An area can be considered being “brought under long-term, gender-responsive, protection, conservation and sustainable management” when it has undergone active project conservation rehabilitation or restoration interventions such as protected area declarations, formal or informal management designations and activities e.g. native planting vegetation, species reintroductions, outplanting native species, restoring hydrological flows, threat removal (e.g. implementing solid waste clean-up plans at project sites), supporting the creating of management plans, general spatial planning etc. These interventions should be planned and implemented using a gender-responsive strategy. A gender-responsive strategy for nature-based solutions involves recognizing and addressing the unique roles, needs, and contributions of both men and women in the design, implementation, and outcomes of conservation and nature-based initiatives. It aims to ensure that conservation efforts not only benefit the environment but also consider and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. Some key elements of a gender-responsive approach to NbS are: 1) Recognizing different roles and knowledge a. Understanding roles – acknowledge the diverse roles women and men play in managing natural resources and ecosystems b. Local knowledge – valuing and incorporating traditional knowledge and practices for both genders in conservation strategies 2) Inclusive participation and decision-making a. Engagement – encouraging the active participation of both men and women in decision-making processes related to NbS b. Representation – ensuring fair representation of both genders in community-based initiatives and leadership roles 3) Addressing gender-specific needs a. Access to resource s- ensuring equitable access to resources such as land, water, and forests for men and women b. Education and training – providing equal opportunities for education and capacity-building in conservation practices for all genders. This includes holding trainings on days/times that are accessible for both genders, given their other time-sensitive responsibilities. 4) Empowerment and sharing benefits a. Economic empowerment – creating opportunities for income generation through NbS for all genders equally b. Equitable benefits – ensure that benefits derived from conservation effort (both socio-economic and nature benefits) are accessed/distributed fairly among genders In CORE bi-annual reports, grantees should specify how they are planning and implementing actions using a gender-responsive approach. This indicator aims to capture the spatial scope of direct project benefits for marine and terrestrial ecosystems. While it does not measure the quality of the benefits (for genders or nature), it stipulates clear qualitative criteria for the area that is to be included. Once interventions have been deployed throughout the spatial extent of a project site, then the total amount of hectares can be considered improved if continuous monitoring data illustrates improvements with the following criteria: â—Ź Area restored which was previously degraded (partially or fully), damaged or destroyed. â—Ź Area in a conserved condition which may have otherwise been degraded, damaged or destroyed. â—Ź Improved management of a protected area or other managed area leads to improved ecosystem conditions. Standard biophysical parameters could be measured, eg. survival rates of outplanted vegetation and corals; species diversity; indicator species presence; abundance, biomass, productivity and growth rates; stability, if previously declining; or a decreased rate of decline in one or more natural resources over time. Please refer to the Conservation Finance MEL guidelines for recommended methods of data collection. Ecosystems should be disaggregated by terrestrial, aquatic, and coastal ecosystems. those high-biodiversity habitats that provide benefits such as coastal defence, shoreline and slope stabilization, fisheries production, agricultural production and coastal and inland tourism products. Examples of ecosystems include: 1) Terrestrial â—Ź Tropical moist/ montane forest – includes tall rainforests growing above 800m on tall where the moisture caused by the almost daily presence of mist is enough to influence the structure and composition of the forest, characterized by bryophytes covering most tree trunks and branches, as well as being abundant in the ground layer. Bromeliads, ferns, and orchids are also abundant as epiphytes and in some of these forests, the presence of palms and tree ferns is common. â—Ź Grasslands and shrublands – dominated by perennial grasses and shrubs with or without scattered trees (broad-leaved, small-leaved, sclerophyllous, and palm shrubs, and forb and graminoid herbs). â—Ź Other – includes vegetation types planted as land stabilization measures, e.g., Vetiver grass, or practicing climate-smart agricultural techniques that aim to conserve soil moisture, retaining crop residues for soil fertility, disturbing the soil as minimally as possible and diversifying through rotation or intercropping. 2) Aquatic â—Ź Coral Reefs – are marine ridges or mounds consisting chiefly of compacted coral together with algal material and biochemically deposited magnesium and calcium carbonates that provide habitat for other marine organisms. â—Ź Seagrass – marine (saltwater) plants found in shallow coastal waters and the brackish waters of estuaries. Dominant species in the Caribbean include Thalassia testudium (Turtle grass), Syringodium filiforme (Manatee grass), Halodule wrightii (Shoal grass), Halophilia decipiens (Paddle grass), Halophilia engelmanii (Star grass), and Ruppia martima (Widgeon grass). â—Ź Ponds – a small, quiet, enclosed body of water that is shallow enough light to penetrate the water, supporting a variety of organisms. Riparian vegetation typically surrounds the edges, including overhanging trees. Factors that affect aquatic ecosystems include water flow rate, salinity, acidity, oxygen, light levels, depth, and temperature. Light levels affect photosynthesizing plants and predation. â—Ź Rivers – characterized by flowing water that is mostly unidirectional. Rivers tend to be under a state of continuous change due to the moving water, and variability in the flow rates of the water. They also tend to contain plants and animals that have adapted to living within certain characteristic seasonal flow conditions. Movement from rivers can also create landforms such as floodplains, deltas and alluvial fans. 3) Coastal â—Ź Mangroves – are dense thickets of tropical, salt-tolerant evergreen trees or shrubs of the following families (these four families occur in the Caribbean): o Rhizophoraceae, have well-developed aerial roots and grow below the highest tide levels and along coasts. The only species found in the Caribbean is Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove). o Acanthaceae, having aerial roots containing pneumatophores, growing inland from R. mangle. The only species found in the Caribbean is Avicennia germinans (black mangrove). o Combretaceae, with subterranean and/or prop roots, depending on prevailing environmental conditions. Two species of this family are found in the Caribbean, Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove) o Conocarpus erectus (buttonwood mangrove), growing inland from R. mangle and A. germinans. The data is reported as a total number of hectares improved over the projects’ periods, which includes maintained improvement in previously reported hectares and/or new growth, accounting for additional hectares for relevant ecosystems.
