The Ngata Toro Community's 22,300 hectares of traditional lands lie partly within Lore Lindu National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve located on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Since 1993, two local organizations have worked to strengthen traditions, customary laws, and local institutions for sustainable use of forest, land and water resources.

The Organization for the Indigenous Women of Ngata Toro Village (Organisasi Perempuan Adat Ngata Toro - OPANT) and the Institute for Indigenous People of Ngata Toro Village have promoted the sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products, low-impact agriculture, fish farming, and ecotourism in and around the national park. Following the recognition of their traditional lands in 2001, the community has developed a series of regulations governing resource use within its boundaries.

This network of marine and terrestrial protected areas spanning the Vanuatu islands of Nguna and Pele has brought together local, national and international actors in a diverse partnership for the conservation of the area's unique biodiversity. The network comprises sixteen indigenous communities engaged in the conservation of more than 3,000 hectares of marine and terrestrial resources.

The project has become a case study for best practice in community marine conservation within Vanuatu and the Pacific islands for its strategies of proactive conservation, resilient management, and locally-appropriate awareness-raising. Among more than 60 different partner organizations are local and regional NGOs, government ministries, international volunteer organizations, research institutes, and tour operators who promote the islands as an ecotourism destination.

With 912,000

Pacari Network brings together 47 traditional pharmacies and community-based organizations to cultivate medici-nal plants, preserve traditional ecological knowledge and health traditions, and protect the biodiversity of Brazil's Cerrado biome. In the absence of comprehensive legisla-tion recognizing traditional health practices, Pacari has mo-bilized medicinal plant producers and local health practitio-ners to develop self-regulation.

Standards have been put in place to regulate the prepara-tion of traditional remedies, safety and sanitary conditions for plant processing, and sustainable harvesting techniques. Through its 'Pharmacoepia of People of the Cerrado', Pacari has developed a unique system of documenting traditional knowledge involving the participation of over 260 tradi-tional health providers. The health benefits from the initia-tive extend to more than 3,000 poeple per month. Medici-nal plant cultivation and the operation of small pharmacies also provide jobs and sources of income.

Roush Protected Area Community, Socotra, is located one kilometer north of Socotra, an island off the coast of Yemen. The marine protected area belongs to the communities of Sacra and Diherhom villages, and was developed in response to an observed decline in marine resources and fish populations. A conservation area and eco-campsite were established, and the initiative was later broadened to include conservation activities more generally.

The campsite has created local jobs and benefits are shared equitably amongst participating communities. The initiative follows principles of environmental responsibility, using solar panels for energy and undertaking sustainable management of water. In addition to the benefits of ecotourism revenues, Sacra and Diherhom villages have benefitted from increased stocks of fish and other marine resources.

The Committee for People's Rights (Podujana Himikam Kamituwa), a local NGO based in Kalutara District, southwestern Sri Lanka, has pioneered the reintroduction of rush and reed species to household paddy fields for processing into value-added handicraft products.

The Rush and Reed Conservation and Diversification Program aims to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources, to protect indigenous and traditional knowledge associated with traditional handicrafts, to conserve biodiversity and wetland ecosystems through a participatory approach, and to provide opportunities to the local population for alternative income-generation avenues. Since 1999, the initiative has provided training for more than 2,500 households in 11 districts in Sri Lanka; those involved in the program have seen average monthly household incomes double thanks to improved production techniques and marketing support.

The San Crisanto Foundation focuses on mangrove restoration and flood prevention in a region that consistently faces heavy rainfall and flooding. Since the Foundation's establishment, over 11,300 metres of canals have been restored, and 45 cenotes have been delisted and rehabilitated. As a result, flood risk is reduced and populations and diversity of endemic wildlife in the cenotes and mangrove forests have increased. Restoration efforts have generated 60 jobs and local household incomes have increased substantially.

To complement to its restoration efforts, the Foundation undertakes community education and awareness-raising, emphasising the value of wetland and mangrove conservation for local livelihoods and as a natural buffer against floods.

In its work with 50 communities along the Sepik River – the longest river in New Guinea – the Sepik Wetlands Management Initiative has transformed the local economy and local treatment of wetlands. The sustainable harvest of crocodile eggs from nest sites along the river has become an important source of income for local residents. Previously, crocodile nest sites were being indiscriminately destroyed by wetland fires set for hunting, agriculture, or as part of land ownership disputes.

The initiative instituted a program in which local crocodile egg collectors following specified conservation guidelines would receive a guaranteed return from a commercial crocodile egg retailer. The combination of egg collection and crocodile farming to produce high-quality skins has doubled the annual income in participating communities, all while raising the awareness of wetland values and stressing the cultural importance of crocodiles.

Sisi Initiative Site Support Group manages natural resources around the periphery of the Natewa Tunuloa Important Bird Area. The organization has established a 600-hectare community protected forest and developed alternative livelihood options for the area's indigenous landowners. Developed in response to illegal logging, forest fires, overgrazing, agricultural encroachment and invasive species, the organization uses an innovative incentive scheme to protect the globally important bird and wildlife species in Natewa Tunuloa. Communities signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which they agreed to protect the community forest and refuse logging concessions.

St. Catherine Medicinal Plants Association Association protects and cultivates native and endemic species of medicinal plants in the St. Catherine Reserve in Sinai, while developing alternative livelihood options for the area's economically marginalized Bedouin population. The reserve contains several unique and endangered medicinal plant species which have been threatened by overharvesting, collection for use as fuel, and overgrazing.

The association promotes home gardens, provides alternative energy solutions, gives hands-on training on sustainable harvesting techniques, and creates market supply chains for locally produced medicinal herbs, handicrafts and honey. Alternative livelihood programmes, focusing on women in particular, support farmers through the process of planting through to the marketing of products. Revenues from association activities have been invested in a rotating fund which allows community members to access small loans.