Africa

Between 2003-2014, NCEP worked with partners in Madagascar to look systematically at conservation capacity needs, convene key players to invest strategic long-term thought, and work to implement solutions at the individual, organizational, and national levels. From a first workshop of 36 interested people, by 2014 NCEP in Madagascar connected over 1,300 members representing 215 conservation institutions and developed 30 French-language modules.

As the basis for locally-led training programs, NCEP led the development of national competency standards for protected area staff that cover critical knowledge areas, skill sets, and attitudes required by effective marine and terrestrial conservation professionals from field agents to directors, as well as professionals working with local communities. These standards serve as a tool for performance evaluation, design of training curriculum or career development paths, and for recruitment in the field of PA management in Madagascar.

The Competence Standards for Protected Area Management in Madagascar were launched in 2013, in collaboration with the Ministry of the Environment and Forests. Our local partners in Madagascar have now formed an independent, Malagasy-led Réseau des Educateurs et Professionnels de la Conservation (or NCEP in French) Association to continue this work.

In addition to our decade of work in Madagascar, NCEP and its partners have held workshops in Rwanda and Tanzania focused on evidence-based teaching in conservation and using NCEP modules. We are interested in meeting new partners in Africa with an interest in training and/or collaborating to adapt NCEP resources to local and regional contexts.