Progress Report SECTION1- BACKGROUND INFORMATION 1.1 Project Title: People, Land Management and Environmental Change 1.2 Project Number: GF/1300-98-01 1.3 Responsible Office: The United Nations University 1.4 Co-operating/Executing Institutions: University of Ghana, Ghana; University of Conakry, Guinea; Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, Kenya; Ukiriguru Agricultural Research Institute, Tanzania; Makerere University, Uganda; Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, China; National Research Institute, Papua New Guinea; IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia), Brazil. 1.5 Reporting Period: 1 March 2000 – 28 February 2001 SECTION 2 –PROJECT STATUS 2.1 Status of the Implementation of the Activities and Outputs Listed under the Workplan in the Project Document 2.1.1 Status of the Implementation (check appropriate box) Ö Project activities and outputs listed in the Workplan for the reporting period have been materially completed and the Institution reporting is satisfied that the project will be fully completed on time (given reasons for minor variations at Section 3 below) Project activities and outputs listed in the Workplan for the reporting period have been altered (give reasons for alterations: lack of finance; lack of guideline; reformulated; project revisions; other at Section 3 below) Project activities and outputs listed in the Workplan for the reporting period have not been fully completed and delays in project delivery are expected (give reasons for variations in Section 3.1 and new completion date in Section 3.2 below) Insufficient detail provided in the Project Workplan 2.1.2 Overall Progress Against the Project Workplan PLEC is now in the final year of the present four-year phase under GEF support. The project began its third year of implementation on 1 March 2000, and its progress is on schedule with some delays in reporting. Much of progress made from March 2000 to February 2001 focused on identification and demonstration of profitable and biodiversity-rich management systems, and on networking and capacity building. Dissemination of project results saw considerable progress. Gap filling and analysis of biodiversity and agrodiversity data continued. Demonstration activities have now become the dominant field activity at 21 established demonstration sites in eight countries. Further demonstration sites are in development in response to popular demand from nearby communities. Rapid progress was made in the development of demonstration sites into fruitful places for farmer-to-farmer interaction, with the scientists playing a supporting role, and in the growing practice of bringing officials and other stakeholders into the farmers' meetings to demonstrate to them the success of PLEC approaches, which are being recognized and replicated elsewhere. Harmonization of demonstration approaches has basically been accomplished with STAT (Scientific and Technical Advisory Team) advice. Impact assessment of PLEC demonstration activities on farming practices have started. PLEC continued to strengthen capacities of old or new participations in PLEC. Working with PLEC have helped more than 200 professional participants embrace a farmer-centred approach, learn research skills. Some of them participated in international exchanges. Students and junior researchers received training ‘on the job’ in the PLEC approach. Some of them did their degree theses based on PLEC work. PLEC concepts and approaches are incorporated into university curriculum. Demonstration activities facilitated farmer-to-farmer training on profitable methods of biodiversity-rich resource management. Training courses on practical techniques and knowledge, including literacy courses were also provided to participating farmers. Increased involvement of schoolteachers and children in PLEC demonstration helps to spread and sustain appreciation of local knowledge among new generation. Good progress was made to assemble existing data into working databases at the national level for analysis, synthesis and monitoring in all participating countries with advice of a STAT member, especially after the PLEC database manual was made available in October 2000. Efforts were made to generate the aggregated information about those national databases and put into a meta- database, which will be online as soon as it is complete. Much emphasis is now given to data analysis and consolidation following accumulation of raw data, and establishment of working databases. A PLEC-wide email forum was organized to exchange ideas on studying relationships between biodiversity and agrodiversity (management and organizational diversity) in middle of 2000. The data analysis is helping to improve and complete pending chapter-length reports, and to facilitate project dissemination. Successful dissemination of emerging results has raised PLEC standing at both national and international levels, and PLEC methods and models are being replicated. PLEC in Brazil is widely recognised by government officials and others engaged in conservation and development. Several rural extension and conservation agencies are adopting PLEC’s demonstration ideas as part of their development and conservation programs. In Tanzania, feedback meetings of initial results draw active involvement of the leadership at village, ward, division and district level in promoting PLEC, and making an impact far outside the demonstration sites. PLEC methods were applied in one of projects of National Knowledge Creation Program in China. The Second Meeting of PLEC Advisory Group complemented the unique contribution of PLEC to in-situ agrobiodiversity conservation at landscape level, and prompted PLEC, IPGRI and CBD to organize "International Symposium on Managing Biodiversity in Agricultural Systems". PLEC is now part of the CBD Liaison Group on Agricultural Biodiversity. 2.2 List Actual Project Personnel/Consultants engaged and Non-Expendable Equipment Purchased: See Appendix 1 for List of Project Personnel/Consultants. See Appendix 2 for List of Non-Expendable Equipment. 2.3 List Actual Activities and Outputs Achieved in the Reporting Period 2.3.1 FIELD-BASED ACTIVITIES: DEMONSTRATION SITES, BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT, PARTICIPATORY RURAL APPRAISAL and OUTREACH AND EXPERIMENTAL WORK Much of the fieldwork on assessment of basic existing agrodiversity and biodiversity was completed although gap-filling and monitoring continued. Demonstration activities have become major field activities at 21 established demonstration sites. Further demonstration sites are in development in response to popular demand from nearby communities. Rapid progress was made in the development of demonstration sites into fruitful places for farmer-to-farmer interaction, with the scientists playing a supporting role, and in the growing practice of bringing officials and other stakeholders into the farmers' meetings to demonstrate to them the success of PLEC methods, which are being recognized and replicated elsewhere. Data analysis and consolidation were also advanced. Impact assessment of PLEC demonstration activities on farming practices have started. Demonstration site There was some over-optimistic expansion of demonstration sites in the first two years. This has had to be offset by closing down work in a few sites where there had been slow progress, or where the demands of doing good work greatly exceeded the limited resources. Where there has been real success, on the other hand, work is still being expanded into neighbouring or even remoter communities. Investigation of potential sites in which PLEC could be replicated has started. Selection criteria were proposed in Tanzania. A meeting of local authorities, farmers and researchers was organized specifically to identify these potential areas in Guinea. Specific locations of demonstrations and other PLEC activities as well as potential demonstration sites were mapped in Ghana. Site selection was largely completed in Brazil. Agrodiversity assessment and database Good progress was made to assemble existing data into working databases at the national level for analysis, synthesis and monitoring in all participating countries, especially after the PLEC database manual (database structure in MS Access program, and an operational manual, and a sample database) was made available in October 2000, and online in the PLEC homepage, and with advice of a STAT member. The aggregated information about those national databases and demonstration sites is still being generated. The information tables name, location, land formation, cropping system, species richness, soil, land use of PLEC demonstration sites, and contact address and persons for further information. The aggregated information is then compiled into a meta- database for online publication. Methods of household agrobiodiversity assessment of PLEC-China were applied in one of projects of National Knowledge Creation Program in China. Demonstration and outreach activities Demonstration approaches among clusters were basically harmonized with advice of STAT (Scientific and Technical Advisory Team) and Scientific Coordinators though appreciation of existing "expert" farming could be further developed and enhanced. A major PLEC methodology paper on procedures and experiences of "expert farmers" led demonstration were published in PLEC News and Views, No.17. Careful monitoring of farmers' responses to demonstrated technologies received special attention in order to further test and develop the PLEC demonstration model. The number of people that participate