What is WRAP toolkit?
The Wetland Resources Action Planning (WRAP) toolkit is a toolkit of research methods and better management practices used in HighARCS (Highland Aquatic Resources Conservation and Sustainable Development), an EU-funded project with field experiences in China, Vietnam and India. It aims to communicate best practices in conserving biodiversity and sustaining ecosystem services to potential users and to promote the wise-use of aquatic resources, improve livelihoods and enhance policy information.

Who can use the WRAP toolkit?
Potential users of the WRAP toolkit would be HighARCS’ primary stakeholders: the fishing communities; government and non-government institutions; scientists and researchers; and policy makers in the project sites. It will also cater to the needs of those agencies and institutions who are planning to develop and implement a similar project involving highland aquatic resources conservation and sustainable development.

How to use the WRAP Toolkit
This Toolkit is organized in a homepage showing the general structure of the Wetland Resources Assessment Planning (WRAP) activities as implemented in the HighARCS Project, with many links to several sections and various aspects of the Toolkit.

The main components of the Toolkit are the research approach used in HighARCS, the metholodogy and tools used in the context on how they were adapted in the wetland resources assessment planning activities in HighARCS, and the outputs generated from the activities implemented in HighARCS. The approach and methodology and tools components contain a brief description of the specific topics, i.e., a narrative of the process and specific tools used. These are also linked to their respective outputs. Tools and outputs, in word or PDF files, are downloadable.

Moving the cursor on a box on the homepage gives a short description of topic. Clicking on a topic directs to a list of subsections under the topic.

Section 1: Integrated Approach describes the rationale of using the approach. Subsections are: An Integrated Approach, Stakeholder Engagement, Gender and Age Inclusivity, and Communication Strategy.

Section 2 approximates the activities in the three phases in the HighARCS Project. Phase 1, Wetland Assessment contains: Biodiversity Assessment, Ecosystem Services Valuation, Livelihood Assessment, and Policy Assessment. Phase 2, Development of Integrated Action Plans contains: Joint Strategic Planning and Organization of Activities. Phase 3, Implementation, Monitoring and Evaluation contains: Coordinated Implementation, Monitoring, and Evaluation.

Section 3 comprises project outputs as well as reflections and lessons learned from the HighARCS experience. Outputs are categorized as evidence, results, impacts, and outcomes. Reflections and Lessons Learned offer insights on what were worked well, what did not work, and how could one do better.

The side menu bar in the homepage are supporting materials to give a better understanding of the WRAP toolkit which includes: HighARCS Project Info, Purpose of the Toolkit, HighARCS Partners and Other Resources, Science-Policy Links and Practice Interface, Glossary, and Feedback/Comments.

Wetlands within the WRAP toolkit are considered in line with the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands which defines them as “areas of marsh, fen, peatland or water, whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary, with water that is static or flowing, fresh, brackish or salt, including areas of marine water the depth of which at low tide does not exceed six metres”. Principles and practices presented in the WRAP toolkit could potentially be used to formulate integrated action plans to promote biodiversity conservation through sustainable use of any of these wetland types, irrespective of site scale or location.