Exchange programmes - IUCN

Implementation of an Exchange Programme for Protected Areas in East Asia
1.4.1 Individual exchanges
An individual exchange involves one protected area staff member, manager, or administrator
visiting one or more other protected areas and/or regional/national offices. This
form of exchange is widely supported by many parks. It is easy and relatively cheap to
plan and implement, and often provides an excellent training experience. As Table 1.1
shows, individual exchanges can take various forms.
Table 1.1 Principal variables in individual exchanges
Variable From To
Number of participants One participant Many
Level of participation Park Director or system chief Ranger(s)
Purpose of exchange Acquisition or delivery of specific expertise General education
Time period A week or so A year or more
Geographical scope One protected area Several protected areas
Subject focus a) One issue addressed in depth (e.g. habitat
management, tourism)
b) Issues common to both areas
a) Many issues addressed more
superficially
b) Different in each area
Expertise involved Experts exchanged New expertise acquired
Frequency of exchange A one-off event A programme of several years
Long-term individual work exchanges and secondments can be very useful for
bringing new skills to an organisation, but language barriers and lack of available funds
can be a problem. If language is not an issue, and the cost of living in the two
regions/countries involved are similar, then a true exchange of one worker for another
may be possible. When this happens, it may be possible for each protected area to
continue to pay the normal salary to the individual in the exchange; travel costs could be
paid for by the organisation or the individuals, or shared between the two.
Individual exchanges may be in the form of a one-on-one arrangement, where one or
two individuals are chosen to be the ambassador of the exchange between parks and
protected areas. In some cases though, numerous staff members may participate in
exchanges. In the EUROPARC experience (see 2.1), it was found that it was better to
operate a continuing arrangement under which a large number of staff were involved,
although some partners preferred to involve more staff than others. The option chosen
will probably depend on the tasks assigned to the partnership and the desired outcome(s)
of the exchange. Some Asian and Latin American partners involved in the EUROPARC
exchange programme found the greatest benefit in sending as many different staff
members as possible on an educational visit, while others saw a greater benefit in
working on specific issues in greater depth. In both cases, however, the beneficial impact
of exchange visits depended on participatory advance planning, organisation, evaluation
and follow up.
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