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The workshop aimed to help participants play a bigger role in telling stories about ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s, MFF’s and CEPF’s work on the ground to key stakeholders in the government and private sectors.�� It also aimed to equip participants with a set of communications tools and techniques that can help them engage and influence key target audiences, through more effective communication of project results, stories of positive impact and lessons learned.

������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� communications officers, MFF national coordinators and representatives from CEPF grantee organisations – comprised of civil society organisations from across the Indo-Burma region – worked in small groups to discuss communications concepts, with a focus on story-telling techniques. Participants also worked individually to produce stories of positive change.

Facilitated by Peter-Paul Van Kempen and Li Hanying from ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s Commission on Education and Communications, and assisted by the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Asia Communications team, the workshop introduced key drivers of change, such as ‘motivation’, ‘habits’, and ‘social pressure’. Participants also learned how to utilise these drivers of change to influence key conservation stakeholders.

By bringing representatives from two major regional programmes as well as ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� country offices together, the workshop contributed to strengthening coordination and communication between diverse conservation initiatives in the region.

“As ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ��’s model is based on partnerships, effective communication with these partners is an essential ingredient in our success, from grassroots stakeholders to policy-makers and the international community, including the private sector,”��says Dr Tejpal Singh, Deputy Regional Director, Programme, ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Asia.����“In order for ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� to advance the conservation and sustainability agenda, it is important for the organisation to be able to influence government policies and mechanisms and to engage and influence the private sector to foster positive change in business practices.”

MFF and CEPF are two of the largest grant-making mechanisms in Asia, aiming to promote investments in coastal ecosystems and to safeguard biodiversity respectively.

Workshops of this nature are a priority for both MFF and CEPF, as these programmes enhance the capacity of staff and grantees to use strategic communications to help drive policy change. MFF’s mid-term review recommended that there should be an increased focus on embedding analytical thinking to enable programme staff to effectively capture lessons learned, accomplishments and challenges.

CEPF also places a special focus on communications and story-telling as a means to encourage investments in biodiversity conservation and work towards achieving conservation goals.

The workshop was attended by conservation practitioners��from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia,��Lao PDR,��the Maldives,��Myanmar,��Nepal,��Pakistan, Sri Lanka,��Thailand and Viet Nam.

For more pictures from the workshop visit the .

is a partnership-based regional initiative which promotes investment in coastal ecosystem conservation for sustainable development. MFF focuses on the role that healthy, well-managed coastal ecosystems play in building the resilience of ecosystem-dependent coastal communities in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Myanmar, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. The initiative uses mangroves as a flagship ecosystem, but MFF is inclusive of all types of coastal ecosystem, such as coral reefs, estuaries, lagoons, sandy beaches, sea grasses and wetlands. MFF is co-chaired by ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� and UNDP, and is funded by Danida, Norad, and Sida and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Thailand.

Founded in 2000, the����is a global leader in enabling civil society to participate in and benefit from conserving some of the world’s most critical ecosystems by providing grants for organisations to help protect biodiversity hotspots,��Earth’s most biologically rich yet threatened areas.��CEPF is a joint initiative of��,����(������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Member), the��, the��, the Government of Japan (������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� State Member), the����and the��.

������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� is��leading the second phase��of��CEPF's work in the Indo-Burma hotspot, working together with the Myanmar Environment Rehabilitation-conservation Network (MERN) and Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden (KFBG) to form the CEPF Regional Implementation Team (RIT).