National Programme
Training and Capacity Building Section
Output 4:
Technical competence of government agencies and CBO conservation staff is enhanced through comprehensive training and capacity building programmes.
Output 4.1: A Training and Capacity Building Section (TCBS) is established within the PMU.
Implementation:
A locally recruited, technically qualified and experienced specialists will be engaged to serve as Co-ordinator of the Capacity-building and Training Programme. The coordinator will assemble a team of specialists and prepare a long-term training programme for approval by the NPD. The training plan and all initiatives aimed at capacity-building will be screened to ensure that they develop synergy with training initiatives in other major projects. At the provincial level, for instance, efforts to build capacity within the relevant agencies in Balochistan will coordinate activities with the PAMP. A similar approach will be followed in NWFP in conjunction with the MACP to ensure cost effectiveness and maintain consistency of effort. An important function of the TCBS will be to integrate lessons learned from the Project’s Demonstration sites into their programmes to facilitate rapid replication and proliferation of effective wetlands conservation measures.
Output 4.2:A training and capacity-building needs assessment exercise is conducted for government and partner institutions involved in wetlands management and conservation.
Baseline Situation:
The majority of staff from govenmental and partner institutions working on wetlands management acquire “on the job” training without strategic planning and investment in skill upgrading at the required levels. Some requisite and specialised skills are available within governmental agencies but few avenues exist for sharing skills.
Implementation:
To build the requisite skills for effective and sustainable wetlands management within both government and partner agencies, the Training and Capacity Building Section will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment exercise. This exercise will enable the identification of gaps within the existing knowledge base, the assessment of existing skills, cost-effective methods for sharing them, the requirements for upgrading of skills and the acquisition for new and specialised skills. The needs assessment exercise will be part of a long-term strategy to develop and acquire the capacity for sustainable wetlands conservation at national, provincial/terretorial and community levels. The exercise will generate a comprehensive and long-term Training Plan for the sector.
Output 4.3: Post-graduate university course in wetlands management is established.
Baseline Situation:
By mid 2003, none of Pakistan's tertiary education institutions offered any undergraduate, postgraduate or general training in wetlands management. Most professional staff that are recruited for wildlife management purposes, therefore, tend to be graduates from other disciplines such as forestry, agriculture, botany, zoology or biology.
Implementation:
A comprehensive
curriculum for a one-year post-graduate course in wetlands management will be designed in close consultation with the PWP
Academic Advisory Committee. An appropriate university or institution will be selected for the presentation of the course, which will be subsidised by the PWP for an initial period of three years.
Output 4.4: Pre-service and in-service public service training for GoP bureaucrats is presented.
Baseline Situation:
Governance in Pakistan is implemented at federal and provincial/territorial level by a core of professional bureaucrats, who receive their professional training from either the
Civil Services Academy, Lahore or
National Institute of Public Administration, Lahore. A review of the course
curricula of these institutions revealed that little or no training is provided inNRM and issues such as the conservation of wetlands go entirely unmentioned. Consequently, key decision-makers within the government service tend to learn about issues like NRM by experience, alone.
Implementation:
NRM training modules with special reference to wetlands will be designed for each of the national bureaucrat training institutions in consultation with their academic staff and the
PWP Academic Advisory Committee. Appropriate reference material supporting the two modules will be developed, printed and supplied free of charge to course participants for the duration of the PWP.
Output 4.5: NRM and wetlands training modules for military leader group are presented.
Baseline Situation:
Pakistan has been under the control of military governments for about half of its 55 year existence. A superficial review of the training that is provided to pre-service and in-service military officers revealed that the courses do not include NRM at any level. This has a direct impact on NRM decision-making in government hierarchies during periods of military rule. It also affects the conservation of a vast portion of the country that is, for strategic reasons, permanently under the control of military staff.
Implementation:
An extract will be made of appropriate components of
Outputs 4.3, 4.4 and
4.7 – 4.9 and adapted for inclusion in
officers' training courses. Supporting notes,
aide memoires and instructional material will be produced and distributed in the programme. The PWP’s TCBS may also provide training for selected military instructors to enable them to present the NRM course material.
Output 4.6: Directorate level in-service training courses for conservation agencies are presented.
Baseline Situation:
Majority of the staff in Pakistan’s wildlife conservation agencies are trained in forestry. This situation is counterproductive in the context of wetlands management. A practical short-term solution to the problem is to provide opportunities for senior staff to attend "conversion courses" in wildlife management with special reference to wetlands.
Implementation:
The TCBS will develop and present a series of interrelated, comprehensive training modules on wetlands management. The individual courses will be repeated at least twice in each annual cycle. Where possible, local case studies will be used to illustrate the basic principles concerned in order to increase the relevance of the course material. Provision will also be made for the possible participation of senior professional staff in training opportunities that are offered abroad by international organisations with expertise on wetlands(
Output 4.10).
Output 4.7: Professional field staff in-service field training courses are presented.
The general lack of proper training in wildlife conservation and, more specifically, wetlands management in Pakistan also results in an inadequate level of capacity among field staff to carry out field surveys, monitor biodiversity and implement a range of specialised wetlands management interventions.
Implementation:
The TCBS will develop an appropriate series of short, in-service courses for professional level field staff in conjunction with specialists from
Wetlands International's training service and other international agencies. These courses will be presented at a minimum frequency of twice
per annum. Based on feedback received during the Project, the course content will be revised and upgraded to improve its effectiveness. Additional courses, if required, may be introduced to the programme at the discretion of the PSC.
Output 4.8: Proficiency courses for non-professional field staff are presented.
Baseline Situation:
As a consequence of socio-economic environment in Pakistan, it is rare to encounter professional level wildlife conservation staff who are actually resident in or adjacent to PAs. The day-to-day management of the PAs is, therefore, routinely left to the resident junior non-professional staff such as wildlife guards, game watchers, etc. Because of budget constraints and limited technical capacity, these non-professional staff members receive very little proficiency training during their careers. The general standard of their service is, consequently, poor by comparison with similar conservation agency staff in other countries.
Implementation:
Comprehensive proficiency courses based on the type of training given to wildlife rangers in East and southern Africa will be provided. Training camps will be set up in or near to a suitable PA and course participants will be trained in aspects such as discipline, law enforcement, public safety, weapons handling, wildlife surveys, fence construction, radio communications, fire-fighting, environmental interpretation and provision of tourism guide facilities, etc.
Output 4.9: Custom-designed courses for CBOs are presented.
Baseline Situation:
The Project anticipates the involvement of CBOs and, especially
Village Conservation Committees (VCCs) in the implementation of management plans for the four
Demonstration Sites and the subsequent replication of wetlands conservation initiatives elsewhere. The potential for this contribution extends to a range of practical measures such as conducting censuses of key species, control of exotic
biota, rehabilitation of threatened
biota and habitats such as mangroves, law enforcement, etc.
Implementation:
As this component of the Project is dependent upon the mobilisation of
custodian communities, it cannot be designed in advance. The envisaged approach is to periodically perform a
capacity-building needs assessment for each demonstration site, develop a site specific
capacity-building strategy on the basis of identified needs, secure endorsement of the NPD for the strategy and the associated expenditure and implement the strategy. These steps will necessitate close collaboration between each specific demonstration site management team and the Project’s national capacity-building team.
Output 4.10: International in-service training courses for selected staff are arranged.
Baseline Situation:
With no specific institution offering academic training in wetlands management or wildlife management in Pakistan, most professional staff engaged in conservation of wetlands resources have no specialist training for the work at hand.
Implementation:
The Manager of TCBS will carefully monitor the availability of short 3 - 8 week, international courses relating to wetlands management and monitoring. A sub-committee of the PSC will, on a quarterly basis, review nominations made by government wildlife conservation agencies, the PSC, the NPD or the CTA and approve the participation of highly motivated conservation officers in appropriate international training sessions. Professional staff from the private sector may also be considered but will be required to enter into a contract binding them to An appropriate binding period of continued service with their parent organisations after completion of the course.
Output 4.11: A comprehensive manual for conservation and management of wetlands in Pakistan is published.
Baseline Situation:
An important goal of the Project is to facilitate replication of effective wetlands management practices but no comprehensive guidebook or manual for the management of wetlands exists in Pakistan or the adjacent regions. Many of the techniques that will be developed, such as the breeding of endangered cranes, or those that have already been implemented in Pakistan, such as the methods used to survey the Indus Dolphin, are relatively unique. It is, therefore, anticipated that the publication of such techniques in a user-friendly manual would substantially enhance nationwide wetlands management capacity and would serve as a useful tool for conservation practitioners in the public and private sector.
Implementation:
The material that is prepared for the training courses (See: Outputs 4.3 – 4.9) and the practical lessons learned during the development and application of management plans for the four Project Demonstration Sites will be used to form the basis of a wetlands management techniques manual. This publication will be released in both conventional printed form and will also be made available on the wetlands website that will be developed as part of the Project
(See: Output 5.10). Partners in this initiative are likely to be the PFI and the Punjab Wildlife Research Institute.
