The Protected Landscape Approach - Centre for Mediterranean ...

16. Building leadership and professionalism
At a recent workshop in Mexico, QLF Fellowship
alumni discussed a regional strategy for land
conservation. Brent Mitchell
Box 3.
Con ser va tion Study In sti tute (CSI)
Status: Government sector – US National Park Service – operated in partnership with other
organizations.
Mission: The Conservation Study Institute serves the US National Park Service and the conservation
community by creating opportunities for dialogue, inquiry, and lifelong learning to enhance the
stewardship of parks, landscapes, and communities. The Institute was established by the US
National Park Service to enhance leadership and to stay informed of new developments in the field of
conservation. Although a national program, the Institute is based at Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller
National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vermont – a national park that tells the story of conservation
and the evolving nature of land stewardship in America.
Activities: Through a variety of programs, CSI assesses new directions in conservation, identifies
best practices, and shares this information through a publications series and website as well as
seminars and workshops. For example, the experience of 50 national and international conservation
practitioners is described in The Landscape of Conservation Stewardship (2000). The analysis of
these case studies identifies three common threads of successful conservation stewardship: 1) a
sense of place that is complex and multi-faceted; 2) community-based conservation that is com -
prehensive, collaborative, respectful, and self-sustaining; and 3) a foundation of commitment and
passion that works in concert with a sound scientific understanding to provide enduring inspiration.
More recently, CSI was a co-sponsor of a national symposium on the future of conservation.
Reconstructing Conservation: Finding Common Ground (2003), a book synthesising the findings of
this symposium, describes conservation as encompassing a broad range of values, linking nature and
culture, working at a larger scale across disciplines and political boundaries, and collaborating with a
wide range of stakeholders.
The Institute also works with partners to explore contemporary practice and examine key strategies
such as partnerships and collaboration. For example, CSI and QLF/Atlantic Center for the
Environment convened two workshops on partnerships to create the opportunity for practitioners to
reflect on what they have learned and have a focused dialogue with their peers. Two CSI reports
(Collaboration and Conservation, 2001 and 2004) document their insights and lessons learned. CSI
and QLF have also cooperated on international exchange as a means to foster innovation and develop
leadership. Through this program, colleagues from the US and other countries exchange experience,
explore common challenges, and develop creative strategies for conservation. In 1999, CSI and QLF
co-sponsored an International Working Session on the Stewardship of Protected Landscapes and one
of the important outcomes was creation of the IUCN/World Commission on Protected Areas’s
Protected Landscapes Task Force. This group provides a network for ongoing communication and,
in particular, exchange of successful models for conservation of lived-in landscapes.
Source: Nora Mitchell
All references cited above can be found on the CSI web site: www/nps.gov/csi
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