To meet this target, the action plan is designed to contain numerous actions and instruments, aggregated in four activity groups delineated respectively for expansion of protected area coverage, rational designation and use of land, empowerment of local community members to become active participants in PA management, and improvement of local community livelihoods. Protection activities in the action plan are targeted to fill the gap in protected area coverage as current protection level is currently 90 % less than the committed international target. Filling the gap in protection coverage will be realized by legally declaring a more ecologically representative network of protected areas to cover 12% of Yemen territorial waters and 7% of Yemen terrestrial land. This will be accomplished by assessing the comprehensiveness, representativeness and adequacy of the current system of protected areas to verify protection gaps and to identify priority for protection, making use of recent findings on biodiversity. Complementary to this intervention, additional restoration interventions will be implemented focusing in-situ conservation of forest genetic resources and forest plantation, particularly mangrove forest along with promotion of restoration of marine ecosystem services by developing and implementing wetland and coral reefs restoration programs.
Rational use of land resources will be met through changing land-use planning modality to integrated planning approach. This approach helps to prevent, mitigate or repair excessive damage to biodiversity resulting from human activities outside protected areas based on rational designation and use of land and land-use planning. Rational land use will be met via demarcation of connectivity corridors for PAs and involving local communities in the designation of connectivity corridors and in determining the use of resources within connectivity corridors. The planning of protected areas within the broader landscapes is an important planning approach to limit habitat fragmentation & improve adaptation to climate change. This approach will be put in place via promoting integrated flood management and establishment of ecologic corridors in the form of vegetated road side & stone walls along the Wadie courses between fragmented areas and protected areas to help spreading of wild plant species. Implementation of conservation management plans for terrestrial protected areas that fully integrate the ecosystem approach into sectoral planning as well as the integrated coastal zone management plans are also vital element for promoting integrated land-use planning, see section for more actions to promote integrated land management. Empowerment of local communities in PA management will be achieved by further promoting community-based management in the management of nature reserves to cover all protected areas, improving local community capacity in protected areas management and sustainable harvesting of the natural products available in their PAs. Capacity building of local and community actors focuses on strengthening monitoring capacity; enforcement of conservation law, policy, and practice, and planning natural resources. Local community livelihoods will be improved by enabling them to directly and indirectly access and benefit from the goods and services delivered by Yemen‟s ecosystems. Direct benefits will accessed by mainstreaming sustainable management principles in forest, rangelands , mangroves, marine, aquatic and agroforestry areas. This approach will help them access and meet most of their livelihoods needs such as fuel wood & charcoal for rural energy, fodder for livestock, timber, natural medicines, honey and food, including such as lobster, fish, genetic resources and indigenous products of cereals, fruit, vegetables, etc. Indirect benefits will be gained by including them in managing PAs and managing provision of tourism and leisure activities, which will enable them to use the revenues gained in return of these delivery services for increasing their income. Additional poverty alleviation intervention are given under output 4.3 regarding Poverty mainstreaming.
Indicators:
Trends in extent of forest area Trends in extent of Grassland Trends in extent of mangroves Trends in extent of coral reefs Trends in extent of marine protected areas Trends in extent of terrestrial protected areas Extent of promotion of community-based management in PAs Extent of wetlands Extent of representative coverage of protected areas and other area based approaches, including sites of terrestrial, marine and inland water systems Trends in the connectivity of protected and other area based approaches integrated into land- and seascapes Trends in area of degraded ecosystems restored or being restored Trends in the delivery of ecosystem services and equitable benefits from protected areas Population trends of forest-dependent species in forests under restoration