TERN served as the Knowledge Management and Capacity Building partner for the UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme and UN-REDD’s CBR+ initiative in Sri Lanka. Through this role, TERN supported grassroots projects that protected forests, empowered communities, and preserved indigenous knowledge. Our team helped grantees capture lessons, document results, and share them widely through reports, thematic analyses, and visual storytelling. We also provided capacity-building support, from training in forest monitoring and data management to mentoring in advocacy and community engagement. Working with partners such as the Centre for Environmental Justice, Women’s Development Foundation, UCDWA, and the National Forum on Climate Change, TERN strengthened local conservation actions and linked them to national and global climate goals. The program demonstrated how systematic knowledge management and hands-on training can turn small community initiatives into replicable models for biodiversity conservation and climate resilience.

Knowledge Management and Capacity Building by TERN

The Community-Based REDD+ (CBR+) Program, led in Sri Lanka through the UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme and UN-REDD, aimed to strengthen grassroots action in forest conservation and climate change mitigation. TERN was appointed as the Knowledge Management (KM) and Capacity Building (CB) partner, ensuring that learning, data, and practices generated by community projects were effectively captured, organized, and shared. This role was vital to prevent knowledge loss at the end of funding cycles and to create models that could be replicated beyond pilot sites.
Role of Knowledge Management. TERN developed and implemented a knowledge strategy that highlighted the results of community-led projects, while also creating mechanisms for broader dissemination. This included producing summary documents, logical frameworks, thematic analyses of forest destruction drivers, and regular progress updates for UNDP and UN-REDD. By functioning as a communication bridge between local grantees, government agencies, and international partners, TERN ensured that the insights gained were visible, accessible, and ready for mainstreaming into larger conservation policies. High-quality documentation was central to this process. TERN provided guidance to all grantees on systematic record-keeping, reporting, and creating pictorial databases of project activities. Visual stories and photo libraries were encouraged as powerful tools for communication and advocacy, helping local experiences resonate at national and global forums.

Capacity Building for Grassroots Conservation

Alongside knowledge management, TERN focused on strengthening the capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and community groups to deliver and sustain forest conservation outcomes. This went beyond one-off trainings: TERN provided continuous mentoring, technical support, and follow-up. Grantees were trained in areas such as documentation, data management, forest mensuration, and digital monitoring tools. These efforts empowered local actors not only to implement projects but also to evaluate progress, adapt to challenges, and influence decision-making. On-site capacity assessments and field visits allowed TERN to tailor support for each project, reflecting the varied focal areas, community contexts, and obstacles faced by grantees. Participation in community-level activities further strengthened trust and collaboration, while also allowing TERN to assess real-time needs and provide targeted solutions.

Project Portfolio

As KM and CB partner, TERN worked with four diverse projects under the CBR+ program:
•    Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ): Establishing a forest CSO monitoring system.
•    Women’s Development Foundation (WDF): Empowering forest-dependent indigenous communities to sustainably use forest resources and document traditional knowledge.
•    United Community Development Women’s Association (UCDWA): Supporting participatory community actions to conserve the western border of Udawalawe National Park and Bambaragala Mukalana Forest.
•    National Forum on Climate Change (NFCC): Strengthening advocacy for community-based forest conservation in the Madu Reserve.

Each of these projects addressed different aspects of forest protection, from indigenous knowledge preservation to community monitoring and advocacy. TERN’s KM and CB support ensured that these localized efforts produced measurable results, reliable data, and replicable practices that could inform national REDD+ processes.
Outcomes and Impact
The initiative enhanced both the quality and visibility of grassroots forest conservation projects in Sri Lanka. By embedding knowledge management practices and strengthening organizational capacity, TERN contributed to:
•    Improved monitoring of project indicators and impacts.
•    Stronger community engagement in forest protection.
•    Enhanced ability of CSOs to advocate for conservation policies.
•    Creation of replicable models linking local action with global climate commitments.
Through the CBR+ program, TERN demonstrated how systematic knowledge management and long-term capacity building can transform small-scale projects into powerful drivers of conservation and climate resilience.