Demonstration Projects

Belarus

Proponent
Institute of Genetics and Cytology of the National Academy of Sciences

Collaborators
PI Agricultural Institute of Republic of Srpska; Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina); Department of Disease Prevention and State Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance (Kyrgyz Republic); Ministry of Environment (Moldova); University of Belgrade (Serbia); Tajikistan National Academy of Sciences (Tajikistan)

The goal of this project is to create a network of Central and Eastern European (CEE) and Central Asian centres of excellence that will cooperate to identify biodiversity loss drivers that ultimately affect human, animal, and plant health.Molecular genetic methods for species identification and detection of pathogens and living modified organisms (LMOs) are recognized approaches to identify key interrelated drivers of biodiversity loss. CEE and Central Asian countries face varying financial and human resources constraints and have different levels of capacity and experience in the area. Cooperation will promote the development of common methods and the harmonization of legal and technical regulations. It will help improve the capacity of the participating centres in biodiversity conservation, biosafety and biosecurity, through technical assistance, training, mentorship, and networking opportunities, with a focus on women and youth.

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Status: Selected

Brazil

Proponent
The Horus Institute for Environmental Conservation and Development

Collaborators
Universidad Nacional del Sur (Argentina); Natural History Museum of Jamaica (Jamaica); Ministerio del Ambiente (Chile); Universidad de Concepción (Chile); Universidad de Costa Rica (Costa Rica); Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (Honduras)

The goal of this project is to build on the work developed during the BBI-funded project under Round 3. The team led by Brazil and Argentina have helped develop a regional common information platform offering data on invasive alien species, in order to facilitate analyses of common priority species and pathways and support joint management decisions.This project consists in expanding the Latin America and Caribbean Invasive Alien Species Database Network to Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Jamaica. Activities will focus on developing content on invasive alien species under the guidance of newly established national Scientific Committees, then on building the national databases based on the model previously developed by the project leads. The cell phone application for field data collection will also be adapted to each national context.

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Files: TOR.pdf

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Status: In progress

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Implementation: 2022-09-17 to 2023-06-30

Burundi

Proponent
Office Burundais pour la Protection de l'Environnement

Collaborators
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (Belgium)

This project is designed to develop solutions to improve the sustainability of fish and poultry production in Burundi, while decreasing pressure on biodiversity and the environment. Associated with overfishing and deforestation, the production of conventional feed has a significant impact on the environment. This, coupled with the difficulties for small-scale fish and poultry farming to source it at a competitive cost, have led to a search for alternative solutions, notably the incorporation of protein-high insects into the diets of farmed fish and poultry. The present cooperation project between Burundi and Belgium seeks to initiate the trial of production and processing of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens) larvae for fish and poultry feed, which will then be popularised among Burundian farmers.

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Status: Selected

Colombia

Proponent
Corales de Paz

Collaborators
Conservación Marina Ecuador (Ecuador)

The goal of this project is to foster long-term cooperation between Colombian and Ecuadorian institutions through the exchange of scientific knowledge and techniques for improving coral reef restoration processes in both countries. In Colombia, large-scale science-based and participatory coral reef restoration efforts have proven to be effective at increasing live coral cover, though these have focused on the Caribbean coast. In Ecuador, coral restoration strategies are just being tested for the first time. On the one hand, Ecuador is interested in learning techniques to scale up coral restoration efforts, while on the other hand, Colombia wants to learn from Ecuador’s knowledge and experience operating in the Eastern Tropical Pacific with a view to further enhancing restoration in the Colombian Pacific.

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Files: TOR.pdf

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Status: In progress

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Implementation: 2022-08-30 to 2023-09-01

Ecuador

Proponent
Universidad Internacional del Ecuador

Collaborators
Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara (Mexico)

In the past few decades, invasive animal and plant species have become a serious problem that affects the integrity of native ecosystems of the Galápagos Islands. The present research project seeks to evaluate the potential of introduced invasive plant species on Santa Cruz Island as generators of bio-compost and biofuel in order to develop a model for the sustainable use of their biomass. In doing so, the objective is to control the spread of invasive plant species in the Galápagos with a view to protecting local ecosystems, as well as to support the local economy by improving local agriculture through the provision of locally produced biofertilizers and by providing sustainable entrepreneurship alternatives to local communities, especially countryside women.

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Status: Selected

Ecuador

Proponent
Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral

Collaborators
Stellenbosch University (South Africa); Pennsylvania State University (USA)

This project focuses on using local biodiversity develop new tools for managing Fusarium wilt, a fungal disease threatening the production and export industry of bananas. Up until now, fungicides have proven ineffective against the Tropical race 4 strain, which has been detected in over 20 countries, including Colombia and Peru, both Ecuador’s neighboring countries. Exploring the rhizosphere (area around a plant root inhabited by a unique population of microorganisms) has been shown to be a promising tool to design protective microbial consortia and promote plant health. The three-country research team will aim to engineer a plant-associated microbiota for bananas to manage Fusarium wilt, with the objective to test whether microbiota from healthy banana roots can colonize new banana roots and induce soil-borne disease suppression.

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Status: Selected

Ethiopia

Proponent
Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute

Collaborators
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (Ghana)

This project seeks to improve sorghum productivity in Ethiopia and Ghana through the characterization and utilization of indigenous microbial genetic resources, coupled with the documentation of traditional and/or indigenous knowledge and practices. A dietary staple for millions of people in Africa and Asia, over 80 % of global sorghum production is characterized by low yield levels. One of the methods used to enhance yield is the use of bio-fertilizers developed from beneficial microorganisms or plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR). Activities of this project will focus on characterizing and selecting best-performing PGPR strains associated with sorghum and its wild relatives. The team will also gather and share data on local communities’ knowledge of sorghum cropping and/or farming systems applied for enhancing soil quality.

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Status: Selected

Ghana

Proponent
University for Development Studies

Collaborators
Mzumbe University (Tanzania)

The objective of this project is to promote learning among African institutions on community-level management and use of rangelands in semi-arid parts of Africa. In Ghana, crop farming and livestock rearing are increasingly becoming competing land use activities in the savannah areas. To avoid conflict with farmers, herders direct grazing traffic towards forest reserves, thereby threatening biodiversity. In Tanzania, the co-location of crop farming and livestock rearing has existed much longer.The project will conduct research to gather and document best practices in the management of rangelands to ensure that their integrity and biodiversity are protected for sustainable productivity. The data will be used to develop and implement an alternative strategy for the management and use of rangelands, including criteria and indicators, in Ghana.

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Status: Selected

India

Proponent
Ministry of Environment~ Forest and Climate Change

Collaborators
Ghana Wildlife Society (Ghana); ASEAN Wildlife Forensics Network (UK)

The goal of this project is to foster long-term cooperation between India and Ghana on curbing illegal wildlife trade through knowledge sharing among institutional partners providing technical and scientific advisory to law enforcement agencies. Illegal wildlife trade accounts for about $23 billion per year and threatens some of the world’s most iconic species. Southeast Asia provides a trade passage for wildlife parts and products from Africa to enter the grey market. The project will focus on the standardization of forensic protocols and the establishment of phylogeographic signatures to identify the origin of confiscated wildlife products, which will help unwind the trade routes and poaching hotspots. It will also seek to engage local communities through the establishment of conservation sub-committees within existing local administration networks

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Status: Selected

Jordan

Proponent
Royal Scientific Society

Collaborators
Environmental Authority (Oman)

This project seeks to reduce the impact of human-induced pressures on bat biodiversity through the engagement of local communities in the process of identifying risks and challenges, finding solutions, and undertaking future biodiversity conservation planning. Bats are among the most overlooked species despite their ecological importance. In the Middle East and Gulf Region, various factors affect the biodiversity of bats, particularly the anthropogenic stressor, including human-induced habitat destruction, political conflict, and tourism.The Jordanian and Omani teams will first gather data from local communities on their knowledge and involvement in bat ecology. Two expert meetings bringing together bat experts and researchers, governmental institutions, and NGOs will be held to discuss the outputs of the survey, find solutions, and suggest recommendations and future plans.

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Status: Selected

Namibia

Proponent
Ministry of Environment~ Forestry and Tourism

Collaborators
National Remote Sensing Centre (Zambia)

This collaborative project aims to address land degradation through the development of a more efficient approach for monitoring the issue. Guided by previously developed standard land degradation mapping methodology and analyses and with the help of remote sensing, the team will produce land degradation maps within selected landscapes in the Ohangwena and Kunene regions of Namibia. The assessment will then serve as basis to develop a land degradation monitoring system, including real-time monitoring tools providing accurate information on the status of the land in its current form. The implementation of such system will support the design and adoption of measures aimed at improving land use planning and restoring degraded land.

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Status: Selected

South Africa

Proponent
The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT)

Collaborators
Office of the Attorney General (Mozambique)

The goal of this project is to foster long-term cooperation between South Africa and Mozambique to improve the capacity of prosecutors to prosecute wildlife crimes through strategic, cross-border learning exchanges and relationship building, with a view to eliminating the unsustainable, illegal use and trade of threatened wildlife. Prosecutors rarely specialize in wildlife crime and have often little time to educate themselves on the subject. Expertise barriers include lack of resources to facilitate international cooperation; lack of expertise in preparing prosecution dockets and liaising with investigating officers; lack of creative ways to use legal frameworks; and lack of counterparts in neighboring countries when dealing with cross-border matters. This project aims to strengthen long-term cooperative relationships between prosecutors from Mozambique and South Africa, and eventually prosecutors from neighboring countries as well.

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Status: Selected

Sri Lanka

Proponent
University of Colombo

Collaborators
Western Sydney University (Australia)

Through this project, the two-country research team seeks to study the relation between human health and the health of ecosystems and habitats, with a view to improving the status of both native biodiversity and local human communities. The team will conduct socioeconomic and community health surveys to establish the interactions between local communities and selected tank cascades and other freshwater ecosystems in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province, as well as surveys on the status of their biodiversity and water quality. With the data, the team will develop an analytical framework to analyse the nexus between the status of ecosystems and habitats, human health, and effects of anthropogenic actions, to be applied in decision making.

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Status: Selected

Uganda

Proponent
National Environment Management Authority (NEMA)

Collaborators
Ministry of Environment and Forestry (South Sudan); Kenya Wildlife Service (Kenya)

This project aims to strengthen technical and scientific cooperation between Uganda, Kenya and South Sudan on the detection, prevention, and management of transboundary zoonotic diseases.Key stakeholders from the three countries will do so by establishing a regional Biodiversity and Health Technical and Scientific Collaboration Working Group to develop a transboundary disease prevention and control strategy and action plan focusing on disease spread, One Health Platform action plans, illegal or detrimental use of natural resources leading to increased risk of exposure to zoonotic diseases and other health and biodiversity priorities as they arise. The strategy will lead to the preparation of a regional programme expanded to East African Community (EAC) countries, including Rwanda, Tanzania, Burundi, and other neighbouring countries in the Great Lakes region.

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Status: Selected

United Republic of Tanzania

Proponent
Environmental Conservation for Wildlife and Community Enterprise (ECOWICE)

Collaborators
One Vision Kenya (Kenya)

This cooperation project aims to address human-elephant conflict through the monitoring of elephant populations and their behavior, and the meaningful engagement of local communities in conservation. The establishment of Tanzania’s Mbarang’andu Wildlife Management Area in 2003 intended to protect wildlife habitats while diversifying the economy and generating tourism revenues. As alternative revenues have failed to materialize and crop raiding have raised exponentially, local communities have grown resentful of wildlife, thus less likely to support wildlife management and conservation. The activities of the project will consist in monitoring the elephant populations and quantifying the elephants’ depredation and crop raiding behavior. The partners will then apply lessons learned from Kenya to engage with local communities, in particular local youth, in finding solutions to mitigate human-elephant conflict.

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Status: Selected

Zimbabwe

Proponent
National Herbarium and Botanic Garden

Collaborators
University of Oxford (UK)

This project focuses on improving access to information on Zimbabwe’s plant biodiversity by different users globally, with a view to facilitating research and policy development. The National Herbarium and Botanic Garden of Zimbabwe has the third largest collection of herbarium specimens within the southern Africa region, and the largest repository of plant-related information within the country. This wealth of information, however, is mostly stored in physical record, along with a modest digital database running on an obsolete system. By partnering with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, the Herbarium will be able to transfer its extensive records to the Botanical Research and Herbarium Management System (BRAHMS) and improve the capacities of its staff to collect, store, manipulate and share plant-related information.

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Status: Selected