|
Competence based approaches have been long used in vocational training and education and, in countries such as the UK and Canada, have been introduced and used in the conservation sector. As a result of a regional review of human resource development and training in the main protected area management authorities of the 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the ASEAN Regional Centre for Biodiversity Conservation has developed a set of standards for protected area jobs in the region. These standards were collated and developed from existing sources and examples of good practice in SE Asia and were refined at a regional workshop. Importantly therefore they are seen not just to have been developed for the region, but to come from the region. The standards consist of 250 skills and associated knowledge requirements therefore in 17 technical categories and at 5 levels, from labourer to director.
Following publication, the standards are being widely used in several countries in the region to help design training programmes and courses, to review staffing structures and functions, to assess and appraise staff and to raise the professional profile of protected areas work. A major reason for the success is the fact that the standards have been promoted as a non-prescriptive set of guidelines that should be ‘adapted and adopted’ to fit local contexts.
|
|
|
Mike Appleton has worked as a conservation management specialist with Fauna & Flora International for nearly ten years, with specific expertise in protected area management, conservation projects and programmes, training and capacity building. He has worked in more than 20 countries, focusing on SE Asia. He was training adviser for the ASEAN regional Centre fro Biodiversity Conservation from 2001-2003 and is currently managing the Cardamom Mountains Wildlife Sanctuaries Project in Cambodia.
|
|
