Seeding Sustainability: Training for trainers in mangrove conservation and ecological restoration in UNESCO biosphere reserves.

Duration

2024-2027

Lead institutions

Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral

Academic partners

Tom Van der Stocken

Alba Calles Procel

Project status

Ongoing

Programme

ITP

Total budget

149,794.70

Summary

The “Seeding Sustainability” training programme aims to support mangrove conservation and restoration in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) in general, and in Ecuador and Peru specifically, considering the perspectives of biosphere reserves1.

The target audience are local communities living in and/or making use of the mangrove ecosystem, university/technical students in areas related to this ecosystem (biology, environment, geography, economics, environmental law) and decision-makers at both local and national level.

It aims to strengthen the local capacities of different stakeholders by providing an integrated look at the mangrove ecosystem, its importance, current challenges and tangible solutions.

The programme will last three years and will provide theoretical and practical courses focusing on four main areas: the importance of mangrove ecosystem conservation, ecosystem services and threats, and the biosphere reserve approach; ecological restoration of mangroves; mangrove policy and management; and sustainable socio-economic activities.

The project will be jointly coordinated by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme and the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL) of Ecuador. It will involve different partners universities and research centres from Peru, Mexico Colombia and Flanders.

This training programme will be linked to the Mangrove restoration as a nature-based solution in biosphere reserves in Latin America and the Caribbean (MangRes) project funded by the Government of Flanders of the Kingdom of Belgium and supported by the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

1 Biosphere reserves are ‘sites nominated by UNESCO for testing interdisciplinary approaches to understanding and managing changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, including conflict prevention and management of biodiversity. .