Capacity Building

In 1997, WCS - Colombia established the Center of Excellence in Conservation, with the purpose of providing rigorous training to the next generation of conservation biologists and practitioners in-country. Target populations for the Center are young conservation biologists and natural resource managers.

Training of future conservationists.

Young Colombian biologists are involved in a hands-on training program that prepares them as high level researchers and conservationists. They participate in all phases of a conservation project from design to manuscript writing, including study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Project progress is presented at monthly meetings for group discussion. Also, undergraduate biology students are oriented and advised on the preparation of their theses.

Ten research projects are in progress at this time, carried out by five graduate level trainees and 12 undergraduates. Over 35 students have already participated in this program. Most of them are enrolled in graduate studies at prestigious Universities in Colombia, the USA and other countries…including South Africa.

Three additional courses are offered to larger audiences of senior college students and young professionals interested in conservation biology on the following subjects: the design of research studies for conservation, basic conservation biology principles, and advanced conservation biology issues.

Training for park and natural resource managers.

This program is offered to the National Parks Unit and to other Government environmental organizations in the form of workshops and lectures that instruct them on the basics of conservation biology so that they can perform better at preserving the areas under their supervision.

Training materials.

To support our training activities, we are generating educational materials aimed both at the amateur and professional levels. Two books are already available:

• Guariguata, M., G. Kattan, Editors. 2002. Ecología y Conservación de Bosques Neotropicales. Libro Universitario Regional, San Jose, Costa Rica.
• Garcia-Robledo, C., L.M. Constantino, M.D. Heredia and G. Kattan, 2002. Mariposas Comunes de la Cordillera Central. WCS Colombia Program, Cali, Colombia.