| The month of October will bring an exciting new element to the education of 22 students from Zamorano Pan-American Agricultural School as they participate in the first undergraduate course on marine and coastal resource management offered in Honduras. The Utila Centre for Marine Ecology (UCME), a Honduran registered nongovernmental organization has teamed up with Zamorano’s Socioeconomic Development and Environment (DSEA) faculty to create the new course which combines a two week lecture series and workshops followed by an interactive ten day field study based on the Utila Cays, Bay Islands. The course has been designed by Dr Steve Box, Executive Director of UCME, and a specialist in coral reefs and tropical coastal systems. Dr Box is enthusiastic about the innovative program and sees it as an important step in building future capacity for resource management within the country and in Latin America in general. He is hopeful that the course marks the beginning of a new era of increased awareness within higher education about the importance of marine resources and sustainable coastal development.
The communities of Utila and the Cays have responded enthusiastically to the upcoming visit of the Zamorano students. Local business owners and conservation organizations have been keen to support the field course. The key community sponsors are Barry Jackson, who is generously providing lodging for the students on Little Cay at a discounted price; Tienda Pueblo who are donating part of the groceries needed; the Bay Islands Conservation Association (BICA) are providing some research materials; Johnny’s Water who are donating drinking water; Utila Dive Ventures are supplying transportation and life jackets and the Utila Dive Centre and Cross Creek Divers who are supplying the majority of snorkeling equipment for the students. Both UCME and Zamorano representatives are very grateful for the support and excited to see the community’s growing interest in marine conservation practices.
Since its inception in 2006, the Utila Centre for Marine Ecology’s aim has been to conduct and support applied marine research using a combination of academic scientists and volunteers for data collection and then to use this information in the creation of innovative community education programmes and to support effective conservation strategies. For UCME, this new relationship with Zamorano offers the organization the chance to build upon their mission to support the management and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in Honduras. This new project allows them to fulfill their commitment to provide specially designed educational courses on marine and island ecology to develop national capacity in marine resource assessment and research techniques. Dr Box and his research staff are looking forward to a long-term partnership with Zamorano that will produce a new generation of leaders in marine and coastal resource management for the area.
Zamorano has a long history of providing Latin American youth with the leadership skills needed to generate creative integral solutions, focusing on the rural communities, forests and watersheds, small and large agricultural and agro-industrial businesses and the regional and global markets. According to Kenneth Hoadley, Zamorano President their institutional programs “respond to the main challenges facing Latin America: the sustainable management of natural resources, environmental conservation, global competitiveness, and rural transformation to reduce poverty”. Thus the affiliation with UCME is a perfect fit, expanding their programming to include the care and conservation of marine ecosystems throughout the region. The Socioeconomic Development and Environment (DSEA) program has been developed to give students the skills and values needed to become leaders in environmental management through sustainable development practices. In addition to the new Marine and Coastal Resource Management course, the DSEA students learn the theoretical and applied natural resource management methodology, rural development project management practices and environmentally friendly alternatives for revenue generating services and products. |
