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Green Capacity--building human and intellectual capital for a biologically
sustainable future.
Our Programs
Green Capacity was born from direct observation by Board Members
of unmet needs in the conservation communities of Developing
Nations, especially Papua New Guinea. We believe that experts from
afar cannot drive conservation effectively and therefore
conservation and sustainable development cannot occur without an
indigenous scientific community to drive it. Until the indigenous
national community of scientists have the knowledge and skills they
need to develop their own efforts, the efforts of foreign experts,
no matter how well intentioned, are unlikely to achieve lasting
success. Green Capacity sees this as a root cause for the failure of
decades of conservation efforts by many large conservation
organizations. These efforts have not adequately built the national
expertise to sustain conservation interventions. Green Capacity
believes that only after a nation attains a certain level of
scientific expertise and sophistication can it begin to use science
to guide its planning and management in a culturally effective way.
Our programs are designed to address these root failures of
international conservation over the past decades.
Green Capacity's founders have all been
heavily involved in the education of Papua New Guinea biologists
(please see our
bios). Our programs arise from over two
decades of work sponsored by a variety of donors and organizations,
mostly in Papua New Guinea. During this time we trained PNG
nationals to conduct biological research and to act as superlative
role models for other PNG biologists and multiply their own ranks
through training efforts. In 2008 we joined our former students as
equal colleagues and together formed the
Papua New Guinea Institute of
Biological Research, a PNG-based non-profit. Green Capacity
and PNGIBR work together on shared programs involving research,
training and outreach.
Research
We have aided in the planning, funding, and analysis of PNGIBR's
research projects and act as a partner and advisor on
these projects
(please see www.pngibr.org for project details). We also write
proposals to lead research projects in PNG, with PNGIBR as a local
partner.
Training
We partner with PNGIBR to teach courses and mentor PNG
graduate students under the following categories:
- Field Courses: Most struggling universities in
underdeveloped nations do not have funds to support field
courses for students. Yet field courses are essential to build
the necessary skills of biologists. Field research is not a
discipline that can be learned solely from a book or online.
Biologists need hands-on training to find and identify plants
and animals, to learn how to make specimens or sample a
population under field conditions and to record natural history
parameters. Only in the field with a mentor can students learn
how to conduct their own research and become fully qualified
biologists. Green Capacity sees field courses as a crucial
component in the transition from student to professional
biologist. Board members have conducted many field courses over
the years and have seen their benefits.
- Training Workshops: Certain specialized skills can be
taught in relatively short workshops. But often universities in
target nations do not have adequate faculty to cover key topics
or they lack equipment, time or funding. Workshops can cover
many things from using GPS units, to statistical analyses of
data. Board members have run public speaking and data analysis
courses, among many other short courses for specific audiences
in need of specialized training.
- Mentored Field Research: Learning skills and seeing
them used takes a student only so far. Top students need to
engage in their own research before they can become
self-sufficient world class conservationists and scientists.
Biological and ecological field research is complex and
time-consuming. Proper learning requires a strong interaction
and transfer of skills from a mentor to apprentice. Unlike
students in the US and other developed nations, students in
target nations do not grow up in an environment where research
is common. Often target nation university students reach
graduation without ever having done a real research project.
They may not have designed an experiment, collected data,
analyzed data or written a research report. These many skills
need to be acquired. Green Capacity supports close one-on-one
mentoring as top students are funded by and guided through
research projects by PNGIBR and GC staff and board members.
These projects typically result in an Honors degree from the
University of PNG and prepare students to become competent and
independent scientists.
- Mentoring and Education through university enrollment:
We help exceptional students to apply for scholarships and
enrollment at top international universities outside the target
nation. With proper training prior to enrollment, as outlined
above, graduates from target nations are able to thrive in
postgraduate programs overseas that they might otherwise
struggle in. The extraordinary experience of an international
graduate degree prepares students to return home and become
leaders in their country's conservation movement.
Outreach
Through locally appropriate media, national scientists can
communicate their science to relevant parties. This can be in the
form of meetings and reports with top government officials, or
presentations at the village level or in rural schools. Green
Capacity and PNGBIR train their students how to become effective
communicators and support their staff and student's outreach work.
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