CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Conservation Report 2018 1 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 OUR MISSION is to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, based on sound science, and which take into account human needs. 2 Kizilkaya. Zafer Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: reef, and coral Turtle CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Contents Highlights of 2018 4 Our Mission & Aims 6 How we work 7 Assessing the impact of our work 9 Aim 1: To conserve threatened habitats 10 and species Aim 2: To shape decisions within society to 16 benefit biodiversity Aim 3: To empower individuals and organisations 24 to lead innovative conservation action Aim 4: To invest in FFI’s own effectiveness 30 Research and dissemination 32 Lessons learned and looking forward 33 Annex 1. FFI’s priority species 2018 38 Annex 2. Quotes from project reports 40 Turtle and coral reef, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: Zafer Kizilkaya. Zafer Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: reef, and coral Turtle Kizilkaya Zafer Island, Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Credit: island chain including Wayag limestone of View Cover: Stock. Front Tyakht/Adobe Victor Saiga. Credit: 3 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Highlights of 2018 8,645,173 ha 40 projects We conserved over 8.6 million helped to address the hectares of crucial wildlife habitat illegal trade in wildlife (that’s larger than Austria) We worked with priority 82 species We saw conservation gains for priority and at least 140 further species 105 sites 69species demonstrably benefited from our work We protected habitat at Landscapes worked in include 216 sites in 49 countries LIMESTONE DESERTS & WILDFLOWER FORESTS FRESHWATER MARINE MOUNTAINS GRASSLANDS AGRICULTURAL CAVES DRYLANDS MEADOWS LANDSCAPES 4 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 4,800 222 The number of people whose Organisations whose skills, knowledge conservation capacity we built and resources we helped develop TWENTY-TWO The number of laws, regulations and strategic government plans we helped develop 399 The number of organisations INES UNIT YMAK We US S MM IE LIC ER we partnered with, including B O S O S C P * Local NGOs engaged % Governments 55 99 60 ROJECTS OF ROJECTS ROJECTS Universities with Businesses * Relevant field-based projects 5 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Our Mission & Aims Every year, Fauna & Flora International (FFI) collects detailed annual reports from our project managers to help us assess progress towards our mission to conserve threatened species and ecosystems worldwide, choosing solutions that are sustainable, are based on sound science and take into account human needs. To achieve this mission, FFI has four broad aims: This report shows how effective FFI has been To conserve threatened habitats and species through locally in progressing towards each of these four led conservation of threatened habitats, securing threatened species, aims over the last year, based on information 1. and extending protection for marine and coastal ecosystems. collected across all of our 132 projects1 that were active during 2018. To shape decisions within society to benefit biodiversity by embedding biodiversity into private-sector decision making, We have presented the main findings from 2. enabling governments to make decisions that conserve biodiversity, annual project reports, outlining key activities and encouraging individuals and communities to make decisions that and impacts, and providing insights into our maintain biodiversity. work during the year. The information here is just a snapshot of our To empower individuals and organisations to lead innovative conservation action by harnessing technology for work in 2018; we have parallel processes to 3. conservation, supporting the development of conservation leaders, and track our change over time within and across supporting access to funding and capacity for local-level conservation. projects. Of the 132 projects represented in this report, To invest in FFI’s own effectiveness by strengthening our 89 are field based, while the remaining 43 are systems and processes, fostering a culture of learning and knowledge 4. sharing, attracting and retaining high-calibre staff, and securing cross-cutting or thematic initiatives. diverse and resilient income streams. 1 A project is defined as a set of activities leading towards a meaningful conservation outcome. A project may encompass multiple sites and/or species and employ multiple conservation approaches. 6 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 How we work With over 130 projects in 49 countries, FFI’s work is diverse and multifaceted; however, the same basic principles underlie everything we do: We work in partnership We take a people-centric approach We are science-based We work with and through partner FFI respects human rights and cultural values, FFI recognises the need to root organisations, from local community and puts people at the heart of conservation. We conservation practice in sound science. organisations and NGOs to small and large see conservation as a social process and work We seek to apply the best possible information, including up-to-date research, businesses and government agencies. broadly to engage local communities (including to our practice and also to assess, capture indigenous peoples) to find practical solutions to Conservation impact at scale can only be and use lessons from FFI and our partners conservation problems. delivered through collaboration. We support our to improve practice and help steer future research agendas. partner organisations in building locally owned We believe that conservation success depends on and sustainable conservation programmes. engaging and empowering those who live closest In our projects we aim to underpin to threatened species and habitats, and we are 2 conservation decision making with the In 2018, we collaborated with close to 620 committed to respecting and promoting human best available information, be it generated organisations. We jointly ran projects with, or rights within our conservation programmes, as well by ourselves or others. provided significant assistance to, 399 of these. as supporting governance systems that benefit both In 2018, over 360 surveys, monitoring people and biodiversity. programmes or other studies were carried By assisting locally based communities to develop out across 96 different projects. NATIONAL NGOS AND CBOS (155) sustainable livelihoods and appropriate governance Kat Phillips/FFI GOVERNMENT mechanisms alongside biodiversity outcomes, we OUR AGENCIES (110) help to ensure that this work is locally supported and PRIMARY ACADEMIC owned and thus more likely to succeed and persist. 3 INSTITUTIONS (28) PARTNERS BUSINESSES (36) In 2018, 99% of projects that could engage with IN 2018 INTERNATIONAL communities did so, building community governance NGOS (27) or contributing to sustainable livelihoods. OTHER (43) 2 These are organisations we worked alongside to achieve a mutual goal, but did not run projects jointly with, or provide significant assistance to 3 Our ‘primary partners’ are those we jointly run projects with or provide significant assistance to. 7 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Cricket in the Cardamom Mountains, Cambodia. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI Jeremy Mountains, Cambodia. Credit: in the Cardamom Cricket 8 CONSERVATION REPORT 2018 Predator tracks, Namibia. Credit: Nicky Jenner Namibia. Credit: tracks, Predator Assessing the impact of our work We recognise that it can take many years to achieve a significant conservation impact, such as species recovery or habitat improvement. Success is defined at a project by project level and can be determined by a number of factors including, life history traits of critical species or the ability of key habitats to recover, as well as the types of threats faced by biodiversity in a particular context. We use ‘impact chains’ to track progress towards these long-term goals. An impact chain describes the path of change that you would expect to see a project progress through on the way to achieving ultimate conservation impacts. There is good evidence that achievement of early steps in the chain predicts future conservation impact. At portfolio level our approach is to use evidence of project outcomes to give an annual snapshot4 of where our current projects are on their journey towards their ultimate conservation goals5. In the impact chains presented throughout this report, the sites, species or projects represented are only counted once and assigned the highest level of outcome or impact reported by the end of 2018. Underpinning this approach, each FFI project aims to have a well-developed design logic that articulates how activities are intended to drive change in its own particular circumstances. Work is ongoing at an organisational level to ensure these models of change are as robust as they can be and are used to support each project’s work to monitor its progress towards its ultimate impact. We have a broad and varied portfolio of projects, which in turn means that the rates at which we expect to see change occurring – and the definition of project success – can differ significantly from project to project. Quotes from our project annual reports are used to illustrate how we work across our diverse portfolio to deliver change. For further information on how FFI works to understand the impact of our work please refer to the document Understanding Conservation Success, available on our website. Read on to find out how we did in 2018... 4 We are designing ways to enable better year-to-year comparison of data in 5 We have complementary processes