[botswanapredatorforum] International Cheetah Conservation Training Course Anouncement

Dear all, 
Below is a training opportunity to be held at Cheetah Conservation Fund in 
Namibia on Integrated Livestock, Wildlife and Predator Management. 

Please email me directly at rebecca@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx for the application 
form. It is 227MB in size.

Best wishes, 

Rebecca
Cheetah Conservation Botswana
72621077

An international training course in Integrated Livestock, Wildlife and Predator 
Management will

be held in Namibia in 2009 at the Cheetah Conservation Fund, under the 
sponsorship of the

Howard G. Buffet Foundation's African Cheetah Initiative with support of the 
Smithsonian

Institution and WildCRU. This course is aimed at community development officers 
and

agriculture extension officers in cheetah range countries. The focus will be on 
cheetah-human

conflict, and the role of farmer outreach programs and community-based training 
to mitigate

these conflict issues.

 

The training received by participants in this course will address the needs 
identified in the

cheetah regional plans regarding research and applied conservation 
methodologies for

professionals in cheetah range countries. The information and practical skills 
provided by these

selective training programs will focus on building capacity to conserve 
cheetahs and their

ecosystems. It is envisioned that these biology professionals and agriculture 
extension officers

will pass on their education to thousands of people throughout the cheetah's 
remaining range

countries, with the goal of achieving a profound change in people's attitudes 
toward predators in

general and cheetahs in particular.

 

With the cheetah's populations dwindling, the cheetah's survival depends on 
educated people

using proven methods to reverse this trend. Many such methods have been 
developed or adopted

in the last 20 years by CCF and a variety of other organizations, but there is 
no one source of

information and training for wildlife conservation professionals. Additionally, 
there is a lack of

local professionals and stewards who are capable of recognizing, appreciating 
and better

utilizing natural resources to achieve conservation.

 

By training a network of regional professionals collaborating on regional 
cheetah strategies, the

impact will expand from local pockets of protection dotting the cheetah's range 
countries to

much broader, far-reaching and inter-connected swaths. Regionalizing and 
unifying efforts will

cause the conservation impact to be exponential.

 

The target audience for the course will be professionals within conservation 
and agriculture

ministries, final year and graduate university students in conservation-related 
subjects in cheetah

range countries, and the research communities from range countries. The 
training offered will

be a complement to current university training and upgrade those already 
working in the field

(e.g. wildlife managers) on new concepts, skills and techniques for 
standardized collection,

collation, analysis and reporting on cheetahs and their ecosystems. Bringing 
together

participants from a variety of cheetah range countries will promote a unified 
and systematic

approach to conservation including research, monitoring and wildlife-conflict 
mitigation

measures. Our objectives are to empower individuals with knowledge and skills 
in conservation

and management that can be altered to fit each regional country. Our ultimate 
aim is to address

the issues outlined in the cheetah regional strategies, thereby securing a 
future for the cheetah in

these range countries.

 

Course work will included training in integrated management practices and 
predator kill

identification; how to conduct questionnaire surveys; rangeland management and 
pasture

science; how to present integrated livestock, wildlife and predator courses to 
farmers; grant and

report writing ; Bayesian network statistics; field practical-meeting with a 
communal farmer

and seeing livestock guarding dogs; commercial farming and conservation; 
learning about

community based natural resource management programs; conservancy management; 
veterinary

techniques and sustainable animal production; field practical learning about 
the care of captive

cheetahs; care of livestock guarding dogs; conservancies.

 

The first part of the course concentrates on the theoretical part of the 
different subjects covered.

These lecturers are to provide the foundation for all field exercises. The 
second part of the

course will focus field exercises.

 

Course Sites:

The course will be conducted mainly at the CCF's facilities in Otjiwarongo, 
which is located

approximately 350 km north of Windhoek, the capital city. The CCF site, 
although best known

for its cheetahs, also includes such species as gemsbok, kudu, hartebeest, 
zebra, giraffe and

numerous other ungulates. The Western Communal Conservancy, which is about 4 
hours from

CCF, will also be visited during the course for field exercises.

 

Course Costs:

The course fee is supported by the Howard G Buffet Foundation. This includes 
all training

expenses (room, board, educational resources, instruction fees, internal travel 
and other course

related activities) for applicants that are selected to attend the course*. 
However, applicants are

expected to cover their own airfare, visas and health insurance. All applicants 
requesting partial

support for airfares must submit a letter justifying their financial need with 
their application

(preference will be given to participants from African range countries). They 
must also confirm

that they have already secured financial support from other sources to 
supplement the partial

scholarship.

*Participants are expected to be in Windhoek by the evening of the 7th of June. 
Please note, CCF will not be responsible for any accommodation of participants 
before this date - this will be at the participants own cost. CCF will also not 
be responsible for covering accommodation costs from the evening of the 21st 
June onwards.

 

Eligibility and Application:

The courses are most appropriate for those involved in cheetah conservation 
throughout the

world, particularly in Africa. However, those interested in biodiversity 
inventory and

monitoring, animal ecology and behavior, and protected area management will 
also be

considered. Cheetah researchers, agriculture and community extension officers, 
biology

undergraduates and graduates from developed countries, as well as wildlife 
personnel from

government agencies, non-governmental organizations and universities in 
developing countries,

are all eligible to apply for the course. Countries targeted from the SADC 
region are Namibia,

Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola, Tanzania and South 
Africa.

Other countries include Kenya, Algeria, Iran, Ethiopia, India, Sudan, Benin, 
Burkina Faso,

Niger and Chad.

Places are limited so we encourage interested participants to apply as soon as 
possible.

The attached application form must be completed in full and submitted with all 
other application

materials requested. Please compress all materials you are sending to us, as 
emails over 2MB

will be rejected.

 

Application Deadline: 15 April 2009

Only 25 applicants will be selected for the courses and preference will be 
given to those who

apply early. Successful applicants will be notified of their selection as soon 
as possible after the

closing date. Once notified, it will fall to the applicants to ensure that they 
have the correct visas

before coming to the course. CCF will provide some assistance in this process.

 

For further particulars, contact:

Matti Nghikembua, Cheetah Conservation Fund - Ecology Division, Phone: + 264 67 
306225,

Fax: +264 67 306247, Email ccflaurie@xxxxxxx




----- Original Message ----- 
From: CCFLaurie@xxxxxxx 
To: patricia@xxxxxxx 
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 6:42 PM
Subject: RE: International Cheetah Conservation Training Course Anouncement


Dear Friends,

 

Attached please find an announcement about our International Integrated 
Livestock, Wildlife and Predator  training course to be held at the Cheetah 
Conservation Fund in Namibia on 7 - 21 June 2009.     

 

Please share this announcement with others who may be interested in attending 
the course.  Also, please forgive me if any of you get a duplicate message.

 

All the very best to all of you,

 

Laurie 

Dr. Laurie Marker, DPhil

Founder/Executive Director

Cheetah Conservation Fund

P.O. Box 1755

Otjiwarongo, Namibia

Phone: +264 (0)67 306225

FAX: +264 (0)67 306247

www.cheetah.org

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