Abstract

The UNEP-CEP/CaMPAM Training of Trainers Course in Marine Protected Area (MPA) Management was designed as a response to common challenges and training needs facing marine resource managers across the Wider Caribbean. The 2011 course, hosted in Ambergris Caye, Belize—home of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve—provided robust introductory professional development training in all aspects of marine protected area management to a diverse array of marine resource professionals. The course allowed resource managers, fisheries officers and scientists from seven Eastern Caribbean countries participating in the Caribbean Challenge initiative to learn lessons and management strategies from the network of Belize MPAs. A collaborative approach to course facilitation fostered an environment of peer-to-peer learning, exchange of ideas, and analysis of different management models and approaches. Within this environment, participants crafted, evaluated and refined small grant proposals to conduct post-course training activities in their local MPA. In addition, intensive participatory exercises helped identify networking opportunities among peers, and bridge the gap between course learning and practical application of new knowledge and skill sets following completion of the course. This collaborative approach supports ongoing development of a functioning mentor and peer exchange network in the Wider Caribbean, where effective management models, strategies and tools can be transferred regionally among marine resource professionals, and from MPA managers to staff, resource users and local stakeholders.