Training in Mesoamerica

Training courses and field workshops
In Oaxaca, The Global Diversity Foundation is working with the Regional Committee of Natural Resources of the Chinantla Alta (CORENCHI), an indigenous organization comprising six Chinantec communities that own and manage 26,770 hectares of community conserved land.

In collaboration with other Oaxacan NGOs, GDF trains CORENCHI staff members as researchers, protected area personnel and natural history guides. Ethnoecology research methods for creating biodiversity registers, which document native flora and fauna and the associated local knowledge, are taught to local researchers. Community workshops on topics such as sustainable forest management, participatory video, scientific tourism and legal frameworks for collaboration have been or will be provided. Local biodiversity fairs are held, in which villagers showcase and exchange traditional ecological knowledge and natural products. For university-trained colleagues from various Oaxacan institutions, the GDF will provide advanced seminars in sustainable forest management, biodiversity law and community conservation.