|
|
| Can Transboundary Natural Resource Management (TBNRM) contribute to enhance conservation objectives and address poverty alleviation issues in border region? A case study of the Virunga-Bwindi TBNRM
Organized by Kayitare Anecto, International Gorilla Conservation Programme, Rwanda
Biodiversity conservation and poverty alleviation are important topics on the international agenda; the Convention on Biodiversity Diversity (CBD) highlights the importance of biodiversity conservation, and poverty alleviation is the first priority of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Biodiversity-rich countries in Africa are also economically poor countries and the challenge to achieve both poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation is not easy. The need to link biodiversity conservation and development has been recognized and many initiatives have been undertaken. Transboundary Natural Resources Management (TBNRM) is a recent initiative whose objectives cover conservation and socioeconomic development needs with a holistic approach in border regions.
This workshop will address the relationship between TBNRM and conservation and poverty alleviation in the Virunga-Bwindi region. The TBNRM approach offers an opportunity to deal with conservation and socioeconomic issues in the Virunga-Bwindi region. However, TBNRM has many objectives such as conservation, socioeconomic integration, and economic development. Different institutions and agencies are likely to adopt different objectives and agenda. In the Virunga-Bwindi region, we have found that the TBNRM program, which has been facilitated by conservation organisations (IGCP), focused more on conservation objectives than poverty alleviation. Partnership is very important in achieving TBNRM objectives in the Virunga-Bwindi region.
How do we know it's working? State of the art program evaluation for conservation science and policy
Organized by Subhrendu Pattanayak, RTI International and Paul Ferraro, Georgia State University (subhrendu@rti.org)
For too long, scientists and practitioners have depended on intuition and anecdote to guide conservation investments. To maximize the conservation impact of our limited resources, the conservation field must adopt a culture of rigorous program evaluation. Without such a culture, identifying which of the competing conservation approaches will make best use of scarce conservation dollars in the 21st century conservation is impossible. We will start by showing how current "monitoring and evaluation" efforts focus on descriptive indicators (i.e., administrative metrics of change) instead of the fundamental evaluation question: what would have happened if there had been no intervention? (a counterfactual event that is not observed). Presentations will draw on ongoing program evaluations in the United States and the tropics to discuss methods—experimental and quasi-experimental—that can be applied to draw reliable inferences about causal effects. Evidence on such effects can help identify, design and justify effective interventions. We also will discuss the relative merits of alternative methods when the state-of-the-art methods cannot be applied. Each conservation project that builds in these methods will make a small but vital contribution towards filling the large gap in our knowledge about the most effective conservation investments.
Human demographic change and biodiversity conservation: impacts and opportunities for the conservation sector
Organized by Judy Oglethorpe, World Wildlife Fund (Judy.Oglethorpe@wwfus.org)
The workshop aims to provide a state-of-the-art review of adverse impacts of migration, fertility, and HIV/AIDS on biodiversity, and to provide conservation practitioners with strategies to tackle these threats. Global human population is expected to grow from 6.5 billion in 2005 to 9.1 billion in 2050, with increased consumption of natural resources, loss of habitat, and pollution. Human migration to biodiversity-rich areas is also likely to increase, driven by population growth, environmental degradation, globalization of trade, and climate change. HIV/AIDS is reducing life expectancy and economic productivity in some regions, with serious impacts on conservation capacity, natural resources, and land use.
A number of cutting-edge responses to adverse demographic impacts have emerged at different scales, often involving conservation practitioners collaborating with other sectors. Experts will outline global trends and major negative impacts on biodiversity, and present responses for conservation programs. These include integrated family planning-health-environment projects at site and landscape level and ways to scale up and complement them. Migration interventions include prevention and mitigation of impacts in areas of destination, at field and policy levels. HIV/AIDS responses include ways to protect conservation staff and community capacity, and to reduce impacts on land and natural resource use while promoting sustainable livelihoods.
Developing a framework for building individual and institutional capacity for conservation
Organized by Marianne Carter and Robyn Dalzen, BP Conservation Programme and Will Banham, Wildlife Conservation Society (r.dalzen@conservation.org)
In order to provide appropriate training and capacity building for effective individuals and institutions for conservation, it is necessary to (1) define the different types of individual conservationists and institutions, (2) for each of these, define the required competencies for effective individuals and attributes for effective institutions, and (3) identify the most appropriate ways in which those competencies and attributes can be realized. A comprehensive framework bringing together these elements will prove an important capacity building tool at an international level to identify gaps and plan interventions. By helping to equip potential conservation leaders with support, knowledge, skills, and attitudes, the BP Conservation Programme hopes to enable them to better conserve biodiversity. Such a tool will assist the program in identifying where to input resources and helping potential individual and institutional leaders in an appropriate way to obtain the optimum chance for success. This workshop aims to gather feedback on a preliminary competencies framework. Participants will explore how the framework will assist in identifying current gaps in individual leadership and institutional capacity internationally and in deciding how best to fill those gaps. Workshop outcomes will contribute to the development of a tool that will be used to identify needs for capacity building actions at a local level.
Conservation tools and tips from psychology Organized by organized by Carol Saunders, Chicago Zoological Society, Amara Brook, Santa Clara University, and Gene Myers, Western Washington University (Carol_Saunders@antiochne.edu)
Most conservation problems are caused by human behavior, and solving these problems requires understanding and changing that behavior. Although psychology is the discipline most focused on the study of human behavior, psychology's role in biodiversity conservation has been surprisingly minimal compared to the other sciences. Conservation psychology is a relatively new field that seeks to understand why people help or hurt the natural environment and how to promote conservation. The goal of this workshop is to introduce this field of research and provide examples of how it might be useful to biologists, social scientists, and conservation practitioners. We will begin with brief overview talks about some principles and methods from psychology that can be applied to biodiversity conservation. Workshop participants will then join a discussion about how the various disciplines complement each other and the potential for collaborative research. Because the history of conservation psychology mirrors that of conservation biology, we hope to provide an avenue to explore partnerships between the two fields. We also hope to attract members of the Social Science Working Group to discuss how the social sciences can best work together toward biodiversity conservation goals. This workshop should result in a greater awareness of what the field of conservation psychology offers and generate ideas for how to strengthen programmatic and research connections across disciplines.
|
