CATIE Chair strengthens capacities in protected areas and biological corridors

• CATIE will resume 40 years of work in conservation and will support countries in compliance with environmental agendas

From an office located in the main building at CATIE’s headquarters in Costa Rica, the Kenton Miller Latin American Chair for Protected Areas and Biological Corridors will strengthen capacities in protected areas and their connectivity, in order to support the sustainable management of natural resources in Latin America.

According to Bernal Herrera, codirector of the Chair, protected areas and biological corridors fulfill a vital role in the conservation of biodiversity and the provision and maintenance of ecosystem services. They also generate economic opportunities and environmental benefits that contribute to the sustainable development of communities living in adjacent areas.

"The Chair aims at building capacities through training, technical support and cooperation, and it expects to develop and implement research programs with countries and partners," said Herrera. "To generate institutional capacities requires relatively long periods of time; therefore, the Chair must consolidate and provide services that remain in the long term.”
 

Herrera stressed that research, technical support and training must be implemented depending on the needs of end users to achieve greater impact in the decision-making process. For this reason the Chair will initially support countries with commitments under the Plan of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), agreed upon during the 7th Conference of the Parties (COP7) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2004. “Together with the CBD office in Montreal, we want to identify the gaps in the implementation of the Plan of Work and define areas which CATIE can support. CATIE would thus become a central point for coordination and assistance, both for the CBD and the countries in Latin America,” explained Herrera.

Bernal Herrera, codirector of the Kenton Miller Latin American Chair for Protected Areas and Biological Corridors

He mentioned that the Chair is designing an intervention strategy based on CATIE’s strengths, among them: its technical capacity in protected areas and biological corridors, its experience in conservation, its regional presence and direct relationship with member countries, its synergies, facilities and training capacity, and its research findings for the conservation of biodiversity.

“Part of the vision is that the Chair would be integrated to other Chairs, to the Production and Conservation in Forests program and to other CATIE programs,” said Herrera. "It also wants to support CATIE’s offices in member countries and find joint opportunities to strengthen regional work through the creation of a network of partners, local and international NGO and bilateral and multilateral agencies. It is a process under construction.”

Herrera highlighted that the Chair will continue directing graduate thesis and coordinating strategic courses to promote the exchange of experiences; for example, the XXXII International Course on Protected Areas, held in June 2010, as well as the VIII International Mobile Seminar on Protected Areas, which took place July 5-20 in Guatemala and Belize. These courses have strategic partners such as Colorado State University, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Conservation International (CI) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. In addition, the chair expects to expand and strengthen its course offering in the short term, and provide training in instruments for the management of protected areas and other practical aspects such as communication, leadership and strategic planning for conservation, among others.

More information
Bernal Herrera
Codirector, Kenton Miller Latin American Chair for Protected Areas and Biological Corridors
Tel. + (506) 2558-2318
bernalhf@catie.ac.cr