The STEWARD Partners' Meeting 2013 was held in Mamou, Guinea from August 23-27. 35 participants from the STEWARD partners and coordination office attended along with representatives from USAID, the US Forest Service, Guinea's Forestry Department, and the Mano River Union. The meeting reviewed implementation of the 2013 work plan and agreed on the 2014 work plan. Core objectives of biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and water, sanitation and hygiene were discussed. Partners shared successes and challenges and agreed to enhance coordination and collaboration to ensure continued program success.

1. STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 1
BULLETINBULLETIN
he STEWARD Partners
rd
Meeting 2013 closed on 23
TAugust after four days of
thoughtful and rich deliberations in
Mamou, Republic of Guinea. 35
participants drawn from all six
STEWARD partners and the
STEWARD coordination office
attended the meeting. Other
participants included representatives
from USAID/West Africa and
Guinea, US Forest Service
International Programs, the Forestry
Department in Guinea , and the Mano
RiverUnion.
Participants reviewed and reflected
on the implementation of the 2013
work plan, and discussed and agreed
on the integrated work plan for the
Program for the 2014 Financial Year,
which starts in October 2013. The
Mamou Meeting set the agenda for
project targets, deliverables and
indicators in line with the core
program objectives of biodiversity
conservation, climate change
STEWARD Partners' Meeting 2013
Concludes Successfully
STEWARD Family Photo
adaptation, climate change
mitigation and water, sanitation and
hygiene(WASH).
The meeting venue, L'Ecole
Nationale desAgentsTechniques des
Eaux et Forets (ENATEF) right in the
heart of the Guinean forest provided
a good setting for some of the core
themes discussed - forests and
biodiversity conservation, and
interaction with nature. As
expressed by STEWARD Director
Jan Broekhuis in his welcome
message there was “never a dull
moment” as the sessions and
discussions were very lively, and
productive.
Implementing partners AUDER,
BioClimate, CARE International,
Flora and Fauna International, PCI
Media Impact and Thomson Reuters
discussed and shared their successes
and challenges in their different
intervention areas. The meeting
ended with partners agreeing to
e n h a n c e c o o r d i n a t i o n a n d
collaboration to ensure the continued
successoftheSTEWARDProgram.
STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 8
Nico Tchamou
USAID/ West Africa
* June 27 to July 6, 6 staff and 19 volunteers were
trained on agro-forestry techniques, alley cropping, live
fencing and improved fallow, as well as simple
silvicultural and pruning techniques that they will pass
ontocommunitiesin thearea.
* 8 to 10 July CARE field agents, volunteers and
three staff from Bioclimate were trained on
conservation agriculture in Sanya, Sierra Leone.
Participants learnt the advantages and disadvantages, as
well as the technical principles of conservation
agriculture. These newly learned techniques will be
disseminatedintargetedvillages.
* 25 people were trained on improved beekeeping
techniques using Kenyan hives in Sanya (Sierra Leone)
from 11 to 15 July. During the five-day theoretical and
practical training, participants learned about beekeeping
as a source of profit, as a response to food security and as
aneffectivewaytoconservebiodiversity.
Participants learnt the process of establishing
beekeeping Kenyan hives, the advantages and
disadvantages of traditional beekeeping practices, and
the benefits of improved farming practices and
protection of bee colonies. They also learnt about
pollination and its importance in the management of
natural resources (biodiversity conservation),
harvesting, extraction, storage, processing, food and
therapeuticvalueofhoney.
These techniques will be further disseminated in the
communities.
CARE MONTHLY UPDATE
July – August 2013
* An environmental sensitization campaign using
theTabulayTheater Group based in Fintonia was carried
out in ten different communities in both Sierra Leone
and Guinea from 26 July to 4 August. The theme was
“the effect of wildfire as a threat to chimpanzees,
humans and biodiversity as a whole”. The purpose of
this sensitization campaign was to teach communities to
conserve biodiversity and natural resources and protect
them against wildfire in their respective areas and
environment. The campaigns also sensitized
communities about the social life of chimpanzees, and
thenecessitytopreservethem.
* From 20 to 21 August a workshop on the value
chain of non-timber forest products (NTFP) was
organized in Badet Kanty (Guinea) for 33 NTFP actors
including 18 women involved in the exploitation and
marketing of NTFPs.They learned about the concepts of
valuechain,challengesandopportunities.
* CARE launched training sessions on five natural
resources management (NRM) topics in VSLA groups:
improved Stoves, Moringa association of crops,
composting, poli-culture and live fence. Improved
stoves reduce the need for firewood, which in turn will
reduce deforestation, smoke-related diseases, and the
economic burden on households. 149 improved stoves
were built in the month of July, 101 in Guinea and 48 in
Sierra Leone. In addition 1505 forest trees were planted
by members of VSLA groups at Kanssèma, an action
initiated voluntarily by members of five VSLA groups
astheircontributiontoenvironmentalprotection.
STEWARD PARTNERS’MEETING
September, 2013
What I am expecting
from the STEWARD Program
is that at the end, local
communities and institutions are
empowered enough and have the
capacity to take the driving seat in
managing their natural resources for
their own good and for the economic
development of the region and
well being of the
entire world.
AUDER
AUDER

2. orking with
women is key to
the success of aWPayment for Ecosystem
Services (PES) project.
They need to be involved in
projectactivities,indecision-
making and be recipients of
benefitsharing.
In the communities in
which we are working,
Sumata and Kansema, the
governance structures –
traditional tribal authorities
– are almost exclusively
male. We are concentrating
on community forests and
the decision making group
for the forest is the Forest
Management Committee
(FMC) and is therefore the
focus of our efforts to
involvewomen.
We are trying to encourage
the FMC to involve more
WHAT PARTNERS’ HAVE TO SAYWHAT PARTNERS’ HAVE TO SAY
BIOCLIMATE:
sharing their experiences in the field with other partnerssharing their experiences in the field with other partners
women and we are going to
empower women by giving
them technical and financial
management skills. One way
of doing this is to use the
Village Savings and Loan
Association (VSLA) model
to link women's involvement
with the forest, by issuing
membership cards that show
the roles and responsibilities
ofeachmember.
Just like women, youth have
not been formally engaged in
forest management activities.
Youth have recently shown
willingness and interest in
contributing to several
activities including fire
breaks, forest monitoring,
tree planting, planting live
hedges and also supporting
the FMC with secretarial tasks
such as writing meeting notes
and also assisting with project
planningactivities.
Youth can also start fires so
they should be brought in to
contribute to stopping fires. It
is crucial to have youth fully
involved in all activities
because they are strong and
have the literacy capacity,
which most members of the
FMC lack. Youth are not only
thepresentofthesecommunities,
but they are also the future. It is
important to take advantage of
their interest and involve them
i n f o r e s t m a n a g e m e n t
activities. By involving youth,
we will be laying the
foundation to sustainable
project activities. Youth can
assure the longevity of projects
beingimplementedtoday.
The harmonisation of policies, laws,
agreements and regulations across
MRU countries will allow trans-
boundary sustainable management
arrangements to be formulated and
supported. This is important when
we are dealing with a site (such as
Nimba) that crosses international
borders.
There has to be agreement between
countries first as to how to
sustainably manage such a site, and
such agreements can only really
happen through the harmonisation of
policies between the countries
concern: Guinea, Ivory Coast and
Liberia. These agreements will
enforce environmental protection
and thus combat deforestation,
FAUNAAND FLORA INTERNATIONAL
which in turn will tackle climate
change and promote biodiversity
conservation. Further to this, a tri-
partite trans-boundary management
entity for Mt. Nimba will create a
management zone within which
these agreementscanbeimplemented.
Bioclimate Team
* Including women and youth in program
activities helps them become more proactive.
* Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA)
activities have helped community women
realize that they can contribute to their own
development, and that of their children.
* The establishment of forest co-management
committees has encouraged community
members to play a leadership role in natural
resources management.
* Non Timber Forest Products increase the
economic status of community people.
sharing lessons learnt during program implementation
CI Media Impact provides
communication support for all
STEWARD Program activities.PSpecific communication activities
focuson:
Internal communication among
partners and funding (USAID/WA)
andexecuting(USFS) agencies
PCIMedia Impact
talks about its role within the
STEWARD partnership
to enhance program effectiveness
and collaboration amongst and
betweenSTEWARDpartners
Enhanced visibility and publicity
of the STEWARD program, its
objectives and its work and impact
on the ground to form and strengthen
partnerships, collaboration, coalition
building with governmental and
non-governmental institutions, and
entities in the four MRU countries,
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia and
SierraLeone
Behavior change communication
for beneficiary communities in
PZ1 and PZ2 to promote a sense of
ownership and self-efficacy
leading to effective biodiversity
conservation.
Media Impact is an international
leader in Entertainment Education
(E-E) supporting social change
through communication by
designing and implementing
media messages that both entertain
andeducate.
A 52-episode radio drama series
targeting all four MRU countries
will soon go on air in four different
languages.
Thedramawillhighlightbiodiversity
conservation issues present in
target communities, and sensitize
and encourage communities to
adopt good practices and behavior
in order to conserve biodiversity
and mange their natural resources
sustainably.
* Regular coordination of meetings among
partners in the field and STEWARD
management, as well as harmonization
of activities and intervention strategies
on the ground will lead to better
implementation of the STEWARD
Program.
PCI Media Impact Team
STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 7STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 2
talks about how harmonization of policies, laws, agreements and regulations across MRU
countries contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change, and deforestation. CARE International
CARE International Team
FFI Team

3. Impact of mixed rice /fish farm cultivation
on the lives of community members in Pz2
In the long term mixed rice/fish
farms will ensure food security,
make up for the deficit in animal
protein in households and increase
farmers'earnings.
ur work consists in trying to inventorize
Rural Land Rights in a bid to give equity
to rural people when engaging withOexternal investors. External investors such as
individuals, businesses (mining and logging
companies) and government authorities. Rural
land titling helps communities negotiate better
terms and conditions in situations involving land
have shown that the rice/fish farms
are very popular with most of the
farmers in the project area, as they
encourage growth, and reduce
povertyinruralsettings.
ixedrice/fishfarmscultivation
isthecombination of rice and
fish cultivation in one place.MPerennial crops such as oil palm,
rubber, cacao, coffee are planted on
slopes not only to protect the soil from
different types of erosion, but also to
nourish theforestsoil.
The objective is to limit the amount of
surfaces cleared annually for small
scale farming, increase the duration of
fallow periods and the level of soil
fertility. Farmers are encouraged to
adopt new practices that enable them
to use swamp lands for income-
generating activities to improve their
livelihood. The mixed rice/fish farms
are an effective local method of
protecting and conserving biodiversity
resources.
Results achieved in the last few years
compensation,cropdestructions,
amongothers.
We look into how the land is
utilized, how much is used for
agriculture, housing , illegal
mining, community forests
etc. Land is a finite resource so
we can have a sustainable use
of the land and all its
encumbrances (what is on and
whatisundertheland).
This helps to identify land
vulnerability such as soil
fertility, surface water, geology,
proper agronomic techniques,
better land use and infrastructure
planning.
Before we start mapping, we
first sensitize community
members so they understand
the purpose of the mapping,
and they are assured that the
intention is not to take over
their land but to help them
better manage their land
resources. For example
community mapping helps to
answer questions like: where
will roads, markets, hospitals,
police stations, and other social
amenities services go? Through
the forest, fertile grounds,
swamp lands, or through
allocated mining concessions?
Community Mapping and
Property Rights facilitates
better decision-making process
for a more efficient use of
communitylandandresources.
Community Mapping and
Property Rights also helps to
reduce conflicts or prevent
them, and where they exist,
provides measures to address
them.
Ithank Mr. Jan Broekhuis, Director of
STEWARD for inviting me to this very
importantmeeting.
Protecting the environment and conserving
A Word from the Guinea Water and Forestry Authorities...A Word from the Guinea Water and Forestry Authorities...
Excerpt from the speech of the representative
of the Kindia Prefectoral and Technical Authority
n atural resources ar e
indispensable for humanity,
asman's development and very
survival greatly depend on the
environment in which he lives,
and the natural resources that
areavailableforhisuse.
Environmental development
is closely interconnected with
social economic development,
and it is therefore essential to
promote lasting development
that takes into account the
effective involvement of the
people concerned as well as
government technical services
to ensure the continuation of
achievements and sustainable
managementofresources.
Often in the past in the
Republic of Guinea, several
projects and programs have
failed because of the non-
involvement of beneficiary
communities and government
structuresintheimplementation
Mr. Nyankoye KPOGHOMOU,
Head of the Prefectural Water & Forestry
Department, Kindia, Guinea
he MRU, as the political
umbrella for all sub
regional projects andTprograms implemented within the
Mano River Union countries, can
lobby with the statutory bodies of
the Organization (Council of
Ministers, Summit of Heads of
State) for political support for the
implementation of projects that
strive to achieve conservation and
sustainable management of forest
ecosystems and water resources
and climate change mitigation and
adaptation.
The Union can also facilitate the
harmonisation of Member States'
policies, laws and regulations on
conservation and management of
ecosystems and biodiversity, as
well as on environmental
governance; encourage and
facilitate cooperation between
countries for a better management
of trans-border natural resources;
coordinate the establishment of
trans-border forest ecosystems
management committees; and
contribute to the development of
the WASH component of the
STEWARDProgram
AUDER Team
Thomson Reuters Team
Mr. Alpha Ahmadou Balde
Program Director
and from the Mano River Union
of activities. It is for this reason
that we express, here at this
meeting and elsewhere, our
total satisfaction with the
STEWARD Program and all
implementing partners who
have always involved both
the community and the
government in program
implementation.
We acknowledge what
STEWARD has been doing
here in Guinea and the positive
impact of their activities on the
environment in general, and on
forest resources in particular in
theinterventionzones.
We recommend that all other
projects and programs cultivate
STEWARD'S method of work
in order to promote the lasting
development desired by our
governments. I thank you and
wish STEWARD continued
success.
STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 3STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 6
WHAT PARTNERS’ HAVE TO SAYWHAT PARTNERS’ HAVE TO SAY
AUDER
Talks about the benefits of Community Mapping and Property Rights
Thomson Reuters

4. MAMOU MEETING THROUGH THE LENS
USAID W/A STEWARD Director making a point
MRU, & Kindia Water & Forestry
Authority Representative
The STEWARD Team
he Mamou Meeting came out as
planned. Partners expressed
appreciation that expectationsTwere met, especially with the definition of
indicators. At the last partners' meeting in
2012 partners and stakeholders did not
seem to understand the various facets of
the STEWARD Program. This year the
partners' meeting clearly addressed all
implementationissues
Some Reflections
from the Meeting
he Mamou Meeting has been a huge
success. According to the
evaluation forms received, overT90% of participants indicated that their
expectations were met, while the workshop
sessionswererated 4onascaleof1-5.
The partners are well placed to continue
their efforts to make the STEWARD
Program a success, and I am confident that
next year’s partners’ meeting will provide
proofofthat.
STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 5STEWARD PARTNERS’ MEETING 4
USAID & USFS - IP in discussion
Fun and laughter after the meeting
his was my maiden Partners' meeting, and
I believe we achieved set objectives -
pulling together all work plans andTestablishing rules clearly. Now every
implementing partner knows what is expected.
Overall, the Mamou meeting was very positive
andproductive.
Mrs Ada Oka Williams
STEWARD Assistant Director
Jan Broekhuis
STEWARD Program Director Mr. Foday S. Kanu STEWARD
Monitoring & Evaluation Officer