Capacity building in biodiversity conservation and PA management in Vietnam
Full Solution
Trainees at one of the training courses at CREs
CRES/AMNH
A system of protected areas has been established in Vietnam primarily to address the problems of overexploitation and habitat loss. However, the pressures on biodiversity and PAs have become increasingly varied and severe over the last decades. This solution centered on the design and implementation of a pilot training program in biodiversity conservation and protected area management for conservation workers in the country to help them effectively manage the PAs.
Last update: 02 Oct 2020
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Summary of the process
We were able to increase capacity in Vietnamese PAs by aligning the three building blocks described above: by assessing training needs, then designing the training curriculum and custom supporting training materials in response to those needs, and finally by implementing the training locally using that curriculum as a base, and intensive and active modalities. Conservation practitioners and PA managers learned critical skills, knowledge, and tools in conservation, such as GIS, biodiversity survey and monitoring, and law enforcement, and shared their experiences through different in-class activities. The resources have been widely distributed among conservation practitioners and PA managers as well as used in other training courses across the country. As they continue to be used, they are building capacity in biodiversity conservation and PA management for a cadre of conservation practitioners, enhancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable development within the PA system. The cycle of assessing training needs, designing curricula and materials, and training can be repeated in the future as training needs change.
Building Blocks
Training needs assessment
To understand the training needs among conservation practitioners and PA managers, a comprehensive survey was conducted at key universities, training institutions, and PAs using designed questionnaires and matrices of needed skills and knowledge for future training. The results were then analyzed to understand training needs and priorities, which helped develop custom training curricula for target groups of trainees.
Enabling factors
Commitment to engaging the larger community of stakeholders in shaping the curricula - Engaged and effective local project leads with connections to diverse learning centers, PAs, and agencies - Project team with expertise in the design, application, and analysis of surveys
Lesson learned
It is critical to conduct training needs assessment before starting any training program. In addition, this activity should involve a diverse group of organizations, including academic institutions with both undergraduate and graduate programs, NGOs, government agencies, and PAs. Understanding the similarities and differences between their assessments is crucial in designing effective training curricula.
Intensive and active training courses in PA management
The purpose of the courses was to provide a professional development opportunity to PA staff that would be taught by local experts, relevant to the local context, and replicable and sustainable. The courses were intensive to facilitate participation, and used active teaching approaches to promote exchange among the participants, engagement, and skill development.
Enabling factors
During the project tenure, a group of talented, knowledgeable, and passionate trainers was identified for training. - Producing training modules and other related materials for diverse topics in conservation biology, which can be used to support training into the future. - Providing critical skills and tools to tackle conservation issues in the country. - Selecting local institutions for hosting courses fosters sustainability and replicability of the training efforts.
Lesson learned
The project used a holistic approach towards capacity building in biodiversity conservation and PA management. The knowledge and skills obtained from the training courses helped conservation practitioners and PA managers improve their performance, and manage their sites more effectively. More training courses should be conducted in other PAs in the country.
Curriculum design workshop
The workshop was held to bring together training experts from academic institutions, NGOs, and PAs. Results of the training needs assessment were presented, and a list of the most important themes and topics were proposed as a framework for developing curricula used for training different target groups, including PA managers, scientific staff, and field-based workers. After the list was discussed and refined, information on potential trainers and related resources for designing training modules was compiled from participants.
Enabling factors
Effective convening of multi-sectoral body of expert participants - Workshop with clear objectives, effective facilitation, and envisioned products, designed for the purpose of collaborative work and to capture relevant resources
Lesson learned
Designing training curricula tailored to the objectives of each training course was an important step in achieving the goals of the project. While the results of training needs assessment provide key data, the curriculum design workshop helped put together expertise in the field to develop valuable curricula for future training programs. The experts also played essential roles in identifying capable trainers and relevant resources. Without this knowledge, it is impossible to launch a successful training program for such complex issues, ranging from social to natural sciences.
Impacts
The project strengthened professional capacity in protected area management and biodiversity conservation in PAs throughout Vietnam. The training courses provided a platform for discussing threats to conservation in the country and in the region to help conservation practitioners understand the complexity of conservation problems and potential solutions. Participants were equipped with fundamental principles of conservation science as well as skills to apply appropriate conservation tools to problems in their PAs. Many trainees strongly believed that the program helped them better understand concepts in biodiversity and conservation, and ultimately helped them perform better in their work.
Beneficiaries
PA managers and conservation practitioners and Vietnam Protected Areas System
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 4 – Quality education
SDG 13 – Climate action
SDG 15 – Life on land
Story
During our current research and training work across Vietnam, we often meet with the course trainees in their protected areas. Many of the trainees are heavily involved in species conservation programs and site management projects at the local level. They have become more proactive in their approaches towards conservation, and show their leadership in the field. For example, Dr. Hoa Vuong (Vuong Duc Hoa) was head of the scientific department at the time of the training course, and became deputy director of Bu Gia Map National Park. He has supported multiple collaborative slow loris surveys and conservation initiatives in Bu Gia Map National Park (in 2013, 2014) and has also attended recent workshops in Hanoi on the primate conservation action plan and on slow loris conservation (2016 and 2014 respectively). He has shepherded several new conservation monitoring programs especially for endangered primates in the park. And he has been very supportive of initiatives proposed by his staff to advance conservation in the area. In addition, we now collaborate with several course participants in field surveys of lorises, pheasants, and turtles across the country, including for example, Bu Gia Map National Park in the south, Bach Ma National Park and Saola Nature Reserve in the central region, and Na Nang nature reserve in the north of Vietnam. Their capacity helps our research tremendously in obtaining valuable baseline data for conservation of highly threatened taxa. We also interact with them in national-level workshops such as the launch workshop for the Vietnam national primate conservation action plan, hosted in Hanoi by our organization in collaboration with the Vietnam Forestry Administration, where the local experiences of our trainees were extremely important to inform action planning at the national level. As biodiversity conservation in the country is facing a daunting challenge, we can see hope in the increased capacity of conservation practitioners. They will undoubtedly take up the challenge, and also inspire others.
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Other contributors
Ana Porzecanski
American Museum of Natural History and Vietnam National University
