Building Capacity in Adaptive Management at the Start of Conservation Careers
Presenter
Vinaya Swaminathan, Foundations of Success
Abstract
According to research, 65% of conservation NGOs think that lack of training is a major barrier to integrating adaptive management (AM) into their work. By learning and using an AM framework, environmental and conservation practitioners will be better able to confront and address the complexities of stemming biodiversity loss and maintaining ecosystem services for society. We will highlight the importance of building the capacity of conservation professionals to apply AM principles to their work and discuss methods for addressing this gap through graduate coursework. Since today’s graduate students are tomorrow’s leaders in conservation, why not prepare them now for what they will undoubtedly be tasked with in their future roles? The newly established Teaching Adaptive Management (TAM) Network hopes to capitalize on this opportunity and lead the academic community towards making adaptive management training an essential part of graduate programs. Participants will learn about this network and how it can help them, and if appropriate, to begin a course themselves.
