| This website started in March 2012. The amount of information is still limited. Content will be added regularly from now on.
This website has been initiated by the 20 participants (para-ecologists and project coordinators) of an international workshop on para-ecologist initiatives which was held in Hamburg in June 2011. The workshop was funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.
Platform for para-ecologists worldwide
This website is a platform for para-ecologists worldwide as well as for projects, organisations or individuals that are involved in the capacity development of para-ecologists. The platform aims to facilitate the networking and sharing of information within the para-ecologist community but also inform the public about the concepts, aims and methodology of para-ecologist programmes.
Para-ecologists
For the website, we stick to the term para-ecologist. With this term, we explicitly also refer to para-taxonomists, biodiversity facilitators and other terms that have been created in this context.
A para-ecologist is a specialist with extensive local knowledge and being trained largely on-the-job in one or more fields of ecological science. He or she is mutually communicating with the local and scientific communities, contributing to both scientific research and local development.
The main objectives of para-ecologist approaches are
- Enhancement of communication between land users and scientists for mutual learning: Integration of local knowledge into research as well as empowerment of land users to understand, use and implement scientific results in agriculture and forestry
- Environmental education and sensitization (to develop awareness, win hearts, change minds)
- Improvement of relationships between conservation areas and local communities
- Improvement of livelihoods through development, capacity development and alternative incomes
- Creation of job opportunities; also through the assessment of alternative sources of community livelihoods and capacity development (e.g. training of tour guides)
- Make basic research more efficient (e.g. biodiversity assessment, collection and documentation of organisms, monitoring of biodiversity or livelihood conditions etc.)
- Allow research activities and data collection also during absence of the scientists
- Share research and other specific site information amongst the different stakeholders whenever necessary
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