the views of any of the parties and the author assumes responsibility for any errors or omissions.
This report was funded by the Australian Government as part of its support program to the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security (CTI-CFF) National Program in the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands Government—through the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology (MECDM), Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) and CTI partners—seek to ensure marine and coastal resources are sustainably managed to secure the long-term improvement of the livelihoods of Solomon Islanders.
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Contents Acronym list
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Provincial Government Review: Meeting the needs for implementing community based resource management
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Overview5 1. What is CBRM+?
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2. Opportunities and constraints to implementation
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3. A phased approach to provincial CBRM+ delivery
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4. How should we start implementing CBRM+?
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5. Key capacity milestones and needs for CBRM+
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6. Meeting information needs for CBRM+
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7. Linking to the NPOA and sustaining action
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Acronym list CBRM
Community Based Resource Management
CBRM+ Community Based Resource Management that includes integrated and ecosystem approaches as well climate change, disaster risk management and other components relating community livelihoods
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CCA
Climate Change Adaptation
CIP
Central Islands Province
CTI
Coral Triangle Initiative
DRR
Disaster Risk Reduction
EAFM
Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management
FSPI
Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific
GERUSA
Gela, Russel and Savo Islands Network
GP
Guadalcanal Province
LMMA
Locally-managed marine area
MECDM
Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology
MFMR
Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources
MPGIS
Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening
NCC
National Coordinating Committee
NDMO
National Disaster Management Office
NGO
Non-Government Organisation
NPOA
National Plan of Action
PGSP
Provincial Government Strengthening Project
RDP
Rural Development Program
SI
Solomon Islands
SICHE
Solomon Islands College of Higher Education
SILMMA
Solomon Islands Locally Managed Marine Area
Provincial Government Review: Meeting the needs for implementing community based resource management Overview The Solomon Islands National Plan of Action for the Coral Triangle Initiative (NPOA-CTI) details a people-centred and integrated resource management approach. It relies on a core of community based resource management (CBRM) as a national strategy to improve food security, adaptive capacity, conservation and wise resource management appropriate to the context of Solomon Islands. The NPOA aims to progress other national policy priorities as well as those in the fisheries, environment and climate change sectors through an approach labelled CBRM+. The NPOA and subsequent policy guidance, such as the Premiers’ Communiqué, suggests that provincial governments need and wish to play a key role to provide support for CBRM+ in order to reach the majority of Solomon Islanders. The present document arises from the need to develop solutions for strengthening the role of provincial governments in environmental management and conservation. It aims to identify the needs of provincial governments to more effectively support locally-managed marine areas (LMMA) and provide recommendations on the way forward for addressing these needs and implementing CBRM+. The report presents the recommendations in the form of a strategy for implementation which meets the identified needs.
The key findings of this study, which guide the structure of the report, are as follows: 1. Poor understanding, at all levels, of the dimensions of CBRM+. 2. Institutions lack a clear idea of strategies to implement CBRM+ priorities. 3. Most of the thousands of communities in the provinces do not receive, and do not expect to receive, information or guidance on local resource management from national or provincial government. 4. The major constraints to provision of simple but extremely cost effective services are operational in nature and are easily resolved in the short term with relatively low inputs (e.g. fuel). 5. Capacity can be built incrementally through implementation of basic service delivery, maximising “learning by doing”. 6. The situation in provincial governments is ripe for the demonstration of useful CBRM+ interventions, which may result in rapid institutionalisation and budgeting. 7. Some key capacity building strategies and opportunities have been identified by implementing staff.
The report addresses these issues in sequence, in the format of an implementers guide to aid uptake by provincial staff and their supporters.
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1. What is CBRM+? The NPOA and other policies, such as the National Development Strategy, have made very clear that the way forward must be people-centred or “help communities help themselves”. The Community Based Resource Management approach tailored for Solomon Islands (CBRM+) is described as multi-sectoral and integrated in essence1: • Providing essential information to all regarding fisheries, resource management, ecosystems and adaptation to climate and other threats to eventually all Solomon Island communities. • Promoting wise resource management decisions, including supporting at least 25 per cent of Solomon Island communities to make wiser resource management decisions affecting livelihoods, food security and coastal environments by 2015.
The provision of useful information (some call it awareness) to all communities can be carried out by national and provincial governments relatively simply. It equips communities with a minimum of information with which to better inform their most pressing environmental and livelihood decisions. A logical first phase would ensure that provinces are delivering this essential service before tackling more expensive and complex approaches. Existing NGO projects may be available that can serve as demonstration sites, show best practice, test new approaches or address priority issues. More could be supported in later phases. Figure 1 illustrates how these approaches nest within each other in an example province. The information provision activities also afford an opportunity for information flow from communities to government and, at a later stage, provide the basis for provincially integrated planning and management.
• Building links between communities, as well as between communities and provincial and national governments. This is focused on community action but also on building provincial and national coordination and oversight for integrated management. A common mistake is to assume that community-based management requires the sort of high cost community workshops and village-by-village approach pioneered by NGOs so far in the Solomon Islands. The present study, as well as previous ones, finds that communities will make use of information for improved decision-making, even travelling to find out more for themselves, if it is useful for addressing their own priority needs. Solomon Islands comprises at least 6,000 communities and although each sector—like Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Climate Change Adaptation (CCA), Fisheries Management and Environment—propose a community based approach, it will be impossible for government or other stakeholders to provide expensive services to each. However, government does have a duty to (and communities have the right to expect) the provision of some basic services to each and every community. Useful information is the service most affordable to provide.
Figure 1: Diagram representing roll-out of CBRM+. The red dotted area represents the awareness raising coverage by provincial and national governments. Relatively few demonstration sites influence nearby communities.
1 Based on the National Plan of Action, CBRM Principles (2007 and updated 2012), CBRM+ roll-out report
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2. Opportunities and constraints to implementation The current capabilities of Guadalcanal and Central Islands provinces for implementation of CBRM+ are limited. However, they are adequate for a first phase, immediate implementation of the information and awareness component of CBRM+ to the rural provincial populations.
Table 1: Summary of capacity and constraints of Central Island (CIP) and Guadalcanal Provinces (GP) to implement CBRM+. Bold text represents key opportunities or limiting issues (see Provincial Government Review document). Organisational level:
Capacity / opportunities
Constraints
Individual (government)
Fisheries officer (FO) – time and basic skills
Info/skills on EAFM, DRR, CCA
Disaster officer – time, skills and opportunity
Community planning skills (FO)
Individual (civil society)
NGO staff, Village staff, Village leaders
Retraining/refocusing needed
Organisation
Provincial Governments improving and developing systems, increasing budgets
Technical and support staff shortages, management systems
Infrastructure and logistics
Canoe and engine (or access GP)
Fuel, Internet, telephone, office (GP), accommodation (CIP)
Network / line ministries
NCC (but need more bilaterals)
MFMR not implementing policy (job descriptions, resourcing, staffing)
Planned provision of some provincial MECDM staff and youth volunteers
Info on Fisheries, EAFM Short staff (Env and FOs)
Budget, lack of senior province understanding of CBRM+ and awareness
MECDM dispersed activities Coordination NGOs/SI govt/ Policy/ SILMMA
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Table 1 summarises the review of provincial and central government capacity and the availability of fisheries staff in the two provinces. These elements, coupled with a genuinely improving provincial administration and access to transport, provide the basic requirements for implementation. The support of NGOs and the presence of pilot or demonstration sites, including villagers motivated to promote or share their experiences, provide important backup.
Provincial staff are already equipped for information delivery using simple and cost effective approaches of their own design and with information materials distributed from Honiara—and eventually the back up of radio and other key information services. These plans can be implemented immediately, while more technically demanding activities, such as site based CBRM or vulnerability and adaptation assessments, should await training or availability of personnel.
Relatively small provision for fuel and field costs would allow a huge increase in community access to key information for improved environmental and fisheries decision making as well as some limited support for hotspots or communities with major issues.
Other opportunities include sharing community information briefings and materials on fisheries, environment and climate related issues with other departments and organisations active in the province (National Disaster Management Office (NDMO), agriculture, education, church and WorldVision) for their own use and exploring opportunities for joint activities.
Lack of clarity and perhaps direction at MFMR and, to a lesser extent, at MECDM, have provided a barrier to otherwise relatively motivated field officers taking initiative and implementing simple and useful actions. With a little more guidance and discussion at ministry level, this should be easy to overcome as in the short term there is little additional burden in terms of staffing or expense. The CTI support staff in Honiara are already overstretched meeting project and regional obligations and the National Coordinating Committee (NCC)— while fulfilling useful coordination, reporting and information roles—is not designed for implementation. The line ministries should work bilaterally with the key NGOs, mainly Foundation of the Peoples of the South Pacific (FSPI), to support CIP and GP to ensure funds allocated to those NGOs are at least partially targeted at the key constraints (fuel and field costs) as well technical partnering and mentorship.
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The planned development of Rural Fisheries Centres and improved access to market for fishermen could likely increase pressure on local fish stocks. These centres could also provide an opportunity, if their establishment is preceded by efforts to improve community resource management and they are used as focal points of CBRM+. The option exists of insisting that fishermen using the facilities come from areas with community management plans. In this sense the slow roll-out of these centres is a good strategic move allowing for the necessary preliminary work.
3. A phased approach to provincial CBRM+ delivery The provincial implementation plan concentrates on delivery of a fundamental service which aims to produce better informed communities while building connections between communities and government. Such an approach is considered an optimum strategy for capacity development that can be implemented under current conditions and provides the opportunity for increasing capacity at a pace appropriate to the progress made by provincial and project staff and institutions. Information and capacity for provincial policy making should increase, while building awareness at community level of the types of service that may be realistically expected of provincial government.
Figure 2: Diagram representing phases of provincial implementation of CBRM+ and the role of the NCC.
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Table 2: Strategies for informing and engaging communities proposed by staff in CIP and GP Strategies Support and use associations and other groups (e.g. Resource Owners Association, cooperatives)
Hold events and present information at multi-village gatherings (church, markets etc) Make use of youth groups and activities (church outreach, music etc)
Pool transport or combine trips and activities between sectors (education, health, NDMO) Use Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation (SIBC) and FM radio for key information and to provide contacts for further info
Ensure representatives from other communities attend community workshops or training Locate demonstration sites where other communities visit (e.g. clinics, markets, schools)
Set up local teams, part time promoters or honorary fish wardens Networks of villages or stakeholders including exchange visits (e.g. GERUSA)
Train, brief or provide information to other field staff to include in their activities or plans (Ward Development, NDMOs, other NGOs, church leaders) Billboards in provincial centres, churches, schools and clinics
Engage with and involve schools and teachers, “adopt an MPA”, curriculum etc.
Phase 1 is the key and minimum essential information service that provinces should deliver to the communities, only once this is in operation would it be wise to place other demands on the over-stretched provincial staff (Figure 2). Existing capacity limitations could be addressed in the first instance by designing simple and opportunistic approaches that maximise local strengths and available staff skills. As fuel and personnel will be limited, every opportunity will need to be taken to inform and connect communities without reliance on village visits. Local staff identified numerous approaches suitable to their contexts (Table 2). Tracking of feedback from communities will allow assessment of areas which have improved management or implemented rules.
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Phase 2 involves more technically and logistically demanding activities, which may require intervention from government or NGO partners, at least in the first years. Establishing and maintaining community based projects may require revision of some of the current NGO approaches to meet national policy needs. Such activities may address specific issues that have been “red flagged”, follow up with strategic technical advice or support (e.g. local management plan formulation) or establish demonstrations of best practices. Phase 3 provides the opportunity for first steps in province wide integrated planning. Sufficient communities would be aware of key resource management concepts and some implementing resource management of their own and would thus be useful participants in integrated/ ecosystem management activities. This phase is also the best opportunity to develop or update provincial ordinance based on experiences and needs identified to date.
4. How should we start implementing CBRM+? There is little previous experience worldwide in rolling out CBRM to the scale required by the NPOA and for this reason much emphasis has been placed on ‘learning by doing’ and adaptive management. In practice this means setting simple and clearly understood objectives, implementing common sense approaches and continually assessing whether these need to be modified or increased to achieve the objectives. Objectives and targets: The NPOA targets and subsequent revisions aim to see improved resource management in 25–50 per cent of Solomon Island communities by an agreed deadline. In fact the ultimate aim of government needs to be support of all communities to achieve this aim and in any case even if several provinces obtained 100 per cent coverage the national average would still be too low. Provinces will need to discuss this and set their targets in mind of logistical and strategic issues (e.g. concentrate on certain islands or regions in a first phase etc).
Table 3: Potential milestones in Phase 1 for implementing provincial support for CBRM+ in Central Islands and Guadalcanal Provinces
A key objective of the approach is to engage and empower the provinces to fulfill basic duties in support of community based decision-making regarding resource management, livelihoods, disaster preparedness and adaptation. As a first step a working group for each province needs to agree strategy with the support of the two line ministries. Government will need to maintain oversight, in particular regarding content of information provided to communities and the adherence to national policy and the CBRM principles. However, it will be vital to ensure that procedures are not implemented in Honiara that ‘bottleneck’ provincial impetus and action. This working group will need to assess the availability of funds for fuel and field work and work with NCC to secure adequate resources. Important functions that should be carried out centrally include the consolidation and development of key messages and information materials with reference especially to MFMR and all the divisions (CCA, ECD, NDMO) within MECDM. Radio and other mass media approaches to delivery need urgent attention but sufficient information materials already exist and need to be provided to provincial outlets. Implementers would benefit from small trainings or discussions on the key concepts and principles of
Milestone
Outcomes
1. Implementation plan and strategy agreed
• Align and engage SIG (MFMR, MECDM), Province and local networks (form committee if needed) • Secure FSPI partnership (and funds) • Determine funds available for transport etc. • Input from DRR, ECD, CCA, MPGIS/RDP • Agree responsibilities and roles • Define wider targets and areas (province) • Define implementation strategies (province)
2. Community information materials prepared
• Define and consolidate available awareness info
3. Community engagement initiated
• Indirect engagement (gatherings, information distribution, billboards, support associations)
• Ensure staff are conversant with key information and CBRM+ principles and processes
• Directly (visits, events, workshops) • Through DRR, CCA and other field teams 4. Information/ data management implemented
• Maintain simple forms/report on impacts and communities reached • Feedback on CCA, DRR or fisheries issues from/to relevant personnel • Selection of “demonstration” sites for next steps
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encouraging community based management and action and this could be combined with province level strategic planning for implementation. A key function of the provincial implementation will be connecting provincial and different divisions better with communities. Staff will need to keep simple records on communities that are contacted or that contact them with simple records on current status and key indicators. Such indicators or ‘red flags’ will provide agencies early warning for more targeted interventions. For example, communities that are particularly vulnerable to disasters or sea level rise, prevalence of destructive fishing, excessive beach mining or watershed destruction.
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One of the oversight roles (shared by province and central government) will be to liaise with other institutions and assess emerging opportunities or needs. For instance the Provincial Government Strengthening Project (PGSP) project has a fundamental role in providing provincial government capacity for administration and budgeting which will become crucial to ongoing operations. The implementation of Ward Development Committees and Plans will provide important opportunities to integrate resource management and environmental aspects into provincial planning. Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) is a key capacity provider and has the potential to develop more awareness materials, including radio scripts, and should be kept aware of needs and lessons learned in the field.
5. Key capacity milestones and needs for CBRM+ The provincial implementation of Phase 1 CBRM+ rollout requires relatively little capacity-building that cannot be developed within the core team of field staff and supporting officers from line ministries (Table 4). Phases 2 and 3 will require a significant amount of external technical input either from leading NGOs or consultants. The capacity needs assessment could not establish with certainty that staff grasped the key concepts that would be of most use for communities. Before the information dissemination starts it will be important to not only agree and consolidate the key messages across sectors but carry out a workshop to refresh or align all staff (see next section).
Ideally each province would have between one and two full time staff equivalents (FTE) dedicated to rolling out CBRM+, particularly as Phase 2 and 3 commence. Securing these staff should be a long-term objective whether they are provincial or seconded from MECDM. In the interim, NGO staff should be encouraged to act as counterparts with provincial staff. These and other government staff when recruited (Environment and Fisheries) should be encouraged to base operations at the province to provide ongoing mentorship and to share the workload until provincial budgets accommodate more local staff and operations. As and when new staff arrive these can be integrated into the workplan.
Table 4: Key capacity needs and support for CBRM+ implementation milestones in Central Islands and Guadalcanal Provinces. Bold marks activities that require extra technical advice or input What
Capacity need
Target organisations
Achieve through
Clear agreement on plan and responsibilities
Province, MFMR, MECDM divisions, local network, NGO, MPGIS/PGSP
Meetings and documented agreements
Milestone Provincial implementation plan and strategy
Community information materials and strategy
Community engagement Information/data management implemented
Phase 2 CBRM site implementation
Phase 3 Provincial planning and policy development
Administrative capacity
Province
Liaison with MPGIS/PGSP to align planning and admin support
Defined priority community information needs
MFMR, ECD, NDMO, CCA, SICHE, NGOs
Each sector defining most important information
Strategies for information dissemination
Field staff of above
Workshop to ensure clear understanding of concepts and strategies
Logistics and initiative to disseminate information indirectly and directly
Provincial field staff and other field teams (DRR, CCA, NGOs)
Workshop of field staff to develop province specific approaches
Design and maintain simple reporting procedures
Field staff and contact points in MFMR and MECDM divisions
Liaison with DRR, CCA and other field teams Workshop and trial of reporting procedures and data management
Process and workshop design Field staff of province, MFMR, ECD, NDMO, CCA, FSPI Facilitation and follow up
Agree curriculum with national stakeholders
Technical aspects (NRM, vulnerability and adaptation assessments etc)
Training workshop, piloting skills and mentoring
Facilitating integrated management processes Participatory policy making and legal skills
Province, MFMR, MECDM divisions, local network, NGO, MPGIS/PGSP
Training workshop, piloting skills and mentoring on province wide planning Policy development training and legal support policy
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6. Meeting information needs for CBRM+ One of the key activities upon which the success of the provincial approach depends is the development of action oriented information for supporting and improving community decisions on resource management, food security and resilience to climate change. In most cases the information will reach communities with little other immediate support so the information should be as useful and action oriented as possible. The following criteria in designing and providing information services could be useful: Criteria for action-oriented public information products relating to CBRM, ecosystem based management, integrated catchment management, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation topics under the NPOA implementation.
• Specific: Address specific problems that people or communities are facing, if necessary it should help communities detect or identify emerging problems. (For example, having to travel further to catch fish). • Targeted: Clearly designed for specific recipients and their needs. Community members may benefit from specific consideration to the way the information is presented. • Practical: Information should assist targets in identifying issues and also provide tested examples of possible practical actions and solutions people can try. • Linking. Provide an entry point for seeking further information or support either through others working on this (pilot communities) or various service providers (such as names and addresses of provincial or local communities or offices that can provide more information).
Table 5: Example matrix for an exercise to determine key messages for joint community awareness programs
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Problem and cause
Solution
Support and further information
Fish getting smaller. Probable causes overfishing and use of small mesh gillnets (MFMR, NGOs)
Ban small meshes
Legislation, PFO, MFMR contact, Koilovala. Posters
Have to go further to get fish. Probable causes: overfishing and destructive methods (MFMR, NGOs)
Reduce pressure (e.g. meshes, night diving etc), Tabu area
Legislation etc
Reef is spoiled and nowhere for fish (MFMR, MECDM)
Ban destructive dynamite
PFO, Village, others?
Shoreline is eroding. Man-made impacts on coast, sea level (MECDM, CCA)
If there used to be mangroves, replanting
Used to be turtles or dugongs. Causes: nest destruction, harvesting (MECDM, ECD, NGOs)
…
Logging dirtying rivers (MECDM, MF)
…
Exposed to cyclone or tsunami (MECDM, NDMO)
…
Respect minimum size Protect breeders (tabu)
Protect corals or mangroves
It will be important for MFMR, MECDM and provinces to oversee quality of processes and information. There are some complaints that much information provided to communities replicates or is not even as good as local traditional knowledge and in many cases does not have practical applications. More and more government policies highlight community based approaches but relatively little progress has been made so far in ensuring cost effective and joint delivery of these community services. As a first step MECDM directors and their counterparts in MFMR should carry out an exercise in determining the priority information and possible actions that communities should be aware of from each sector that may improve livelihoods or security. An example of a simple matrix for this exercise is provided in Table 5.
In all cases it will be important to ensure that the messages are packaged in a way that will be engaging as well as understandable for communities. The highest priority need to be given to developing a series of scripts and a radio awareness program that presents the key messages to the widest possible audience. The scripts can be developed in SICHE using student talent and with support from other ministries and NGOs. There is scope for interviews or investigative reporting from communities that have had particular problems or implemented successful management or other approaches.
A number of topics emerged during the course of the study that seem to have been inadequately expressed in terms that will be understandable to communities. These include: • the importance of managing the entire traditionally owned area including different habitats and terrestrial areas • the different tools available for coastal resource and fisheries management, such as gear restrictions, protecting spawning stock, breeding or nursery grounds, watersheds and replanting • the appropriate uses of reserves/closed areas/ tabus and their limitations. The closure should not be promoted as a cure-all and is not the objective of the program • a variety of the specific provisions of the Environment Act, such as beach and gravel mining or protection of mangroves.
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7. Linking to the NPOA and sustaining action The provincial implementation of CBRM+ is one theme of the NPOA. The remaining three themes (Table 6) are linked to and support the implementation of CBRM+ and are addressed more fully in the NPOA Implementation Plan.
Table 6: Relationship between the four themes of the Solomon Islands National Plan of Action Theme 1: Support and implementation of community-based resource management+ for biodiversity conservation, food security and livelihoods
Theme 2: Development of policy, legislation, partnerships and other strategies and guidance Theme 3: Data and information management for coordination and decision-making Theme 4: Capacity building, education and awareness raising
The key strategies of the NPOA for sustaining actions in the long term and which should be adapted to the present context include:
• More critical examination of the role of the various stakeholders. Central government could usefully improve support for CBRM by implementing actions in the capital, such as prosecuting importers of illegal fishing gear. • More examination is required of the types of community infringement that trigger calls for more ordinance and government intervention. A considerable proportion of these seem to be caused by internal disputes that will not be resolvable by external legal intervention. • Monitor and liaise as appropriate with the Ministry of Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening (MPGIS)/ Provincial Government Strengthening Project (PGSP) and the Rural Development Program (RDP) program and the implementation of Ward Development Committees and Planning in particular which offers considerable opportunities. • Protected area targets (for example Aichi) will be most effectively achieved indirectly by supporting CBRM+, rather than directly attempting to set up MPAs which will prove costly and challenging to maintain (as demonstrated by several NGOs).
• Ensuring that actions are cost effective in the context of likely government or provincial funding. • Building provincial capacity and increasing responsibilities in parallel with increased access to financial resources. • Ensure participation in yearly provincial government planning and budgeting so that appropriate and increased resources are allocated to resource management and related NPOA activities. • The precise mechanisms relating to decentralisation of environmental resource management bear considerably more discussion but piloting approaches using available mechanisms on a trial basis will be of great use in informing such discussions2.
2 A Papua New Guinea example worth examining are the MOAs between NFA and provincial fisheries that provides for both decentralised and centralised environmental governance. The MOAs successfully transferred financial support and increased local capacity.
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The CTI is a partnership—between Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor Leste—focused on improving marine conservation and management, and through this, sustainable livelihoods, food security and economic development. Australia is a strong supporter of the CTI and is one of six formal partners. Australian Government support for the CTI is outlined in a series of documents that can be found online at environment.gov.au/cti
MAR330.0314
Australia and the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) on Coral Reefs, Fisheries and Food Security
