Hi There
My name is Steve Peach[URL=http://www.queenelizabethparks.org]The Queen Elizabeth Parks Twinning Project[/URL] and I am the Project Leader for the Queen Elizabeth Parks Twinning Project.
I have also been a Ranger in the UK for over 25 years and through my links with the International Ranger Federation, I have been blessed with opportunity of meeting and working with Ranger colleagues from around the world.
My reason for posting this is to briefly explain about our Project and seek out your thoughts and views on our approach to improving conservation.
Our Project has a twin track approach to improving conservation management in two Parks which share the Queen Elizabeth name (although one is in England and the other is in Uganda).
The first strand in improving conservation is to share the experience and ideas of Park Staff and Volunteers through a series of exchange visits and learning opportunities.
Staff and volunteers agree to take part in visits to each other\\\'s Parks. The work and live alongside each other so that they not only get an understanding of the issues confronting their twinned Park. They also they get a deeper sense of being involved in the community and gain some cultural understanding as well.
There is often little opportunity for Park Based Staff to undertake development training. Reduced budgets, pressure of work and organisational culture means that field level staff often find it very difficult to access additional training.
So although airfares are very expensive, the impact and therfore the cost effectivness these exchange visits have on the individuals who take part cannot be underestimated, The learning outcomes and cultural experienced gained motivates and empowers people beyond other types of training course. It especially makes sense for all Rangers to get a global as well as a local perspective on a variety conservation issues and agin a sense of their place in the global conservation community.
The second key strand of this Project is involving the local community in the twinning exercise.
Both Parks strongly believe that the key to the future of conservation is partnership with all those who either visit or live with and in our protected areas.
The Twinning Project works with schools and communities as advocates for conservation and the two Queen Elizabeth Parks. It finds ways of engaging with people and providing support. The sense of connection between the two parks AND ITS COMMUNITIES is vital to the success of this Project.
None of this is new of course, but the fact that this is being driven from the Project rather than just the Parks, adds to the sense that this is about the local community and is being done with those communities rather than too those communities.
As a Project we are still learning and developing and I woud welcome your thoughts and comments.l
yours
Steve Peach
