Introducing and evaluating a knowledge transfer approach to support problem solving in and around protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) can generate many benefits inside and outside their borders, and achieving objectives for diverse stakeholders raises many challenges. There are many examples of successful PA management around the globe, although a systematic and comprehensive approach to developing and sharing these solutions has been lacking. We present “solutioning” as a structured process of peer-learning, which can inform management strategies in and around protected areas. We explain how the PANORAMA—Solutions for a Healthy Planet initiative has put solutioning into practice through an interactive community and web portal to learn about protected area solutions around the globe. Unlike other web platforms and initiatives reviewed, PANORAMA facilitates adaptation of solution elements (i.e., building blocks) for novel implementation. Supported by theories of resilience and peer-learning, PANORAMA appears to have potential to promote efficiency and equitable benefits for PAs and associated stakeholders focused on nature conservation and sustainable development, although further research is needed to assess whether this learning leads to better solutions or more effective PA management. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-018-1048-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Appendix S1. History of the PANORAMA initiative.
The PANORAMA -Solutions for a Healthy Planet initiative builds on conceptual work led by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas and partners, profiling protected areas as "natural solutions" to global challenges such as climate change (IUCN 2015). As an investment laying foundations for PANORAMA, the Blue Solutions project (https://bluesolutions.info) pioneered the solutioning approach, developed in partnership between the German International Cooperation Agency (GIZ), GRID-Arendal, IUCN and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), with a focus on conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources (not limited to protected areas). This partnership led to development of a case study template and methodology for documenting and sharing solutions, which was adopted for the newly conceived PANORAMA initiative that was to initially focus on protected-area (PA) management and governance.

With funding provided by the Global Environment Facility, IUCN's Global Protected Areas
Programme in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme led a project with the aim of using the IUCN World Parks Congress 2014 as a 'strategic platform for development & learning' and supporting existing and new PA learning networks. PANORAMA was an integral part of that project. PANORAMA as an initiative was formally launched at the Congress, with an initial focus on protected area solutions to complement the contemporary Blue Solutions. The beta PANORAMA web platform was presented during the Congress, with an initial set of around 40 "inspiring protected area solutions". IUCN, at the Congress, highlighted the opportunity for PA professionals to document and share their solutions to foster an emerging global community of practice. In addition to the presentation, IUCN staff approached presenters at the Congress to solicit their solutions. Many of these presenters agreed and submitted their solutions for inclusion using the provided template. Following the Congress, PANORAMA was carried on as an ongoing effort.
Solutions were continuously being documented and published on the PANORAMA portal. These solutions were initiated by proactive submissions from solution providers that had heard about 3 PANORAMA or by IUCN staff contacting potential providers based on peer recommendations and information published elsewhere.
The process for publishing a solution typically followed four steps: 1) provider filled the template and submitted this as draft; 2) IUCN staff reviewed the draft and provided comments; 3) solution provider revised the draft according to the comments and resubmitted it; and 4) solution was published once both sides had agreed on a final version. During the first step, IUCN staff would sometimes assist the solution provider to clarify any questions they had when initially filling the template. In some cases IUCN staff or other PA professionals used available documents (e.g., final reports from projects) to prepare an initial draft solution, which was then followed by step 3 above. IUCN staff worked in close coordination with the provider to ensure that the text and images were suitable for the solution template, and as such Steps 2 and 3 were often iterative to accommodate multiple rounds of edits by the provider if needed. The solution description was always original writing, even though it was sometimes based on existing websites or publications.
Following feedback from early users of the beta PANORAMA web platform and users of an initial Blue Solutions platform, a much improved platform was developed and then released and presented at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2016, initially hosting the "protected area solution" case studies assembled by IUCN thus far, as well as "marine and coastal solution" case studies assembled through the Blue Solutions project. With this new iteration, PANORAMA was framed as a broader initiative, not only as a web platform but also an effort to engage conservation practitioners and develop partnerships through workshops, trainings, webinars and other means. Importantly, the thematic focus of PANORAMA was expanded beyond "protected areas", recognizing that the "solutioning approach" is applicable across subjects, and inviting in new partners to apply the approach to new themes and join the partnership as coordinators for a particular theme, which are reflected as "portals" on the web platform. Building on the "Protected Areas Solutions" and the "Marine and Coastal Solutions" themes, a 3 rd thematic community on "Ecosystem-based Adaptation replicable solutions across a range of conservation and development topics, enabling cross-sectoral, cross-thematic learning and inspiration. Following its evolution and the pioneering role of GIZ and IUCN in PANORAMA's development, these 2 organizations act as Founding Partners with a longerterm institutional commitment, coordinating and leading the partnership and its further development, ensuring its sustainability including through establishment of new collaborations, integration into programmatic priorities, staff and financial support, and overseeing the web platform.

Appendix S2. Template for full solution on PANORAMA web portal.
Character limits when relevant are given in parentheses, and an asterisk (*) indicates a required field.

Portal * [Protected areas / Marine and coastal / Ecosystem-based adaptation]
Title * Location on the map * Please name the place, country or region of implementation of your solution.
In case your solution is implemented in more than one location, please enter these locations here (250) Summary * (500) Please write a short description that explains what the solution is and how it is being applied.

Impacts * (1400)
Please describe the demonstrated positive impacts of your solution including environmental, social and economic impacts.
Related resources Add picture, video, document, link(s)

Challenges and beneficiaries
Challenges *(1000) Please describe the main challenges your solution addresses and, if possible, differentiate between environmental, social and economic challenges.
Beneficiaries * (250) Please name the beneficiaries of your solution.

Categories
Region * Check all that apply: Africa; East and South Africa; North Africa; West and Central Africa;

An inspiring story
Please illustrate your solution by providing an inspiring, personal story of the solution in action.
Upload an image (e.g. of the story-teller) to illustrate the story.

Contributors
Contributor's full name * (75) Contributor's organization (100) Contributor's email Step-by-step instructions or a pictorial chart may be helpful for greater clarity.

Appendix S3. PANORMA solutioning workshop formats.
Solutioning workshops have been useful in two general formats: one is where only staff from a single organization participate, and the other is where several actors representing each of multiple regional organizations participate.
 The single-organization workshops enable evaluation of existing knowledge and its sharing within the staff of the organization, where individuals reflect on their experience before discussing solutions and building blocks that can be transferred within the organization and applied on the ground.
 The multi-organization workshops allow actors to connect not only around shared issues and geographic contexts, but also across sectors and geographies, which supports the upscaling of solutions e.g. across a broader region.
It is also possible to conduct solutioning workshops at a site level, discussing solutions with stakeholder representatives, including PA authorities, representatives of non-government organizations working in the area, and local business owners adjacent to a protected area.
This example illustrates the application of each step of the solutioning process ( Fig. 1 in main text).
The process began in step 1 with a privately owned wilderness safari and the Torra Conservancy, which are stakeholders involved with a community-run protected area in Damaraland near the northern coast of Namibia, reflecting on a solution they had implemented. The region had been facing biodiversity losses caused by overhunting of local wildlife for bushmeat and for protection of livestock, and the situation was exacerbated by extreme poverty and harsh climatic conditions. In response to these challenges, a private wildlife tourism company formed a joint venture with the Torra Conservancy to support socioecological sustainability for Damaraland. This joint venture led to a boost in the local economy through creation of jobs associated with wildlife tourism and improvements in biodiversity following recovery of impacted wildlife species, including Hartman's mountain zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae), African bush elephant (Loxodonta africana), and black rhino (Diceros bicornis). After this reflection, the stakeholders documented and communicated the solution in steps 2 and 3 of the solutioning process (Snyman 2017) Meanwhile along the opposite coast of Africa, communities in the Saadani region along the northern shore of Tanzania were facing challenges following establishment of Saadani National Park in 2005.
In particular, the local communities expressed concerns that they had lost access and use rights to the land and were therefore unable to benefit from the creation of the protected area (Downie 2015, Kesho Trust 2017. Recognizing the need and potential for using solutioning to further progress in improvement of relations between the PA and surrounding stakeholders in the Saadani region, a series of two PANORAMA workshops were held that included staff from IUCN and Kesho Trust (nongovernment organization [NGO] supporting community-based conservation), international sustainable tourism experts network (Linking Tourism & Conservation), authorities from Saadani National Park, staff from a local NGO (Saving Africa's Nature), and representatives of six local villages (Downie 2016). During these workshops the participants were introduced to published PANORAMA solutions including the one from Damaraland (Kujirakwinja 2017, Snyman 2017, and they discussed how the published building blocks might be adapted and applied (step 4) to address the identified challenges 14 within the Saadani region. The community participants also identified building blocks on their own, facilitated by Kesho Trust, which has led to gradual improvements in the relationship with the park administration over the last few years. This solution was later published on the PANORAMA platform (Downie 2017).
Here, we highlight building blocks from the Damaraland solution that provided inspiration in the Saadani context. First a plan for a joint venture was initiated between local communities and a private tourism company in the Saadani region, which was directly inspired by the Damaraland solution, in addition to input from all groups involved in the workshops. Second, they identified a suitable site to create a wildlife tourism camp in Saadani, which was also inspired from the Damaraland solution.
Although the joint venture and associated tourism camp have yet to be implemented, this example from Africa illustrates how a building block for a solution in one region (here, Damaraland) can inspire the design of a solution in a distant region (here, Saadani National Park) facing similar challenges and finally leading to an adapted building block being implemented.

Appendix S5. Future prospects for the PANORAMA initiative.
Partnering with additional institutions is critical for maintaining and expanding the PANORAMA initiative, recognizing the increasing costs of maintaining updated website technology along with meeting changing needs and interests of funders and protected area professionals. New thematic communities, reflected through portals on the web platform, will continuously be added to PANORAMA based on interest of partners and their commitment to coordinate the solicitation and publication of solutions within these portals. At the discretion of the PANORAMA steering group, partner organizations will additionally be asked to provide financial and in-kind contributions.
The steering group also defines priorities and criteria for new themes and partners -including a shared "sense of responsibility" for sustaining PANORAMA. The goals of additional thematic communities are to broaden the thematic scope and the partnership base of PANORAMA to achieve a more diverse set of solutions, facilitating inter-sectorial learning, and expand the inclusiveness and longevity of the PANORAMA initiative. For example a new portal on sustainable agriculture is scheduled to be launched mid-November 2017, coordinated by Rare and GIZ, and further thematic communities are under discussion. As another example, within the protected area portal, there are 17 solutions that are relevant to transboundary natural resource management (Rodrigues and Fischborn 2016), and a partner organization could offer to coordinate a new portal on this topic to expand the number of published solutions and utilize them as part of their own mission that aligns with the goals of PANORAMA.
Other considerations include the potential dissolvement of the platform's portal structure, as thematic overlaps between portals will increase. PANORAMA at present is a partnership of 5 institutions, with active interest from further partners to join in and invest in it. The added value to these partners is that a strong network, "brand recognition", powerful web tool, and knowledge management methodology has already been developed and is ready to be used by these institutions -almost like a "module" which can be plugged into projects to e.g. meet knowledge management requirements. Interest of new institutions, as well as further units within the existing partners, to use PANORAMA, will only increase the more known the initiative becomes, in turn enhancing its sustainability, and adding to the ongoing efforts of the existing partners to ensure continuous funding beyond the life span of the projects that helped to establish PANORAMA Given that PANORAMA covers diverse PA solutions that are not limited by geography or topic, with new solutions continuously being added, PA stakeholders around the globe can look to this platform as an efficient means of accessing and sharing knowledge on PA management. IUCN and GIZ, along with the other partners, are actively identifying relevant related initiatives and platforms, and encourage solution providers to contribute to these as well where appropriate. An example collaboration involved university scientists working on a project examining challenges and solutions for protected area managers in transboundary areas, and through this joint effort 9 solutions on transboundary conservation were published (Rodrigues and Fischborn 2016). In the future, similar collaborations will be pursued. Working in parallel, related initiatives can display whole or parts of relevant PANORAMA solutions on their case-study web portals to serve their more targeted user communities. Such collaboration is another mechanism to expand the diversity of partners and user base for PANORAMA.