A student taking notes on tree plot data during an MBG training course, Cordillera del Cóndor, Ecuador

Undergraduate students identifying specimens after a day of collecting, Yanachaga-Chemillén National Park, Peru

In Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) and the Center for Conservation and Sustainable Development (CCSD) conduct a training program in botany and conservation for university students and young professionals in the fields of biology, forestry, agronomy, natural resources, and environmental studies. The program seeks to create a core group of professional botanists and conservation biologists in each country who can assume stewardship for sound resource management that is firmly based in science.

The MBG-CCSD program offers both short- and longer-term training. The various training components provide a solid basis of knowledge to help undergraduate and graduate students advance in their academic studies while contributing to the formation of qualified professionals able to assume leadership roles in biodiversity conservation and natural resource management. Training is both theoretical and practical, with an emphasis upon field-based instruction in research methodologies, in collecting and managing botanical and ecological data, and in analyzing and applying this information for conservation decision-making. Participants conduct research under the guidance of professional biologists within the context of MBG's research programs in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru and gain understanding of the issues and problems of natural resource management in the field. Above all, the program seeks to nurture critical thinking abilities and to develop biologists and conservationists with a strong strategic vision for preservation of their countries' natural resources.

The MBG-CCSD training programs in Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru prepare young biologists to engage in biological or conservation research, to plan and implement conservation programs, and to evaluate the effects of development programs on the environment. Program alumni are working in both the public and the private sectors and are contributing significantly to conservation efforts within their respective countries.

The Elizabeth E. Bascom Fellowships, awarded annually to Latin American female botanists, the Alwyn H. Gentry Fellowships, awarded annually to male and female botanists from Latin America, and the MBG Fellowships, awarded annually to male and female botanists from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, provide additional opportunities for training. Fellowship recipients visit MBG for a one- to three-month period to conduct botanical and ecological studies using MBG's facilities.

Major collaborators with MBG and CCSD in the training programs include the following:

Herbario Nacional de Bolivia, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz
Herbario Nacional Forestal Martín Cárdenas, Universidad Mayor de San Simón, Cochabamba
Museo de Historia Natural Noel Kempff Mercado, Universidad Autónoma Gabriel René Moreno,
  Santa Cruz
Universidad Mayor, Real y Pontificia San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca, Sucre

Herbario Nacional del Ecuador, Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales, Quito
Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito
Universidad Nacional de Loja, Loja

Asociación para el Manejo de la Reserva Comunal Yanesha (AMARCY), Oxapampa
Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (SERNANP), Ministerio del Medio Ambiente
Herbario Weberbauer, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima
Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima
Herbario, Universidad Nacional San Antonio Abad del Cusco, Cusco
Herbario Truxillense, Universidad Nacional de Trujillo, Trujillo

For further information, contact
Bolivia: Luzmila Arroyo
Ecuador: Mercedes Asanza
Peru: Rocío Rojas