A Practical Handbook for Conserving High Conservation Value (HCV) Species and Habitats Within Oil Palm Landscapes in West and Central Africa i CONTENTS Tables: ........................................................................................................... iii Figures: .......................................................................................................... iii Boxes: ............................................................................................................ iii Table of Abbreviations and Acronyms ....................................................... iv The purpose of this handbook ...................................................................... 1 Chapter 1: Introduction 3 HCV 1. Areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values (e.g. endemism, endangered species, refugia) ........................................... 5 HCV 3. Areas that are in or contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems .................... 5 HCV 4. Areas that provide basic ecosystem services in critical situations ................................. 5 HCV 5 Areas fundamental to meeting basic needs of local communities ................................ 5 HCV 6 Areas critical to local communities’ traditional cultural identity ................................... 5 Chapter 2: Delineating HCV Management Areas ....................................... 10 Chapter 3: Developing an HCV management plan .................................... 31 Chapter 4: Implementing an HCV management plan ................................ 34 Chapter 5: Habitat management ................................................................. 39 5.1: Avoiding clearance of HCVMAs during oil palm development ............................... 39 5.2: Managing HCV Areas ................................................................................................... 40 5.3: Preventing encroachment ............................................................................................ 40 5.4: Forest restoration and enhancement ......................................................................... 42 Chapter 6: Species management ................................................................ 43 6.1: Population management .............................................................................................. 43 6.2: Management of hunting, fishing, and the use of natural resources ...................... 45 6.3: Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) ................................................................................... 50 Chapter 7: Engaging stakeholders ............................................................. 59 7.1: Raising awareness........................................................................................................ 59 7.2: Collaborative management of HCV Management Areas ........................................ 70 Chapter 8: HCV monitoring and adaptive management ........................... 73 Appendix 1 Forest restoration and enhancement Appendix 2 Sample list of key HCV species in West and Central Africa ii Tables: Table 1: HCV Criteria .......................................................................................................... 5 Table 2: Management objectives for HCV 1–4 ................................................................. 11 Table 3: Habitat requirements of key HCV species in West and Central Africa .............. 15 Table 4: Potential effectiveness of linear corridors vs. stepping stones for increasing landscape connectivity ...................................................................... 23 Table 5: Recommended widths of riparian buffer zones from an HCV assessment in an oil palm concession in West Kalimantan, Indonesia.................................. 28 Table 6: Example of the structure of an HCV management plan for an oil palm concession ............................................................................................. 33 Table 7: Advantages and disadvantages of different approaches for managing Human-Wildlife Conflict ....................................................................................... 57 Table 8: Examples of indicators for monitoring whether specific management objectives are being achieved ............................................................................ 75 Figures: Figure 1. Results from a 22-year investigation into the decay of forest fragments reveal penetration distances of different edge effects in the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in the Brazilian Amazon Figure 2. Effective width of buffer zones Figure 3: Decision tree for deciding when each strategy for forest restoration and enhancement is appropriate Boxes: Box 1. Definition of HCV Area vs. HCV Management Area Box 2: Definition of adaptive management iii Table of Abbreviations and Acronyms Abbreviation Full Name Africa African Convention on the Conservation of Nature and Natural Convention Resources ARTS Adaptive reccee transect sampling ASL Above sea level ASTEVI Association Terre & Vie AU African Union AEWA African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement CARPE Central Africa Regional Programme for the Environment CBD Convention on Biological Diversity CITES Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CMS Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals CFS Community Forestry Standards ECWAS Economic Community of West African States EIA Environmental impact assessment FPIC Free, prior, informed consent FSC Forest Stewardship Council GIS Global information systems GISP Global Invasive Species Programme GPS Global positioning system HCV High conservation value HCVN High conservation value network HCVMA High conservation value management area HWC Human-wildlife conflict IAIA International Association for Impact Assessment IUCN World Conservation Union (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) KPI Key performance indicator UN United Nations UNFCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change IAIA United Nations Environment Programme IDR Republic of Indonesia Rupiah MOU Memorandum of understanding MVP Minimum viable population NGO Non-governmental organisation NTFP Non-timber forest products P & C Principles and Criteria PT Indonesian Limited Company (Perseroan Terbatas) RSPO Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil SLIMFs Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests SOP Standard operating procedure USD United states of America Dollar WCS Wildlife Conservation Society ZSL Zoological Society of London iv The purpose of this handbook This handbook intends to provide guidance on how to undertake and implement effective measures to maintain and enhance High Conservation Values (HCVs) that persist within oil palm landscapes, a task that has frequently been identified as one of the most challenging aspects of complying with the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Principles and Criteria (P&C). Although toolkits (see useful references and resources) have been developed to assist in identifying HCVs, at present, there is little country-specific guidance available in the West African region. In particular, there are few toolkits, globally, which assist in implementing management interventions to ensure that HCVs are maintained and enhanced. Additionally, the majority of the guidance available has been tailored to the identification and management of HCVs within selectively harvested forests. This is not sufficient to address the different challenges and issues associated with implementing effective measures to maintain and enhance HCVs within oil palm landscapes. The aim of this handbook, therefore, is to provide practitioners responsible for conserving HCV species and habitats within oil palm concessions, with the necessary knowledge, understanding and practical examples of how management interventions can be achieved. The handbook contains accessible summaries of key research, case studies of measures that are currently being implemented by members of the palm oil industry and similar land use types as well as links to available resources. This information will be useful for those involved in management decisions when producing practical HCV management plans as well as aiding HCV assessors. As such, the primary focus of this handbook is the conservation of species and habitats of high conservation value (HCVs 1-4), and it is therefore not intended to provide comprehensive guidance on the management of all six HCV criteria although they are inextricably linked. For HCV management to be effective, it must be tailored to the local situation, taking into account the social and biological context as values and threats vary between locations. Therefore, this guidance is not designed to be prescriptive, but is instead intended to enable practitioners responsible for conserving HCV species and habitats, to design and implement context-specific management interventions. 1 The majority of the practical experiences that have contributed to the production of this handbook are drawn from South East Asia where the majority of practices to maintain and enhance HCVs within oil palm landscapes have occurred to date; however, the theory and guidance derived from these experiences have been adapted throughout the handbook to address the context of oil palm expansion in West and Central Africa. Furthermore, while the case studies presented often illustrate successful conservation initiatives in oil palm plantations in Indonesia