CEPF SMALL GRANT FINAL PROJECT COMPLETION REPORT Organization Legal Name: Centre for Environment and Development (CED) Identifying Potential Areas as "Conservation Reserves” in Project Title: Agasthyamalai Biosphere Reserve Date of Report: Report Author and Contact P.V. Karunakaran, T.R. Vinod, N. R. Chrips, S.M. Nadeer Centre for Environment and Development, Thozhuvancode, Information Vattiyoorkavu, Thiruvananthapuram CEPF Region: Western Ghats region (Periyar-Agasthyamalai Corridor) Strategic Direction: 1 (Support partnerships to safeguard globally threatened species, ensure conservation of biodiversity in priority sites and enhance connectivity in the five corridors) Grant Amount: 18500 US $. Project Dates: 01.09.2009 – 31.12.2010. Implementation Partners for this Project (please explain the level of involvement for each partner): The project was intended to develop methodologies for the identification and prioritization of Conservation Reserves in the forest areas of Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve. During the implementation of the project Travancore Natural History Society, Thiruvananthapuram helped in data collection (birds, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles, etc). However the preliminary discussions with the department and local communities and their institutions showed that they endorse the outcome of the study and will be implementing it in due course. Conservation Impacts Please explain/describe how your project has contributed to the implementation of the CEPF ecosystem profile. The project addresses the Strategic Direction (SD) 1 (Enable action by diverse communities and partnerships to ensure conservation of key biodiversity areas and enhance connectivity in the corridors) and in particular Investment Priority (IP) 1.1 (Test pilot models of community and private reserves to achieve conservation outcomes at priority sites and critical links in unprotected areas of the Anamalai and Malnad-Kodagu corridors as well as the Brahmagiri-Nagarhole critical link in the Mysore-Nilgiri corridor) of Western Ghats Ecosystem Profile. The project illustrated the above mentioned SD and IP where the emphasis has given more on the community involvement in conservation planning. The project contributed towards the identification of new protected area in the Periyar-Agastyamala Corridor, one of the priority landscapes according to CEPF ecosystem profile. It also worked towards the involvement of local communities and their institutions such as Vana Samrakshana Samithi (VSS) in conservation planning and management. The 20842.23 ha of forest areas identified as potential Conservation Reserves (new category of PAs) are biologically rich and ensures contiguity with existing PAs and conservation and protection of a wide range of globally significant species of plants and animals by involving local communities. The conservation reserves are the new category of PAs where the local community has more access to management. Please summarize the overall results/impact of your project against the expected results detailed in the approved proposal. The approved proposal state the following outputs, (i) criteria for identification of conservation reserves, (ii) details of biodiversity rich areas identified, delineated and mapped which can be declared as conservation reserves, (iii) details on the existing capacity and capability of the community institutions, (iv) necessary consultation with communities and (v) management strategies for the identified conservation reserves. The project has successfully developed the criteria using the biological and socio-economic strength of the forest area and the communities and their institutions (VSSs) involved in managing the forest patches. Two levels of criteria were developed, one for short-listing and the second stage criteria for prioritizing. The criteria are as exhaustive as possible and integrated into spatial format for analysis and interpretation. Many of the socio-economic criteria were developed with the help of consultation with the local people and verifying their records related to VSS meetings. The consultations with the communities also helped in developing the management strategies for the identified forest patches. The complete report has been annexed (Annexure 1). Please provide the following information where relevant: Hectares Protected: NIL Species Conserved: NIL Corridors Created: NIL Describe the success or challenges of the project toward achieving its short-term and long-term impact objectives. The implementation of the project was very successful with the cooperation of local communities, forest department officials, and others. The involvement of Vana Samrakshana Samithis (VSSs) and other institutions helped in many ways and the implementation of the project definitely scaled up to the real spirit of participatory research. This involvement helped in achieving the short term as well as long term objectives of the project. Were there any unexpected impacts (positive or negative)? No Lessons Learned Describe any lessons learned during the design and implementation of the project, as well as any related to organizational development and capacity building. Consider lessons that would inform projects designed or implemented by your organization or others, as well as lessons that might be considered by the global conservation community. The major lesson learned include (i) One of the researcher developed skill for the identification of birds and amphibians since he has extensively went to the field along with amateur field biologists. (ii) The skill in communicating with the local people, to certain extent towards conduct of Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise, was also developed through the execution of the project. (iii) Technical capacity such as using Geological Information System (GIS) and remote sensing tool in data presentation, analysis and interpretation (iv) One of the major lesson learned is the art of working with tribal people, and understanding their knowledge and skill in environment conservation and protection Project Design Process: (aspects of the project design that contributed to its success/shortcomings) The project was designed with achievable goals and objectives within the Strategic Direction and Investment Priority of the CEPF ecosystem profile. A careful reading of the past work and incorporation of available data also helped in successful completion of the project. Project Implementation: (aspects of the project execution that contributed to its success/shortcomings) The involvement of all stakeholders including Forest & Wildlife Department, Government of Kerala, the Participatory Forest Management Committees of different forest divisions in the Kerala-part of Agasthyamala Biosphere Reserve area, such as Vana Samrakshana Samithies (VSS), the amateur field biologists from Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS), and members from other NGOS helped in successful implementation of the project. The technical support provided by faculty members from CED also facilitated the project implementation. Other lessons learned relevant to conservation community: ADDITIONAL FUNDING Provide details of any additional donors who supported this project and any funding secured for the project as a result of the CEPF grant or success of the project. Donor Type of Funding* Amount Notes KFD A $ 300.00 Facilities, staff time VSS A $ 500.00 Labour, meeting halls, man-hours equivalent CED A $1680.00 Salary of the JRF and Research Associate during the extended period of the project *Additional funding should be reported using the following categories: A Project co-financing (Other donors contribute to the direct costs of this CEPF project) B Grantee and Partner leveraging (Other donors contribute to your organization or a partner organization as a direct result of successes with this CEPF project.) C Regional/Portfolio leveraging (Other donors make large investments in a region because of CEPF investment or successes related to this project.) Sustainability/Replicability Summarize the success or challenge in achieving planned sustainability or replicability of project components or results. Summarize any unplanned sustainability or replicability achieved. The sustainability of the outcome depends on the implementation of the results which are yet to takes place. However the methodology developed for the identification of the conservation reserve through this study is as exhaustive as possible and the same can be used in similar situations with context specific modifications. The outcome of the project once implemented would help in protecting and conserving a wide array of globally significant species of plants and animals. It also recommends a community owned PA management system which is the need of the hour. The criteria and other aspects in the methodology could be effectively replicated to similar situations with suitable modifications; hence the most conspicuous aspect of the success is determined by how many similar instances will be developed by taking cue from this study. Safeguard Policy Assessment Provide a summary of the implementation of any required action toward the environmental and social safeguard policies within the project. Not applicable Performance Tracking Report Addendum CEPF Global Targets (Enter Grant Term) Provide a numerical amount and brief description of the results achieved by your grant. Please respond to only those questions that are relevant to your project. Provide your If yes, Describe the principal results numerica provide your l