Livelihoods and Sustainable Development Programme
The Livelihood Development Support Strategy (LDSS) outlines a strategic participatory and accountable approach to sustainable livelihood support in Baa Atoll. The LDSS will guide the BR Office team project team in achieving the following;
Providing support to the communities of Baa Atoll to identify opportunities and develop a series of initiatives that build local capacity and establish economic incentives for sustainable livelihoods.
Selecting and supporting eco livelihood projects.
Building partnerships for long term livelihood support between Baa Atoll communities, private sector groups and public sector agencies.
Aligning livelihood support activities with national and local development plans and the BACP.
Strengthening consideration of environmental sustainability in Atoll and Island Development Plans.
Increasing the awareness of key stakeholder groups on the importance of sustainability to long term prosperity and well being in the Atoll, to complement the awareness raising activities undertaken by the BACP.
The three main tasks of the Livelihoods and Sustainable development Programme are:
Support to livelihood development initiatives that are consistent with the objectives of the Biosphere Reserve.
Working with key sectors (fisheries, tourim, agricultuture)to build sustainability as a core principle of development.
Promoting measures to address climate change including mitigation (eg: renewable energy) and adaptation activities.
Outreach programme
The consistent flow of information to all stakeholders involved and to all interested is one of the main key objectives of the Outreach Programme. Reaching out to all and conveying the message across will solely dictate the success of the Baa Atoll Biosphere Reserve and to achieve this new partnerships needs to be forged and older ones renewed, build on the existing foundations and work towards achieving the targets through participatory approaches.
The main main tasks of the Livelihoods and Sustainable Development Programme are:
Working with schools and NGOs to promote education and awareness to enhance the objectives of the Biosphere Reserve.
Developing community engagement and volunteering activities in support of the Biosphere Reserve.
Identifying priority research topics and supporting local, national and international research initiativesthat willenhance the Biosphere Reserve.
Coordinating monitoring programmes, making the data available and reporting the results.
Conservation Programme
The Baa Atoll Conservation Programme (BACP) encompasses all the islands, waters and resources (biological and non biological) of Baa Atoll with an outer perimeter that extends one (1) nautical miles from the outer reef zone of the atoll. BACP has been developed through a comprehensive stakeholder consultative process and is being implemented in line with the Ecosystem Approach of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This is “A strategy for the integrated management of land, water and living resources that promotes conservation and sustainable use in an equitable way”.
The key ecosystem management approach of this strategy includes;
People (societal choice), rather than biodiversity are at the heart of natural resource management,
Decentralizes management and governance to the lowest appropriate level,
Extends biodiversity management beyond protected areas, to whole ecosystems (biological and non biological),
Maintenance (long term) of ecosystem structure, function and services,
Management systems developed at appropriate spatial and temporal scales and ecosystems managed within their limits of their function,
Engages the full range of sectoral interests in an integrated way,
Integrates conservation and sustainable use, and
Recognises that (climate) change is inevitable, and promotes adaptation strategies to deal with change.
The long term goal of the BACP is to ensure the ecosystem of Baa Atoll remains healthy, productive and resilient into the future.
The three main tasks of the Conservation Programme are:
Supporting implementation of the Biosphere Reserve Zonation System, including and monitoring of developments, input to EIAs where possible and the enforcement of regulations in close consultation with Environmental Protection Agency and the Maldives Police Service.
Promoting implementation of the management plans for core areas, and where necessary enforcement of regulations in close consultation with Environmental Protection Agency, Maldives Police Service, Atoll Council and Island Councils.
Implementing, and regularly updating, the programme of strategic actions to reduce key threats to biodiversity.
