Over the past 12 months the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute (BMWHI) worked with conservation education leaders Stuart Cowell, Phillipa Walsh, Dedee Woodside and Jenny Vasseleu to successfully develop and deliver a conservation capacity-building program in partnership with the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA).
The capacity building program was supported by the UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) and was designed to help CEPA prepare for the strategic implementation of nearly 60 protected areas in PNG.
The program was customised for the high level of customary land ownership in PNG and emphasised the essential tools and skills of adaptive management and community collaboration. The program also demonstrated a collective leadership approach to preparing draft protected area management plans for on-ground engagement and implementation with communities and customary land-owners.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the BMWHI team transformed the original in-the-field program into fully online interactive courses.
The program attracted strong and enthusiastic participation in PNG. From July to late September, more than 20 CEPA staff participated in two intensive courses:
In the first course, CEPA staff worked in teams to progress through the adaptive planning, monitoring and management loop of the Conservation Standards framework. Management issues were explored to reveal underlying problems, to find ways of working with complex and seemingly intractable issues such as climate change.
The second course focussed on developing the skills and tools needed to consider cultural values and livelihoods while integrating customary landowners and the community in a collaborative protected area management process. The course demonstrated a collective leadership approach to on-the-ground engagement and protected area implementation.
Patricia Kila, the UNDP Project Liaison, is looking forward to seeing the outcomes of the training successfully demonstrated by CEPA staff in the field.
“The CEPA participants have had the privilege of best practice protected area management training provided by the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute. The original intent of the training was to have protected area guardians and landowners from communities undertake the training and apply learnings to their respective protected areas. The COVID 19 impact rendered the need for the BMWHI, CEPA and UNDP GEF 5 Project to adapt to an online approach, and hence there is much expectation and responsibility on CEPA and in particular those participants who have undertaken this prestigious training to rollout the learnings of the training in the field.”
Ms Kila also noted the importance of the next critical step of reaching out to landowners and protected area guardians in communities to facilitate two-way learning and collaboration.
Dr Rosalie Chapple, BMWHI Education Program Leader, is now working to adapt the model of packaging complementary courses to further develop the Institute’s Adaptive Management for Conservation training program.
The expanding program will respond to the increasing urgency and complexity of conservation challenges by offering an integrated suite of short courses for change and capacity building. The program will emphasise the need for conservation practitioners to develop strong leadership skills and the capacity to rapidly exchange knowledge and apply innovative and creative solutions in highly collaborative environments.
The current duo-course program model will be offered across the Asia-Pacific region as part of the Institute's new joint venture with the Protected Areas Collaboration.
Dr Chapple noted that "the Protected Areas Collaboration advances the mission of the Institute to deliver strategic and responsive programs that build capacity and leadership in conservation. These programs will approach conservation challenges as problems to solve together, in respectful and inclusive ways, recognising the importance of different types of knowledge and learning approaches."