Objectives

To promote the use of National Capital Accounting (NCA) as a tool for Land Use Planning to achieve Protected Area (PA) management effectiveness, deployment of good Sustainable Land Management (SLM) practices and operationalization of Ecovillages in Central Highlands of Madagascar.

Other

Note: Disbursement data provided is cumulative and covers disbursement made by the project Agency.

Target Groups

?The project is designed to provide direct socio-economic benefits to at least 120,000 local people (at least 50% women) in the target communities living in the project sites through the greater participation of local communities in natural resources management and improved PA co-management by local people. Specifically, the socio-economic benefits will be delivered through a complex set of activities listed in the table below: Potential ways to provide socio-economic benefits to target ecovillages and surrounding areas Investment Type Potential Activities Sustainable Agriculture · Renewal of biomass through recycling to optimize organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling; · Maintenance of soil fertility by managing organic matter and improving soil biological activity; · Minimization of water losses by improving the conservation and regeneration of soils, and water resources, and agrobiodiversity; · Erosion control measures; · Genetic diversification of the agroecosystem in time and space at field and landscape level; · Improving beneficial biological interactions and synergies between components of agricultural biodiversity, thereby promoting ecological processes and services; · Control of crop enemies (diseases, pests and weeds); · Improving the agriculture-livestock integration; and Restoration of ecosystem services in soils and forests. Non-chemical fertilizer usage Climate-resilient agricultural crops and practices Water management · Protection of sources in the protected area of ??COFAV and watershed areas that is currently being destroyed by deforestation, shifting agriculture and bush fires. This will also require, in particular improving agricultural yield in farmers to prevent intrusion into the forest that is dictated by the need to find fertile land. At the same time as this measure, it was necessary to regulate entry into the protected area and watersheds, such as social fencing of areas being restored, implement measures to prevent run-off, install non-invasive multi-story vegetation to promote infiltration, sign boarding and reduce ingress of contaminants; · Reduce water losses through the use of more water-efficient irrigation systems, better management of irrigation and maintenance of irrigation facilities, earthen dams to retain excess water and introduce cover crops. · Improvement of the soil structure by organic amendments such as manure, compost, etc.; tillage according to contour lines on gently sloping land and those that favor infiltration such as minimum tillage or zero tillage; creation of ditches, cords, etc.) along the slopes; cover crops (crop residues, mulching or mulching, etc.); choose a good stocking density for the crop; · Control of weeds; and · Installation of windbreaks. Energy management · Facilitate access to domestic energy through the dissemination of improved stoves compatible not only with fuelwood but also with charcoal, energy efficient and adapted to the needs of rural communities. · Promote the use of agricultural waste · Promote agroforestry Watersheds, grazing lands and uncultivated lands · Mulching, earthworks, hedges and canals on uncultivated lands. · Agroforestry and planting of fruit trees. · Planting of trees for energy and construction · Controlled livestock grazing with suitable forage varieties · Fish farming and rice-fish farming in water bodies · Reforestation and the presence of vegetation on uncultivated lands · Infiltration channels protected downstream by grass strips · Planting of buffer strips on stream banks · Fallowing with the use of herbaceous grasses that also improve animal feed Ponds and ponds located in the watershed as a natural buffer by storing part of the runoff water. COFAV Protected Area · Strengthen protection against all forms of external pressure such as overexploitation, land clearing, wildfires · Contribute to the implementation of the management plan by strengthening the means and capacities of stakeholders. · Promote a more inclusive approach through the participation of all the villagers living near the COFAV · Support the engagement of village communities in the protection and conservation of the integrity of COFAV: patrol activities, ecological restoration, · Improve the value of biodiversity and restore the fragmented landscape · Strengthen the economic opportunities of the surrounding villagers so that they can have more competitive activities and thus reduce their dependence on natural resources: development of natural resources (tourism, non-wood forest products, rational logging) · Improve their livelihood activities by improving their production practice so that the latter can be in harmony with the conservation of biodiversity · Strengthen communication between all stakeholders · Improvement of knowledge on Mantella cowanii (sahona mena) and the characteristic fauna of villages and their habitats · Participatory ecological monitoring · Sustainable use of non-timber forest products Improved livelihood and value addition · Identification and establishment of suitable value chains to improve economic returns on crop production systems that currently threatened sustainable land management. · Creating sustainable supply chains (i.e. creating nurseries for medicinal plant or essential oil production); · Community endeavors in biodiversity-friendly income-generating activities. · Promote private sector engagement in value chain enterprise development, marketing and business planning

Objectives

The proposed project in Unity State is designed to provide protection services through strengthening the protection capacity and resilience of the most vulnerable individuals in targeted communities of Koch and Rubkona Counties (including Bentiu PoC) of South Sudan. The project will have a 50% protection mitigation and response component and a 50% HLP rights component. The protection concerns of the communities across South Sudan and specifically in areas where there is little to no permanent protection actors remain high. Due to the ongoing intercommunal fighting and armed clashes between the opposition parties in Unity State coupled with issues of accessibility to remote areas, the communities in Koch County and specifically persons with specific needs are facing protection concerns. Through the proposed intervention, DRC intends to provide protection mitigation and response activities in Koch County in areas including Mir-mir/Bieh, Buaw, Chotchar and Ngony communities. The DRC protection team will conduct protection monitoring through regular protection missions and permanent protection desks located in Koch town. This activity will be complemented through the establishment of community-based protection networks (CBPNs) that will assist in the identification of vulnerable beneficiaries and the provision of support provided to individuals with protection concerns in their communities. DRC’s protection intervention will also include the following activities: identification of persons with specific needs (PSNs), provision of individual protection assistance (IPA), distribution of core relief items (CRIs), referrals to other humanitarian actors and service providers, and advocacy with relevant response actors and stakeholders. Housing, Land and Property (HLP) rights is becoming one of the most critical issues for IDPs in Rubkona County but also throughout South Sudan. With the revitalized peace agreement signed in late 2018 between the government and the opposition groups, DRC has observed a cautious change in intentions of IDPs living in collective settlements and refugees residing outside of South Sudan to start returning to their areas of origin. As a result, DRC believes that understanding and addressing HLP issues that are surfacing will ensure a more equitable and sustainable humanitarian response which will ultimately protect, support and strengthen the security and resilience of those affected by conflict and displacement. The lack of a comprehensive and conflict-sensitive understanding of HLP issues in Rubkona County ultimately impacts the larger humanitarian assistance including sectors such as education, health, and livelihoods. As a response, DRC aims to conduct a conflict and gender-sensitive HLP assessment, provide HLP awareness raising to IDP populations in Bentiu PoC, Bentiu and Rubkona towns, provide vulnerable returnees with access to land tenure documents, conduct HLP monitoring, and provide HLP trainings to local authorities and relevant government bodies in the state to enhance the legal knowledge of these government bodies.

Objectives

DRC mobile response team aims to support the most vulnerable and underserved populations in Upper Nile affected by conflict through the provision of multi-sector survival kit, non-food items and emergency shelter support. All responses are led by a protection centered need assessments that will determine the exact nature of the response. Through this project, DRC will fund a mobile team based in Malakal and Juba with rapid response capability to cover various areas of the Upper Nile State. The Juba based mobile team will quickly deploy to locations of Upper Nile where land access is limited for the Malakal based mobile team. By having a mobile team in Malakal, and Juba DRC will be in better placed to support new displacements and spontaneous returns across the Upper Nile. All S/NFI materials will be provided by the cluster pipeline and are not budgeted under the project. These items will include survival kit, NFI kits and emergency shelter items distributed by the cluster. The beneficiary calculation for both mobile response teams is in line with the USD $13 per beneficiary targeted by the cluster, including household members (i.e. one S/NFI kit directly benefitting all members of a household). The response missions will be followed by post distribution monitoring that will highlight any risks by the S/NFI intervention. Beneficiaries will be able to provide their opinions on how DRC and cluster interventions can be improved and they will be given the opportunity to make a complaint. A formal feedback mechanism will be fed through DRC’s hotline whereby complaints or queries may be logged and responded to remotely.