Exchange programmes - IUCN

Implementation of an Exchange Programme for Protected Areas in East Asia
� To develop participants’ skills and confidence in workingin diverse teams within
rural and semi-rural communities to address complex stewardship problems;
� To encourage the practical implementation of the ideas and recommendations
resultingfrom exchanges and case studies; and
� To publicise the results of the programme so that experience and recommendations
can be disseminated widely. (CEI, 2000)
Benefits accrue in three distinct areas:
� The process of proposingand preparingthe case study develops cooperation,
infrastructure and capacity in the host location. Local organisers have to: identify
and convene appropriate representation; agree issues to be addressed; encourage
community participation; plan and share tasks; and fund and manage the logistics
of the team’s visit.
� The interaction between the team and those they meet, culminatingin the public
presentation and the report, articulates and reappraises local concerns, validates
and revitalises existinginitiatives, introduces new ideas and provokes fresh
thinking.
� Workingtogether, under pressure of time and in an unfamiliar context, team
members gain: confidence in applying their own expertise; new understanding of
the breadth and interrelation of responses required in addressingcountryside
issues; new ideas; and new skills in teamworkingand collaboration. For many it is
also a new and powerful experience to work outside their normal formal position
of authority, to an agenda entirely set by local stakeholders and residents, and
many report an increased emphasis on listeningand buildingconsensus as the
most significant positive impact on their working style.
How the programme works
Structure
The transatlantic exchange has managing bodies in the USA and the UK. Participation
from other countries operates through one or other of these bodies. The Glynwood
Center, a non-profit organisation in the USA concerned with training and advice for
rural communities, is the focal point for the Exchange Programme in North America.
The Center orchestrates regional support and funding for case studies in North America,
selects the individual host locations, and provides guidance and some financial assistance.
At the same time, it identifies and selects half the team members for case studies in
both North America and the UK.
In the UK there is a national steeringcommittee consistingof representatives of a
group of funding bodies (national and regional agencies and other bodies statutorily or
constitutionally concerned with the countryside, cultural heritage and the rural economy)
and chaired by the Countryside Agency (successor to the Countryside
Commission). This Steering Group sets policy and strategic guidelines and assures core
fundingfor a contracted executingagent, currently CEI Associates Ltd. CEI identifies
case study locations in the UK, guides their development and recruits the other half of
the team members. Thus while there are differences in structure dictated by the respective
national contexts, the key operational axis lies in the close cooperation between
CEI and the Glynwood Center.
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