National Pollinator Strategy via a Theory of Change

The Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services Network Trinidad and Tobago project hosted a workshop last September on a Theory of Change for pollinator conservation. The three-day workshop brought together over two dozen participants representing both State agencies and non-government organisations.

The workshop was facilitated by Martijn Thijssen from Promote Pollinators, Coalition of the Willing and Koos Biesmeijer and Marten Schoonman from Naturalis.

The first segment of the workshop shed light on the Theory of Change explaining the logical model and what is involved in its development. Participants discussed and agreed upon a common dream – what impact stakeholders want to have with the goal of a national pollinator strategy. Over the course of the workshop, they identified key actions, actors and factors that would impact the desired outcomes with discussions in five key areas: pollution, legislation, climate change, communication and education, land use.

Working in teams, the participants hammered out a draft flowchart which incorporated obvious overlaps in the five areas. The resulting material has since been uploaded to an online workspace and is in the process of being validated by participants. This draft Theory of Change document will be used in the development of key recommendations for policy review pertaining to conservation of pollinators as a specific segment of Trinidad and Tobago’s biodiversity.