Workshop on "Improving conservation outcome through multi stakeholder engagement", Pune

21 Mar, 2017

A workshop on “Improving conservation outcome through multi stakeholder engagement” was conducted by GIZ Advisers Supriya Jhunjhunwala & Dr. Aaron Lobo advisers, as part of the conference on Capacity Building for Conservation organised by ERT Conservation, the Indian Herpetological Society and Pune University, on the 21st of March 2017.

Group photo of participants and facilitators for "Improving conservation outcome through multi stakeholder engagement”

Over 30 participants from across the globe from organisations like the Wildlife Conservation Society Mayanmar, Fauna and Flora International, Columbia University, Primate Education Network, Philippines Tropical Forest Conservation Foundation, Zoological Survey of India, and Forest Department Maharashtra, attended the workshop.

Conservation is set in a socio-economic landscape and generally involves multiple stakeholders. Traditional conservation emphasizes ecological priorities over social considerations. Conservation does not happen in isolation, any conservation project has an impact on and is impacted by multiple stakeholders. Stakeholders need to be identified and engaged continuously in all stages of conservation planning and implementation to improve conservation outcome.

The Overarching project objective of the CMPA project is “The conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in the pilot PAs are improved, taking into consideration the economic circumstances of the local population”. One of the key work areas is that relevant stakeholders have information on and are aware of the importance of conserving biodiversity in marine and coastal areas.

The workshop aimed to help participants acquire basic skills for stakeholder engagement and thus improve the conservation planning process. It introduced processes to identify and categorize stakeholders and processes to engage stakeholders in conservation planning.

The workshop was conducted in a participatory manner with inputs from the resource persons and the participants using case studies and group work. The workshop began with and introduction to and definition of stakeholders by Supriya Jhunjhunwala Adviser GIZ.

Supriya Jhunjhunwala GIZ, explaining the steps in Stakeholder Analysis

Dr Aaron Lobo Adviser GIZ then gave an example of a case study from one of the CMPA sites in Goa to help understand the concept better.

Dr Aaron Lobo from GIZ sharing a case study fro the CMPA project

This was followed by Supriya explaining the steps in Stakeholder analysis and introducing methods. The participants then broke into three groups that conducted the stakeholder analysis for real life case studies chosen from amongst the participants.

Group work facilitated by GIZ Adviser Supriya Jhunjhunwala

They brainstormed about the stakeholders, mapped them and then discussed methods of involvement in the project.

Group work facilitated by GIZ Advise Dr. Aaron Lobo

The groups then presented their findings in the plenary.

Presentation made by groups

Several participants gave positive feedback about the workshop and said that it was one of the best components of the conference.