The Role of Education in Conservation, and the Establishment and Enforcement of Species Specific Sanctuaries and Targeted Marine Protected Areas

Summary:

This program is designed to teach interested persons how to bring shark education into their community as a tool for conservation.

Interactive Session

Part of the Concurrent sessions  

Mr. Tadzio Bervoets. St Maarten Nature Foundation. St Maarten

Max Capacity: 30

Minimum Required: 5

Details:

Education for both adults and children plays an important role in ensuring the effectiveness in the design, implementation and enforcement of conservation initiatives for species specific protection as well as conservation area management. The implementation of targeted education campaigns to reinforce and design conservation measures are instrumental in the successful management of protected species and ecosystems. The objective of this session is to share the impact education has had for shark conservation in other regions in the Caribbean. It encompasses why we started these programs, how we developed them, how we have implemented them and the specific successes they have had in the Dutch Caribbean and The Bahamas.

We will review the materials we use, why we use them and how we use them. We will help participants understand how to use our materials as well as create their own, depending on specific needs of the region. This session will be interactive as we want to hear the challenges, goals and successes others have.

Great conservation efforts have been made throughout the Caribbean, but without education these successes can become temporary. Education is needed to support and maintain existing programs and promote future conservation and sustainability endeavors. The overall goal of this session is to help people develop their own educational program to support existing conservation efforts and to promote future opportunities.