Conservation Coaches Network
Workshop Presentation
2B. Develop a Formal
Monitoring Plan
Adaptive Management Workshop
Presentations
1A-1B. Team, Scope, Vision
1B. Conservation Targets
1B. Viability Assessment
2A-1. Strategy Selection
2A-2. Results Chains
2A-3. Goals and Objectives
1C. Threat Rating
1D. Conceptual Models
2B. Monitoring
Plan
Plan Your Actions &
Monitoring
Measures
This Presentation
Measures
• Types of measures and their value
• How to develop a monitoring plan
• Challenges related to monitoring and how to
overcome them
Basic Terminology
Measures
• Monitoring – The periodic collection and
evaluation of data relative to stated project goals
and objectives.
Note: Many people often also refer to this process as
monitoring and evaluation (M&E).
• Measures (of Success) = Indicators –
An indicator is a measurable entity, such as the
status of a target, change in a threat, or progress
toward an objective.
Status Question:
How are Species and
Ecosystems Doing?
Measures
?
Effectiveness Question:
Are Our Actions Leading
to Desired Results?
?
Measures
Status Measures
• Like periodic check-ups of blood
pressure or cholesterol
• Status Questions
– How is the biodiversity we care
about doing?
– How are threats to biodiversity
changing?
– Is the capacity to improve
conservation changing?
– Can be used for Early Warning
Measures
Strategy Effectiveness
Measures
Measures
• Strategy Effectiveness Questions
– Are our conservation actions having their
intended impact?
– Used for Adaptive Management
Measures Matter!
Measures
• Often seen as the last step or too challenging or
expensive, so neglected
• But essential to:
– Enable adapting, learning, & sharing
– Provide transparency and accountability
– Secure future funding
This Presentation
Measures
• Types of measures and their value
• How to develop a monitoring plan
• Challenges related to monitoring and how to
overcome them
Develop Your
Monitoring Plan
Measures
Key Steps
1. Develop one or more indicators for each
goal, objective and other information need
2. Prioritize your indicators based on your
monitoring budget
3. For priority indicators, select your methods and
how you will collect the information
4. Determine who will collect the data and when
1. Develop Indicator(s) for
Each Goal & Objective
Measures
What is necessary: monitoring goals and objectives
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1. Develop Indicator(s) for
Each Goal & Objective
Measures
• What is ideal: monitoring key results, even if they
don’t have an associated objective
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1. Develop Indicator(s) for
Each Goal & Objective
Measures
Indicator: A measurable entity related to a specific
information need such as the status of a target,
change in a threat, or progress toward an
objective
1. Develop Indicator(s) for
Each Goal & Objective
Measures
A good indicator should meet the following criteria:
Measurable: Able to be recorded and analyzed in
quantitative or qualitative terms.
Precise: Defined the same way by all people.
Consistent: Not changing over time so that it
always provides comparable measurements.
Sensitive: Changing proportionately in response
to actual changes in the condition or item being
measured.
What Is Meant by
“Sensitive”?
Measures
HH income
HH rice consumption
Examples of Indicators
Measures
Goal for Blue-billed Ducks: By mid-2017, the
presence (no. of locations documented) and
abundance of blue-billed ducks dependent upon
the Swan Coastal Plain return to at least 1995
levels.
Indicator 1: # of individual blue-billed ducks
Indicator 2: GPS locations (distribution) of bluebilled duck occurrences
Example of Status
Indicators
Measures
• Target: Lakes
• KEA: Water quality
• Goal: Beginning in 2013, water quality in the
lakes remains stable or improves.
• Indicators:
– Dissolved oxygen (mg/L)
– Nitrates (mg/L) and Phosphates (mg/L)
– Transparency (depth of light penetration)
Note: These are status indicators because the project
team is not taking action to improve water quality. If they
were, these would be effectiveness indicators.
Examples of Indicators
# of new invasive plant species recorded
in the Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands
and seasonally flooded wetlands
Measures
OBJ. C1: By 2015 and thereafter, no
new invasive plant species are detected
in the Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands
and seasonally flooded wetlands
Examples of Indicators
OBJ. B: By 2011, there are no more than
10 infractions issued annually against
landowners in the Swan Coastal Plain for
illegal clearing of vegetation
Measures
# infractions issued annually
against landowners in the Swan
Coastal Plain for illegal clearing of
vegetation
Examples of Indicators
Landowners’
attitudes toward
BMPs and
conservation
protection
mechanisms
Measures
Develop Your
Monitoring Plan
Measures
Key Steps
1. Develop one or more indicators for each goal,
objective and other information need
2. Prioritize your indicators based on your
monitoring budget
3. For priority indicators, select your methods and
how you will collect the information
4. Determine who will collect the data and when
Develop Your
Monitoring Plan
Measures
Key Steps
1. Develop one or more indicators for each goal,
objective and other information need
2. Prioritize your indicators based on your
monitoring budget
3. For priority indicators, select your methods
and how you will collect the information
4. Determine who will collect the data and when
Selection of
Appropriate Methods
Measures
Method: A specific technique used to collect
data to measure an indicator.
The selection of the most appropriate
monitoring method depends on:
• The information you need
• The information you have
• The skills of the project team
• Availability of time, money and other
resources
Examples of
Monitoring Methods
•
To obtain quantitative data
–
–
•
Tracking project records
Formal survey
To obtain qualitative data:
–
–
–
–
Key informant interview
Focus group discussion
Direct observation
Social (participatory) mapping
Measures
5. Select your methods
and how you will
collect the information
Measures
A good method should meet the following criteria:
• Accurate: Gives minimal or no error
• Reliable: Results obtained using the method are
consistently repeatable
• Cost-effective: Not overly expensive for the data the
method yields or for the resources the project has
• Feasible: Project team has people who can use the
method, as well as the material and financial resources
to use the method
• Appropriate: Appropriate to the environmental,
cultural, and political context of the project
Examples of
Monitoring Methods
# of new invasive plant species recorded
in the Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands
and seasonally flooded wetlands
Method: conduct
vegetation
surveys
Measures
OBJ. C1: By 2015 and thereafter, no
new invasive plant species are detected
in the Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands
and seasonally flooded wetlands
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OBJ. B: By 2011, there are no more than
10 infractions issued annually against
landowners in the Swan Coastal Plain for
illegal clearing of vegetation
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Method: track law
enforcement
records
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# infractions issued annually
against landowners in the
Swan Coastal Plain for illegal
clearing of vegetation
Examples of
Monitoring Methods
Measures
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Method: key
informant interviews
or focus group
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Landowners’
attitudes toward
BMPs and
conservation
protection
mechanisms
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Examples of
Monitoring Methods
By 2012 all 12 Marine Protected
Areas (MPAs) have at least one
sustainable mechanism that is
generating income, representing at
least 20% of their total annual budget
Support in
developing
sustainable
finance
mechanisms
Increased knowledge
about financial and
business planning and
sustainable finance
mecanisms
By 2017 all 12 MPAs
reach a management
effectiveness minimum
score of “Good” …
Obj MPA10
Obj MPA8
Obj MPA14
All MPAs have
financial /
business plans
Greater number of
sustainable finance
mecanisms
implemented in
MPAs
Increased
financial
investment in
MPAs
12 MPAs
more
effectively
managed
Method: track project
records
Scope: MAR
System of
Management Areas
Whale
sharks
Less
inappropriate
aquatic
tourism
practices
Obj MPA9
% of MPA budget that
comes from self generating
sources of income
Measures
Greater
stability (less
turn-over) in
MPA personnel
Management
effectiveness
assessment score
Less
overfishing
and
inappropriate
fishing
practices
Less
development
of
inappropriate
tourism
infrastructure
Less
inappropriate
urban coastal
development
SPAGs
Sea
grasses
Coral
reefs
Estuaries
& coastal
lagoons
Mangroves
Method: formal
survey
More
preparation
for global
climate
change
Beach &
dune
systems
Develop Your
Monitoring Plan
Measures
Key Steps
1. Identify your audiences
2. Identify your information needs
3. Develop one or more indicators for each
information need
4. Select your monitoring approach
5. Select your methods and how you will collect
the information
6. Determine who will collect data and when
Example of a
Monitoring Plan
What (Indicator)
How
(Methods)
When
Who
Measures
Comments
Goal: By mid-2017, the presence (no. of locations documented) and
abundance of blue-billed ducks dependent upon the Swan Coastal
Plain return to at least 1995 levels.
Monitoring Approach: time series
# of individual
blue-billed ducks
Bird transects Every 2
years in
July.
Univ. of
Western
Australia
(UWA –
Sherri S.)
WWF plans to analyze
relevant data from UWA
& not do any monitoring
itself on blue-billed
ducks
GPS locations of
blue-billed duck
occurrences
Spatial maps
of bird
transect data
Univ. of
Western
Australia
(UWA –
Sherri S.)
WWF plans to analyze
relevant data from UWA
& not do any monitoring
itself on blue-billed
ducks.
Every 2
years in
July.
Example of a
Monitoring Plan
What
(Indicator)
How
(Methods)
When
Measures
Who
Comments
Objective: By 2015 and thereafter, no new invasive plant species are
detected in the Eucalyptus-Melaleuca woodlands and seasonally flooded
wetlands.
Monitoring Approach: time series
# of new invasive plant
species recorded in the
Eucalyptus-Melaleuca
woodlands and
seasonally flooded
wetlands
Vegetation
surveys –
transects
Every 2
years, in
Sept,
beginning in
2009
Andrew K.
(WWF)
To be conducted
at the end of the
wet season for
accuracy and
consistency
Monitoring Plan in
Miradi
Measures
To Address Our Original
Questions
Measures
• Are we doing the right things?
We design strategies based on a conceptual
model, prioritize threats and use result chains
• Are we doing them well?
We monitor objectives
• Are we achieving an impact?
We monitor goals
This Presentation
Measures
• Types of measures and their value
• How to develop a monitoring plan
• Common issues and recommendations
Common Issues &
Recommendations
Measures
Issue: Monitoring is perceived as too complex,
time-consuming and expensive
– Keep it as simple as possible
– Focus on essential monitoring –
prioritize indicators
– Dedicate 5-10% of budget
– If possible, use data collected by others
– Invite someone with experience to peer
review monitoring plan
Common Issues &
Recommendations
Measures
Issue: Need to keep monitoring costs down
– When possible, incorporate monitoring into
existing work
– Consider less frequent monitoring visits
rather than no monitoring
– Consider low-cost, qualitative options rather
than no monitoring
– Engage local people & volunteers in
monitoring efforts
Common Issues &
Recommendations
Measures
Issue: What is the appropriate level of investment
between taking action, assessing status,
measuring effectiveness?
– No easy answers. Consider:
• Presence of known, serious threats
• Level of understanding of targets, threats, and
their linkage
• Degree of certainty in strategy effectiveness
• Risks of action – ecological, economic,
reputational, etc.
• Available resources
Common Issues &
Recommendations
Issue: Completing the adaptive
management cycle
– Establish explicit mechanism for
analyzing monitoring data,
communicating results, and
adapting & learning
– Keep it as simple as possible
– Even once per year, a review is
helpful
Measures
Key Points
Measures
• Though often seen as last step or too challenging,
Measures Matter! (transparency, accountability,
adaptive learning)
• Strategy effectiveness measures (conservation
actions having intended impact?) vs. status
measures (how is biodiversity doing?)
• You develop measures as you develop your plan
(KEA’s, threats objectives, viability goals)
• Prioritize measures based on a realistic budget