Dates:

31^st May – 2^nd June 2006

Venue:

Trinidad & Tobago

Workshop overview:

Goal:

The goal of the workshop is to build the capacity of key stakeholders in Caribbean island states to facilitate the development of national policy and institutions for effective stakeholder participation in wetlands management.

The need:

Caribbean island states continue to face challenges posed by the need to achieve sustainable development without compromising the quality of the natural resources that are the basis for such development.  In particular, the development of sustainable local livelihoods is often in conflict with natural resource conservation demands. Effective stakeholder participation in wetlands management is a key strategy to facilitate both protection of the resource and the equitable distribution of benefits to all stakeholders.  However, the policies and institutional arrangements necessary to facilitate stakeholder participation in wetlands management are weak or absent in many Caribbean states. 

Much of the capacity building in the Caribbean region has tended to focus on training in specific technical skills and methods for natural resource management and CANARI has identified a demand from technicians for materials and mechanisms that can help them understand and develop policies and institutions for more effective and efficient natural resource management.

The CANARI WWF project:

This workshop is part of a CANARI project entitled “Policies and institutions for wetlands management: Training for managers from the insular Caribbean” which is funded under the Ramsar Wetlands for the Future Fund (WFF). 

In this project, CANARI will address the need for increased understanding of and the skills to develop policies and institutions for participatory wetlands management through an analysis of lessons from the experience of three Caribbean states that have ratified the Ramsar Convention – Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and St. Lucia.  From this analysis, common policy and institutional challenges and the requirements for promotion of participatory based approaches to wetlands management will be identified. 

The project will therefore improve the understanding of policy and institutions for improved wetlands management and will also encourage Caribbean states to ratify the Ramsar Convention.

Lessons drawn from the workshop will be used in the development of a policy brief, to be produced in English and Spanish and disseminated to stakeholders in the Caribbean region.

Case studies:

The workshop will draw on the experience of Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and St. Lucia, and will include a detailed analysis of the experience of Trinidad & Tobago in wetlands management in Nariva Swamp.

Objectives:

By the end of the workshop participants will be able to:

·        Explain key concepts related to participatory wetlands management;

·        Identify key lessons from the experiences of Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and St. Lucia in developing policies and institutions for participatory wetlands management, including the implementation of the Ramsar Convention;

·        Identify common policy and institutional challenges, and requirements for promotion of participatory based approaches to wetlands management;

·        Analyse of how mechanisms of the Ramsar Convention can be used to facilitate or catalyse national processes for participatory wetlands management;

Outline of topics:

Day 1 

Day 2 

 Day 3

Approach:

This workshop will draw on case studies and lessons learned from the experiences of Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica and St. Lucia as well as other participant countries.  Specific attention will be given to analysis of the experience of Trinidad & Tobago in wetlands management in Nariva Swamp through a field trip and stakeholder presentations and discussions.  The workshop will be highly participatory and use a combination of plenary discussions and group work.  Each participant will be asked to develop key strategies and actions for developing policies and institutions for participatory wetlands management in their home country.

Who should participate?

The training targets persons from government, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs) and the private sector who are stakeholders in wetlands management in their country and are in a position to influence national processes of policy and institutional development.

Participants should be familiar with the policy and institutional landscape of their home country but no prior specific technical knowledge of wetlands management is necessary.

Participants will be drawn from the following countries and stakeholders from other countries are also encouraged to apply:

1. Trinidad & Tobago
2. St. Lucia
3. St. Kitts & Nevis
4. Jamaica
5. Dominican Republic
6. Antigua
7. St. Vincent & the Grenadines
8. Grenada
9. Commonwealth of Dominica

How will participants benefit?

Participants will:

·        Gain an appreciation of the benefits of participatory processes in facilitating both protection of the resource and the equitable distribution of benefits to all stakeholders;

·        Enhance their understanding of the policies, institutional arrangements and processes needed to facilitate the effective involvement of stakeholders in the management of wetlands;

·        Increase their knowledge of how Ramsar Convention mechanisms have been used in the Caribbean to facilitate or catalyse national processes that enable stakeholder participation in wetlands management;

·        Build their skills in facilitating the development of national policies, institutional arrangements and processes for stakeholder participation in wetlands management.

• Network and share information with other stakeholders from the region.

Costs & funding:

The costs of participation in US dollars are as follows:

Local participants:
Tuition, field trips, lunches, materials – US $200.00

Overseas participants:
Tuition, field trips, lunches, materials, three nights accommodation, airport transfers, and evening meals – US $450.00

The cost of airfare is not included; however CANARI will make the flight reservations.

Facilitator:

This workshop is being coordinated and facilitated by the Caribbean Natural Resources Institute (CANARI) in collaboration with the National Wetlands Committee of Trinidad & Tobago.

Click here for an Application form

For more information contact Polin Sankar-Persad at: 

Administration Building
Fernandes Industrial Centre
Eastern Main Road
Laventille
Trinidad and Tobago
Telephone: 868 626 6062
Fax: 868 626 1788
E-mail:info@canari.org
Website: http://www.canari.org/