Provide education/training programmes about marshes or swamps

Overall effectiveness category Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)
Number of studies: 2
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

60%
Certainty

30%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

This action involves education programmes, training courses or workshops, aimed at people who directly use, manage or influence marshes and swamps (e.g. managers, farmers in the catchment, local people). Education or training may be about these habitats in general (e.g. their wildlife, their value to humans) or about management techniques (including sustainable water use and land use practices). It may aim to increase the income of local people using marshes or swamps, in order to sustain their livelihoods without intensification or expansion of environmentally damaging activities (but consider that higher incomes could also encourage expansion of activities, as in farmed dambos in Malawi/Zambia; Wetlands International 2009). Education or training may be specifically about vegetation, or about broader aspects of marsh or swamp habitats.

To be clear, studies would be summarized as evidence for this action if the education or training programmes are substantially related to marshes and swamps, even if they involves other wetland habitats (e.g. peatlands), aquatic habitats (e.g. rivers and lakes) or upland habitats (e.g. forests).

Related actions: Designate protected area involving marshes or swamps, which may be supported by education or training; Pay stakeholders to protect marshes or swamps, which may involve education or training; Raise public awareness about marshes or swamps, other than with formal education or training.

^{Wetlands International (2009) Planting Trees to Eat Fish: Field Experiences in Wetlands and Poverty Reduction. Wetlands International, Wageningen, The Netherlands.}

Study locations

Key messages

Two studies evaluated the effects, on vegetation or human behaviour, of providing education/training programmes related to marshes or swamps. One study was in Kenya and one was in Vietnam.

VEGETATION COMMUNITY

VEGETATION ABUNDANCE

VEGETATION STRUCTURE

OTHER

Human behaviour (2 studies): One study in Kenya reported that after a series of seminars and workshops about marsh conservation, two community-based management groups were established by local stakeholders and a grazing fee was introduced. One before-and-after study in Vietnam reported that after local people were trained to make more complex handicrafts from marsh plants (along with helping them to sell those handicrafts in markets), their income increased.

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A study in 2006–2007 in Kenya (Macharia et al. 2010) reported that following a series of seminars and workshops on marsh conservation, two community-based management groups were established and a grazing fee was introduced. The Ondiri Water Resource Users Association aimed to develop an integrated management plan, and controlled water abstraction. The Manugo Ecotourism and Conservation Group aimed to oversee the creation of bylaws to guide sustainable management, and secured funding for conservation activities. A grazing fee was also introduced for the Manugo wetland to control overgrazing, with the proceeds used to fence critical areas and employ a caretaker. Methods: Seminars and workshops were held with communities around the Ondiri and Manugo marshes. Seminars allowed dissemination of information about the state of the marshes. Workshops allowed stakeholders to exchange ideas and experiences, identify key threats, and discuss sustainable management. Participants included community members, researchers, resource managers and government ministers.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Macharia J.M., Thenya T. & Ndiritu G.G. (2010) Management of highland wetlands in central Kenya: The importance of community education, awareness and eco-tourism in biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity, 11, 85-90.
A before-and-after study in 2004–2007 in southern Vietnam (Triet 2010) reported that training locals to make fine handicraft products from marsh plants, along with helping them to sell products in tourist markets, increased their income. Statistical significance was not assessed. Before intervention, the average income of people making products from grey sedge Lepironia articulata was 8,000–10,000 VND/day. Mat-makers earned around 5,000 VND/day. After running the training and marketing scheme for three years, the average income had doubled (data not reported). Mat-makers now earned 30,000 VND/day. Handbag-makers now earned 50,000 VND/day. The study also reported a reduction in human disturbance and encroachment during the scheme, but this was not quantified. Methods: Between 2004 and 2007, the Phu My project aimed to facilitate sustainable use of the Ha Tien marshes by training locals to make fine handicraft products and helping them to sell for higher prices (e.g. in tourist markets). It was hoped that higher quality products (requiring fewer raw materials) and higher incomes (from selling in tourist areas) would reduce harvesting pressure and pressure to convert the marshes to other land uses. The study does not distinguish between the effects of training and marketing. It also does not report further details of the training, marketing or income estimation.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Triet T. (2010) Combining biodiversity conservation with poverty alleviation – a case study in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management , 13, 41-46.

Please cite as:

Taylor N.G., Grillas P., Smith R.K. & Sutherland W.J. (2021) Marsh and Swamp Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions to Conserve Marsh and Swamp Vegetation. Conservation Evidence Series Synopses. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Marsh and Swamp Conservation

Related Actions

Actions	Effectiveness	Studies	Category
Provide education/training programmes about marshes or swamps Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	2	Synopsis Link
Produce guidance for marsh or swamp conservation Action Link	Unknown effectiveness (limited evidence)	1	Synopsis Link
Engage local people in management/monitoring of marshes or swamps Action Link	Likely to be beneficial	2	Synopsis Link