WHMSI en Español...                                                                                                                              Back...

 

Pronatura Chiapas, presented this proposal in behalf of the Alliance for Capacity Building in Natural Areas (ADESCAN), and as Mexico country affiliate to Birdlife International. The ADESCAN is an alliance of organizations with experience of more than 15 years in capacity building, training and graduate programs oriented to improve sustainable management of natural resources and conservation. Its members include research organizations and universities; El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), Colorado State University (CSU), NGOs; Pronatura Chiapas, The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International, as well as governmental institutions, such as CONANP.

Identification of the capacity building needs was conducted as part of the project development, based on the information obtained from members of WHMSI. We structured a program for establishing a Central America Trainers Network, for future expansion of capacity building strategies for communities, technicians and decision makers in conservation of migratory species. The network will be expanded based on topics and needs and a level of specialization will be achieved along the time. The first course was designed based on the need to integrated community development, and conservation of migratory species, in Central America. The purpose is to support the development of tourism programs at community level, which can take advantage of the migratory species, while at the same time improve management and conservation of its habitats and populations. These might include observation of birds in bottle necks, sea turtles in nesting beaches, or marine mammals.

Participants selection, was made based on the following criteria:

Organizational

1. Conservation groups with tourism activities

2. Ecotourism networks or organizations

3. Community development organizations with experience in adult education

Individual

1. Involved in community development or tourism development

2. Involved in migratory species conservation

3. With potential to become a trainer

A call for applications was distributed to WHMSI members, Bildlife contacts and other conservation networks. Pre-selected organizations were invited to nominate candidates. We received 25 applications and 17 participants were selected based on the criteria.




The training program was designed by Rosa Ma Vidal and Roberto Hernández (Pronatura Chiapas), Allan Rhodes ( consultant ) Ryan Finchum (Colorado State University) and Jim Barborak (Conservation International). It included two training components; an online training program and a 5 day course and workshop that was conducted in Costa Rica
 

1. On-line platform http://formacion.pronatura-sur.org/ ).

The course was conducted from 2-18 March with the following modules

Topic 1: Importance of migratory species
Topic 2: The sustainable use of migratory species through tourism
Topic 3: Ecotourism, challenges and opportunities for local communities
Topic 4: Best practices of tourism with migratory species
Topic 5: Development of ecotourism products with migratory species

The online training program included readings, exercises and chat sessions, with the support of a facilitator. Participants completed each topic/module, and present a report to fulfill the evaluation criteria.
 

2. The course-workshop was conducted in Reserva Trimbina, La Selva Biological Station and San José Costa Rica from 23-27 March 2009.

The course content included:
 

• Expert conferences on best practices on tourism and migratory species

• Training skills and methodologies, including adult education principles, basic assessment of communities profiles, and design of training programs for community members

• Design of tourism products using migratory species, basic introduction to interpretation and community involvement

• Action plans for each organization/country for the establishment of a trainers network, and the implementation of a knowledge sharing platform for the network.
   

17 participants completed the On-line training and 15 completed the course-workshop in Costa Rica. Pronatura Península de Yucatán, CONANP, Pronatura Veracruz
Secretaría de Turismo, Morelos, Asociación Regional Campesina Chortí ASORECH-Guatemala. Sociedad Audubon- Belize, Salvanatura, CEPRODE (Parque Nac. San Diego La Barra) El Salvador, RENITURAL (Red de Turismo Rural) Nicaragua, Ceibas y Almendros Costa Rica, Sociedad Audubon Panamá, Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente Panamá, Conservación Internacional Asesores en Ecoturismo Genuino S.C. Pronatura Sur

Participants will continue sharing experiences trough the establishment of an electronic network and a platform. Course materials, strategy and action plans are included as project products.
 

Comments from the participants:
 

“After the course, I started getting in contact with ornithologist from the State University in Morelos, that work with bird monitoring and protected areas in the state. I want to include some of that expertise in the programs that the Tourism State Ministry is promoting in Morelos. I have meetings with the State Minister and we discussed the importance of promoting bird conservation and observation in tourism programs”

Salvador Melquiades Martínez
Deputy Director of tourism product development.
Tourism State Ministry of Morelos. México


“ Both instructors and participants learnt invaluable experiences. I will share this with the community that supported my participation and I will follow success stories such as the National Bird tourism forum of Guatemala. I will be looking for support from UNDP, USAID and other donors about promoting a similar mechanism of coordination in Panamá and to conduct a community project for bird tourism in Las Macanas. It will be very important to receive some support for the follow-up and guidance, of the activities “

Rosabel Miro. Exective Director. Panama Audubon Society.

 

Project Partners:

This page was last updated on Wednesday December 16, 2009.