Before developing a sustainable livelihoods project, a first step is to identify the problem that is being addressed or the desired outcomes. Key activities include: 

• Engage community stakeholders to understand that values and vision for sustainable livelihoods

• Identify which livelihoods may be impacted by conservation efforts (e.g., establishment of no-take areas, fisheries gear restrictions, etc.)

• Define the problem you want to solve and objective you want to achieve through sustainable livelihood approaches 

  Tools:  Approach for large-scale, collaborative management of marine ecosystems

  • Seascapes Program by Conservation International
    

Community Engagement

Community engagement is critical because it is the communities’ livelihoods that are being addressed. Their leadership and agreement and capacity are essential for developing successful livelihoods efforts that provide lasting and sustainable benefits to community members. 

Engage with the community to identify their priority needs. As a conservation organization, your primary goal may be to protect marine habitats, such as coral reefs, mangroves or saltmarshes. However, for many in the community, their primary goal may be to put food on the table, housing, schooling, or access to healthcare, etc. Conservation may be a lower priority. Visioning workshops can be used to develop a shared understanding of the community’s goals and desired outcomes. The outputs should be a shared set of sustainable livelihood goals that deliver conservation, economic, and social outcomes. 

Guidelines for community engagement include:

• Reflect on the implications for community collaboration arising from MPA development and planning processes – e.g., the community may be resistant to change. 

• Build on existing relationships with the community to discuss sustainable livelihoods and clarify why a conservation-oriented organization is supporting livelihoods

• Identify key relationships that you need to build – recognizing that the full community will need to be represented and engaged in a livelihood’s strategy (e.g., development, education) 

• Give voice and choice to all members of the community – people – notably women and youth – need to be able to express their interests and their concerns and make informed choices regarding their livelihoods

• Work in partnership with all stakeholders – to ensure that you enable a widely-supported community-driven livelihoods strategy

Adopting principles and guidelines for community engagement should not undermine your organization’s commitment to conserving marine and coastal ecosystems. A focus on communities and their livelihoods offers a more sustainable and resilient way to achieve conservation objectives. You do not need to play down or hide your conservation goals. 

Recognize that:

• Conservation activities can support broader community goals

• Coastal and marine resources are a community’s natural wealth 

• Conservation is key to ensuring livelihoods are sustainable 

Once a shared vision is established, conservation best practices can be applied to develop a sustainable livelihoods strategy. 

Identifying Partners

When starting on a sustainable livelihoods initiative, it is important to identify who has worked on it, including what they have done or are doing and any gaps. These key partners may include national or international groups working in sustainable development – job creation, infrastructure, education, health, gender, social inclusion, climate adaptation, and nature conservation.

Develop a shared understanding of the community’s current situation. Through identifying potential partners and what they have done, you will be able to develop a shared understanding of the challenges faced by the community. A key outcome of this engagement should be to identify knowledge gaps with respect to understanding the challenges that the community are facing. 

Identify if and how your organization can fill the gaps in understanding community challenges – e.g., with baseline assessments of natural resource management and use. In some cases, other agencies may already be actively promoting a sustainable livelihood initiative for the community where you work. If this is the case, then your role, as an MPA practitioner, may be to share challenges and opportunities regarding the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources.