Wetlands for the Future Fund

Short term training workshop to provide local professionals who are in charge of wetland management in Paraná (Entre Ríos) knowledge on designing, conducting, interpreting and evaluating research projects concerning ecological integrity. A training handbook will be published in Spanish and Portuguese, with the course contents and the experiences obtained during it.

This project supported the installation of a radio link (receiver and antenna) and computer facilities to provide Internet services to the High Andes Wetlands Program. The project will improve the work of the Program and will lower the costs of communication and purchase of informative documents.

Preparation of documents, acquisition of equipment and building of infrastructure for a post-graduate regular course on wetlands, to be incorporated into the Wildlife Management Program of Cordoba’s University.

Training technical staff of the four countries in monitoring techniques and assessing alternatives of wise use for them to become trainers and coordinators of wetland management in the High Andes wetlands.

Building public awareness among local communities about the importance of the biodiversity in Río Grande and encourage their participation in the preservation and wise use of the wetland.

Aimed at wetland administrators, to strenghten local capacity in planning and management of wetlands through sharing of experiences.

This activity aims at increasing local support through dialogue and at promoting involvement of the local community, so that the community could play a more direct role in the management and conservation of Crooked Tree. The project included funds for the preparation of a training handbook on conflict management which incorporates an account of the experience gained.

Training workshop about the use of CAMRIS (a low cost, easy to use, Geographic Information System) for technical staff who work in conservation issues, mainly in the Pantanal region. A data base of sectors involved in the conservation of Pantanal will be elaborated. A training handbook (in Portuguese, Spanish and English), was prepared as part of this activity, including information about the GIS available in the market, GPS and NGOs that support training workshops about this matter.

Meeting of government representatives, NGOs and experts to define conservation and management priorities for Ramsar sites in Brasil. The creation of a National Committee for Ramsar was proposed to enhance the implementation of the Convention in the country.

Support the BIOMA to increase its human resources training activities and expand the services offered to researchers and technical staff dealing with working on mangroves and coastal zones by linking them to the world wide web.

Disseminate the results of the ecological assessment study of the estuary, particularly to the local authorities to assist them with the implementation of training and educational workshops.

Through the installation of an electronic communication system (Internet), this project aims at making BIODOC information more easily accessible. It will be provided with recent publications on Latin America and the Caribbean. Communication with other documentation centers at the national and international level will be maintained.

Master's thesis analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of three wetland inventories. Evaluation of the functions and values of wetlands and their applicability to identify priority conservation areas in Costa Rica .

Master's thesis to quantify the vegetation in Palo Verde, estimating biomass production, and species cover under two cattle grazing rates. Cattle grazing in the wetland has been used as a tool to regulate wetland vegetation and has created habitat for thousands of aquatic birds.

Updated cartographic information on Costa Rican wetlands to serve as a tool for individuals and institutions involved in decision making about conservation and wise use strategies.

Master’s thesis using GIS to describe the physical and biological characteristics of the water courses of Caribe Noreste wetland and the human activities that might affect the wetland. The results will be used by the wetland management staff to facilitate its management and wise use.

Master’s thesis to study the presence of agrochemical in the wetlands of Cañas before and after an agricultural scheme. In addition, the final destination of pesticides applied in the irrigation ditches will be studied and their effect on the Madrigal Lagoon, a nesting site for aquatic birds.

The project will be carried out with the participation of the communities of Talamanca (Limón). Its main goal is to contribute to wetland conservation and to strengthen indigenous and non-indigenous people’s cosmovission through a series of training workshops.

Improve the quality of the services offered by the Documentation Wetland and Coastal Zone Center, establishment of an user’s web in the Mesoamerican region and training for various sectors on wetlands, coastal zones and the use of the database.

The purpose of the project is to support research activities on ecological processes that are applicable to the management of this wetland area, and to simultaneously help provide training in wetland research methodologies. Six sub-projects will be developed (each one with the participation of 2 students). The project will be supervised by the University and the reserve managers.

This project will be carried out by a university student as a thesis project. The main objective is to study the populations of the Pijije, in order to determine the feasibility of using the species as a source of food in a sustainable manner. The expected product is a management plan for the species.

To better understand the current usage of firewood from de BPWR, particularly in the community of El Estor, Izabal. The species mainly used will be identified and a wise use plan will be developed for them.

To connect the BPWR to the Internet, in order to improve access to information on wetlands and protected areas in Guatemala, and to allow the establishment of contacts with people whose experience can be used to improve the management of the Refuge.

Model workshop that will be held initially in Punta Izopo and could be repeated in other areas close to wetlands in Honduras. Information about Ramsar Convention will be provided, as well as training in flora and fauna identification, in wise use and conservation of wetlands and in using of equipment for monitoring water quality.

Through this training, the scope for a management plan is expected to be developed, to assist with the creation of the national wetland conservation and research group, to promote the elaboration of the National Strategy for Wetland Conservation and to give an introduction in the use of telemetry and GPS for wetland inventory and assessment.

Promote conservation awareness among the park-rangers, authorities, school children and teachers in the area surrounding the Mejía lagoons through lectures, courses and training workshops. It is hoped to encourage the practice of actions for the conservation and wise use of the wetlands natural resources and to produce a Handbook that will be the basic tool to promote conservation of this Ramsar site.

Promote wetland conservation and wise use, through training of managers of the Ramsar sites and other important wetlands. An Action Plan 1998-2002 will be prepared for the implementation of the components of training, education and public awareness in the National Wetland Conservation Strategy of Perú.

This project will assist CANARI in upgrading their capacity to provide help and technical references about wetland management at regional, national and local level through networking and electronic communication facilities.

Aiming to support and strengthen the participation and collaboration for wetland conservation and management in the Caribbean, material about a case study and a teaching module will be prepared, which will be made available to training and resource management institutions within and outside the region.

Develop of a mobile unit to work with communities living in the interior of the country and close to important wetlands, about the risks of natural resources exploitation and making emphasis in the multiple benefits of wise use of wetlands.

Financial support for three speakers of the Neotropical Region to participate in a workshop, the principal goal of which was to promote wetland conservation through a community approach. The workshop was held in the United States of America in May 1996.

Through the internship program, the Ramsar Office offers young graduated professionals from the Neotropics (with a degree in Biology or equivalent) direct experience on the daily work of the Convention. The duration of each internship is one year, during which period the intern works as assistant to the Regional Coordinator for the Neotropics.

"Handbook for wetlands conservation and wise use in the Neotropical Region"

The main goal of the Handbook is to be used as tool for human resources training in wetland’ conservation and management in the Neotropical Region.  It has been developed with the concept of "instruction manual" to serve a wide range of users who are making decisions regarding wetlands in their routine work, administrators, government authorities, community leaders and environmentalists in general.  The chapters include general information about wetlands in the Neotropical region, its problematic, legislation and conservation and wise use techniques.  The handbook will be published in Spanish in early 1998, but new chapters will be added subsequently.