The Nature Conservancy’s MAR Program has created a capacity building mechanism for addressing the region’s needs of acquiring skills and improving job performance to furthering best practices on coral reef resources use, the Mesoamerican Reef Regional Learning Center (Centro Regional de Capacitación del Arrecife Mesoamericano).
The Learning Center is virtual, flexible, and adaptive, in order to address the changing needs of the region, build synergy with similar efforts, and avoid duplication. This goal will be achieved by continually exploring the needs of the clientele, and identifying opportunities and developing partnerships with other organizations and programs, including governmental agencies, international organizations, academic institutions, conservation groups and the business sector.
The Learning Center will achieve its goals by using different types of learning and communication tools, namely:
Information dissemination
- Published materials (full texts, summaries or links) freely downloadable in a virtual library on the web page,
- Active dissemination of news and useful information (grants opportunities, events, etc.) via the web page (MAR matters, Useful grants; useful links; news) and through the main list servers
- Presentations in scientific and technical fora.
Training courses and workshops
The Learning Center will develop training activities catered to different kind of clientele, such as resource managers (fishers, tour operators, handcrafters, MPA staff, etc.), conservation scientists and practitioners, and local planners and regulators, etc. This will be done using different means:
- Traditional training courses and workshops
- Distant learning courses (in cooperation with academic centers)
- Digital self-learning courses distributed in CD format or downloadable from the web page to be used by interested parties (trainees or instructors). Existing manuals will be developed as digital courses to facilitate learning and its use.
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Professional experience sharing
One of the most practical and efficient ways to learn and to apply learned lessons is by means of direct experience. This takes place when people share similar experiences or problems while dealing with conservation. The Learning Center will facilitate exchange among resource managers, such as fishers, marine protected area staff, tour operators, etc., in order to promote best practices and assist coastal communities to transit to more sustainable, conservation friendly and economically advantageous economic activities and livelihoods (internships, exchange visits, job shading, etc.).
It is also expected that the Center will trigger new projects and initiatives that will establish coordination or ability certification mechanisms in the region. In this way, the center will promote the use of tools as practical resources for other projects, funds, initiatives and organizations.
The Regional Learning Center is currently looking for partners to develop audiovisual materials and generating coordination and synergy among entities to develop training activities and general information exchange. The expectation is to trigger synergy and to strengthen protected areas and natural resources management in the Mesoamerican Reef as much as possible. It is also to joint our efforts to make MAR Regional Learning Center successful through a joint effort. For additional information, contact María del Rosario Calderón, the Learning Center Coordinator at mrcalderon@tnc.org