Side Event

Partnerships for Capacity-building in PoWPA Implementation: Latin American Chair on Protected Areas & Biological Corridors “Kenton Miller” initiative, CATIE

Organizer
CATIE

Date and Time
1 January 0001 0:0 - 0:0

Meeting
Tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10)

On July 1, 1973, the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) is created through an agreement between IICA and the Costa Rican government. The Center would focus on research and higher education. CATIE’s headquarters were established at IICA’s field office, in Turrialba. For nearly four decades, CATIE has cooperated with a number of strategic partners (for example, WWF, IUCN, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, FAO, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and, more recently, TNC and CI), and with national governmental organizations to promote the integrated management of protected areas and biodiversity conservation in the LAC region. This cooperation has involved the implementation of research and development projects in more than 17 countries in the region, collaboration in the professional preparation of young persons through the development of strategic courses, and, within the CATIE Graduate Program, the formation of many of the leaders in protected areas management in the LAC region. Present initiatives also include research and technical cooperation into the structure, functionality and management of biological corridors and the development of methodological tools to monitor the effectiveness of protected areas management. The management of protected areas is a long-term endeavor requiring sustained commitments, both in terms of financial resources and for strengthening human capacity. Capacity strengthening and development must target persons occupying diverse positions, ranging from scientists and academics to persons responsible for day-to-day management of protected areas at both practical and policy levels. High-quality capacity-building initiatives must also incorporate, in a continuous fashion, up-to-date information generated through research and the systematization of operational experiences. For achieving this vision, on May, 2010, the Latin American Chair on Protected Areas & Biological Corridors “Kenton Miller” is created. The present side event will present formally the Chair to the international community and will explore potential cooperation with Latin American governments for increasing implementation capacities for PoWPA implementation. The chair will contribute to implementing, at national and regional levels when appropriate, the various activities adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) during 2004 in the context of the Program of Work on Protected Areas. By placing this chair at CATIE, an institution with a clear regional mandate, countries will be better positioned to fulfill their commitments under the CBD, and the development of coherent ecoregional approaches will become more feasible. Strategic objectives, activities, financial mechanisms of the Chair will be presented. Special emphasis will be give to the “Green Funds” concept, which is an innovative financial mechanism to ensure financial sustainability of the capacity building objectives of the Chair.