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Fulbright Program initiatives to encourage sustainable development and environmental conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean began in 1991 with the Amazon Basin Scholarship Program. The program provided grants for study at the master’s level to future environmental leaders from the six countries of the Amazon Basin region. In 1994, the effort was expanded to other countries through the Caribbean and Central American Ecology Program. In 2002, the Fulbright Program joined forces with the Organization of American States to consolidate the two programs into a new initiative, the Fulbright–OAS Ecology Program, which was open to faculty, researchers, and practitioners from all of the OAS member countries. In total, 203 grants were awarded for these programs through 2005, when the final grantees were selected.
The mission of the three programs was to develop a cadre of individuals committed to solving environmental problems through multidisciplinary approaches to conservation and sustainable development. In late 2005 and early 2006, LASPAU surveyed alumni from the first twelve years of the programs to determine their success in meeting the four primary goals of the initiatives:
- Supporting multidisciplinary studies in sustainable development and environmental sciences
- Preparing grantees to contribute to public policy
- Preparing grantees to contribute to environmental conservation and sustainability
- Building networks among environmentalists
The survey was undertaken at the request of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, which sponsors the Fulbright Program in partnership with Fulbright Commissions and Public Affairs Sections of U.S. embassies worldwide. LASPAU administered the three ecology initiatives on behalf of the Bureau.
THE SURVEY
The survey of ecology program alumni was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, current email addresses were located for 129 of the 137 alumni in the survey group, which covered the years 1991 through 2002. These individuals were invited to complete an online questionnaire containing multiple choice and open response questions. The process resulted in 82 completed questionnaires, representing 60% of the universe of ecology program alumni for the period under examination.
The second stage consisted of follow-up interviews. Twelve representative individuals were invited to be interviewed, and nine completed the interview.
THE RESULTS
Supporting Studies in Sustainable Development and Environmental Sciences
The Fulbright ecology initiatives have been highly successful in their goal of providing training in sustainable development and environmental sciences. All of those surveyed had either completed master’s degrees (or, in two cases, non-degree programs) or had completed or were pursuing doctorates. The respondents worked in many different fields related to environmental conservation, and, while fewer than expected worked in the public sector, many used their expertise to influence public policy from whatever avenue they had chosen, be it a university, a research center, an NGO, or the private sector. Their contributions are exemplified by a Guatemalan grantee:
I am serving as The Nature Conservancy’s vice president for Mesoamerica and the Caribbean Region, and the knowledge I gained during my Fulbright studies—particularly in the areas of conservation biology, environmental policy, and project design and management—has been fundamental for my job. I helped design and execute PROARCA/APM, a USAID-funded program to strengthen the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and the related conservation policy and institutional framework. I have also advised the Guatemalan government on the development of policy, legislation, and institutional frameworks in the areas of climate change and protected areas.
Preparing Grantees to Contribute to Public Policy
Forty-four of the respondents (54%) had participated in policymaking at some level since completing their programs, and another 13 (16%) intended to contribute in the future. There was recognition of the challenges inherent in policymaking, but those working in the public sector or serving as consultants are playing an active role in critical policy decisions ranging from representing their governments in international treaty agreements to developing wildlife conservation plans. A Panamanian grantee reported:
I was offered the position of technical coordinator for the preparation of a national environmental agenda. This was a one-year process that took us all over the country to consult with more than 2,000 representatives of different conservation and development sectors. Once finished, the agenda was formally adopted by the Panamanian Government through a presidential decree and was the base for a $2,000,000 loan that the Inter-American Development Bank provided to Panama to implement the identified priorities.
Preparing Grantees to Contribute to Environmental Conservation and Sustainability
Fifty-five of the respondents (67%) said that capabilities gained in their graduate studies enabled them to make a contribution to conservation and sustainability practices, some on a local level and others nationally, regionally, or internationally. Nine others (11%), primarily those who were still working on their doctoral degrees, indicated that they expected to contribute in the future. Many of the respondents were involved in applied research projects directly related to sustainable development. Others were involved in conservation projects through their work with local or international NGOs or were responsible for the management of national parks and protected areas. Still others contributed by teaching, publishing articles, and promoting conservation education, as demonstrated by a grantee from Barbados:
In an effort to help the public understand how they can use the coastal zone more effectively and protect it, I developed an outreach program called Waterworld. Students, teachers, representatives of private companies, and families can participate in an eight-week program to learn about the marine environment and learn to swim, sail, snorkel, dive, parasail, hike, and go caving.
A number of respondents described their work with indigenous groups or other local communities and the value of involving these groups in conservation projects. An Ecuadorian grantee commented:
I have been involved in several international workshops for the development of range-wide conservation assessments of endangered species like lowland tapirs and white-lipped peccaries. I have also been involved in developing and implementing wildlife management plans at the local level. Active and positive participation by indigenous groups in the conservation of biodiversity occurs through community-based wildlife management, which helps to adapt traditional systems of resource use to current economic conditions and to facilitate decision-making about the sustainable use and management of biological resources.
Building Networks Among Environmentalists
Network building among program participants was carried out primarily through workshops sponsored by the Fulbright Program and designed and implemented by LASPAU. These included the 1998 Environmental Economics Workshop in Panama, the 2001 Sustainable Development in Latin America and the Caribbean Seminar in Cambridge, and the 2004 Leadership for Sustainable Development Seminar in Costa Rica.
At the time of the survey, 22 of the respondents were still at their original U.S. universities, engaged in doctoral studies or post-doctoral research. Of the other 60 respondents, 50 (83%) had maintained ties with their former U.S. professors and colleagues. More than half described professional activities that included presenting at conferences, creating partnerships between their host and home institutions, collaborating on research or other conservation projects, and coauthoring papers. The Fulbright Program’s goal of encouraging mutual understanding is being met through ongoing efforts such as this one:
My host institution, Miami University of Ohio, and my home institution, Université Notre Dame d’Haïti, have a joint program on water quality. In the summers of 2002 and 2003, professors and students from Miami University visited Haiti and collected water samples from different areas of the country. Analyses have been made, and some results have been published.
CONCLUSIONS
The results of the survey speak for themselves. The three Fulbright ecology programs have created a cadre of well-trained, dedicated environmentalists, many of whom have assumed leadership roles in public and private institutions. Their experiences are personified by a Guatemalan grantee:
The Fulbright Program gave me the opportunity to specialize in a branch of biological sciences that was not available in my country. I had the opportunity to learn more about the United States and many other countries through my fellow students. I also had the great fortune to get to know people from international conservation institutions like World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International, and The Nature Conservancy. I think that Fulbright plays a very important role in professional development in my country. My colleagues who have had the opportunity to participate in the program have key posts and participate in much of the environmental work in Guatemala.
With increasing evidence of the problems caused by environmental degradation and the alarming rate of global warming, advanced training for environmentalists is all the more critical. A renewed ecology program could play an important role in addressing these issues. |
