Division of International Conservation
International Affairs
signature image of the Wildife Without Borders program Draft Tool Matrix
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LACK OF KNOWLEDGE: CAPACITY BUILDING AND TRAINING

Priority Needs List and Tools Matrix

I. Lack of Knowledge
c. Capacity Building and Training

  • ABC Small Grants support projects addressing capacity building and training, research, inventory and monitoring, and protection and other land conservation measures.
    From: American Bird Conservancy, www.abcbirds.org.
    Contact: David Pashley, dpashley@abcbirds.org.
  • Workshops and training for leaders in bat management, conservation, and education. Workshop areas include: Cave & Mines Gating Seminars, Field Study Workshops, Acoustic Monitoring Training Workshops, and Educator Trainings.
    From: Bat Conservation International, www.batcon.org.
    Contact: amoore@batcon.org www.batcon.org.
  • "Building on Experience" is a capacity building and training program (contact: Rita Besana, rita.besana@rspb.org.uk).
  • Sabbatical programs, offered by BirdLife partners such as the RSPB (contact: Yvonne Bagnall, yvonne.bagnall@rspb.org.uk) and the Sociedad Española de Ornitología (contact: María José Jiménez Armesto, mjarmesto@seo.org), get experienced professionals to areas where they are needed.
  • Guyra Paraguay, a BirdLife partner, works with the Centro Internacional de Capacitación para Organizaciones Ambientalistas y de Desarrollo (CICOAM), a regional training center for managers of environmental organizations.
    From: Birdlife International, www.birdlife.org.
    Contact: Rob Clay, rob@guyra.org.py.
  • Training course on managing wetlands, which takes place every one or two years, with participants from neighboring countries (next course: March 2004).
    From: Colombia - Direccion de Ecosistemas, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente.
    Contact: María Rivera, mrivera@minambiente.gov.co or jrivera@impsat.net.co, T: 0057 1 3323434 ext 411.
  • CMS Small Grants Programme can fund capacity building and training projects.
    From: Convention on Migratory Species, www.wcmc.org.uk/cms.
    Contact: Lyle Glowka, lglowka@cms.unep.de.
  • Training and education on cetacean conservation, as part of the field work training program.
  • Training courses on responsible whale watching, and pollution and cetaceans were given in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Spain and Uruguay.
    From: Fundación Cethus, http://cethus.tripod.com/.
    Contact: Cecilia Gasparrou, cgasparrou@house.com.ar.
  • Bird Banding Assistant Course (7 days), designed for serious birders and wildlife personnel who wish to become involved in bird monitoring projects (approved by the North American Banding Council).
  • Fieldwork experience in migration monitoring and Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) for long-term volunteers (provided with free accommodations and possible subsidized meals and travel allowances.)
    From: Lesser Slave Lake Bird Observatory, http://www.lslbo.org/.
    Contact: Jul Wojnowski, Jul.Wojnowski@lslbo.org, T: (780) 849-7117.
  • Birding training workshops and Designing Field Studies workshops.
    From: National Audubon Society - International Programs, www.audubon.org/local/latin.
    Contact: Alejandro GrajalTel, Agrajal@audubon.org, T: 305-371-6399.
  • Ecological Principles for Sustainable Development in Latin America is a 1-week Spanish, science based course in Costa Rica, focused on enhancing technical understanding of decision makers on management and conservation of natural systems/resources in developing countries.
  • “Development and Conservation in Tropical Countries: Insights and Implications” is an English version of the Latin American decision-makers course for North American based decision makers.
  • Tropical Wildlands Management is a 4-week Spanish course on managing wildlands and/or protected areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, covering site planning, community engagement, management, administration, communications, and conflict resolution.
    From: Organization for Tropical Studies, http://www.ots.duke.edu.
    Contact: OTS Environmental Science and Policy Program, http://www.ots.duke.edu/en/education/professional.shtml, North American office: T: 919 684 5774/Costa Rican office - T: 506 240 6696; or contact edamb@ots.ac.cr.
  • A great variety of training is available through programs in the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U. S. Forest Service, U. S. National Park Service, and bird observatories.
  • Catalogues and course descriptions are available.
    From: Partners in Flight, www.partnersinflight.org.
    Contact: Terry Rich, Terry_rich@fws.gov.
  • Wild Paraguay Project is an initiative for the protection of wild areas of Paraguay, focused in four National Parks and their areas of influence.
    From: Paraguay - Proyecto Paraguay Silvestre, http://www.paraguaysilvestre.org.py.
    Contact: Cristina Morales, cmorales_py@yahoo.com.
  • Neotropics Communications program involves communications and public-information skills workshops for NGOs and government ministries, focusing on media, dos and don’ts of Web sites, brochure writing, newsletter, etc. Communications workshops have been organized for more than 30 NGOs in Latin America and the
  • Caribbean, wildlife-management graduate schools, and several government ministries.
    From: Rainforest Alliance, www.rainforestalliance.org.
    Contact: Diane Jukofsky, djukofsky@ra.org.
  • Western Hemisphere Wetland Training Centre in Panama supports capacity building.
  • Wetlands for the Future provides funding for small projects in the region regarding training and capacity building.
    From: Ramsar Convention, www.ramsar.org.
    Contact: Margarita Astrálaga, astralaga@ramsar.org.
  • “Promoting Protection through Pride” program equips grassroots conservationists with training needed to increase public support by using a charismatic flagship species as a symbol of local pride.
  • Programs in enterprise development and ecotourism provide capacity building and training skills.
  • Nature guide training program teaches interpretation and natural history skills in English to local guides at important global ecotourism sites.
  • Public Use Planning methodology provides a framework for protected area management staff.
  • Ecotourism Promoters training course provides business development and management skills for individuals who live in and around protected areas.
    From: Rare, Rare www.rareconservation.org.
    Contact: Kim Winters, kwinters@rareconservation.org, T: (703) 522-5070.
  • USDS International Visitor Program brings participants to the U.S. from all over the world annually to meet and confer with professional counterparts. Visitors are typically current or potential leaders in government, politics, the media, education, and other fields and are selected by American Officials overseas. The Program can be used to bring wildlife professionals from other countries in the Western Hemisphere to the U.S. to communicate and exchange information with their counterparts.
    From: United States Department of State, http://www.state.gov/.
    Contact: Essie Wilkes-Scott, Educational and Cultural Affairs, http://exchanges.state.gov/education/ivp/, T: (202) 619-5270.
  • Technical advice and support to a PhD study which involves training of a Brazilian PhD student and several local undergraduate students each year.
    From: United States Fish and Wildlife Service- Alaska, http://alaska.fws.gov/.
    Contact: Richard Lanctot, richard_lanctot@fws.gov.
  • “Wildlife Without Borders-Latin America and Caribbean” partners with academic institutions in Latin America to provide training for wildlife conservation professionals and technical personnel. The program includes Graduate training in wildlife and ecosystem management; Reserve manager training; Park warden training; Biological documentation and information centers; Decision-maker training; and, In-service training for government personnel.
    From: United States Fish & Wildlife Service - Division of International Conservation, http://www.fws.gov/.
    Contact: Marina Ratchford, marina_ratchford@fws.gov, T: (703) 358-2480.
  • USFS works with domestic and international partners on seminars for international conservationists on protected area management, watershed management, and Natural Resource Management.
  • Bird conservation projects include capacity building objectives and training for people from other nations where bird conservation is most important.
    From: United States Forest Service, www.fs.fed.us.
    Contact: Alex Moad, International Programs, T: 202-273-0163 (amoad@fs.fed.us).
  • Training in the following areas: Population estimation methods; Analysis of data; Monitoring methods and survey design; Banding and mist-netting techniques.
    From: United States Geological Survey - Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/.
    Contact: Jim Nichols, T: (301) 497-5660; John Sauer, T: (301) 497-5662; Bruce Peterjohn, T: (301) 497-5841; Sam Droege, T: (301) 497-5840; Keith Pardieck, T: (301) 497-5843; Mark Wimer, T: (301) 497-5596; or Mary Gustafson, T: (301) 497-5804.
  • Shorebird Management Workshops address wetland management for various wetland types and geographic regions. These courses are both theoretical and practical, providing information on regional migration and nesting chronologies, habitat use, foraging ecology, and identification of shorebirds.
  • Book “Shorebird Management Manual” provides information on ways to manage wetland habitat that enhance food supplies and decrease disturbance.
  • Brochure on “Birding Festivals: You may say it is only bird, but we’re here to tell you its money in the bank for your local economy” (a joint project with the American Birding Association) is a pamphlet that encourages communities to consider hosting a birding festival. It details the combined benefits of building environmental awareness while invigorating a local economy.
    From: Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network, http://www.manomet.org/WHSRN/.
    Contact: Heidi Luquer, Luquer@vermontel.net.
  • Neotropical Waterbird Census, conducted by volunteers, builds capacity and trains locals on the value of wetlands and wetland dependent species.
    From: Wetlands International, www.wetlands.org.
    Contact: Melanie Steinkamp, Melanie_Steinkamp@fws.gov
  • Ranger training and equipment to improve the ability of parks service officials to enforce protected area and wildlife trade laws.
    From: WildAid, www.wildaid.org.
    Contact: Rebecca Respess, Respess@wildaid.org, T: 202 772-1083.
Last updated: November 20, 2008
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