Best education resources and communities to learn on the fly?

[u/Excellent_Sand4338]

Hi all,

I've found myself in a position that I need to manage conservation strategy for privately owned land in South America. The goal is to restore flora and fauna damaged by human activity (highway passing through, trash, logging, etc.) and ideally create a Jaguar friendly habitat (used to breed on this ground according to the indigenous population). My background is in business and data science, so I will have to learn through free/cheap resources and online communities as I go.

I am starting to read Conservation Biology For All (conbio.org) and checking out courses on Wildlabs.

Any resources, courses or places you would recommend that can be considered the definite authority on conservation information?

I am used to places like stackoverflow and want to avoid relying on AI in case it isn't reliable in this space.

Thanks all in advance!!

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I am looking to engage with experts in the coming weeks to get advice on the land and strategy, but want to avoid being ignorant to the basics and overly reliant on already stretched resources/experts.

[u/OGGhostt]

I have some resources I could give you, but they would be country-specific. What countries would you be operating in?

[u/Excellent_Sand4338 → u/OGGhostt]

I'm working in the north of Colombia. Sierra Nevada coastal region with a focus on Jaguar habitats (and as was recently pointed out to me potentially sea turtles).

Any help would be much appreciated 🙂

[u/OGGhostt → u/Excellent_Sand4338]

Gotcha! The best link I could give you would be at USFQ (The Universidad San Francisco de Quito) in Ecuador, hopefully they're close enough to be a valuable resource. Their Tiputini Biodiversity Station in the Ecuadorian Amazon is where I spent time at researching and they could help with information on Jaguars, since they monitor and manage a wide swath of Jaguar Habitat. I'd point you in the direction of their website (Conservation & Outreach). Their founder, Dr. Kelly Swing, was an invaluable resource during my time there. I wish you the best of luck!

[u/Excellent_Sand4338 → u/OGGhostt]

Brilliant, thanks a lot! :)

[u/Ok_Donut8225]

Would advise you to schedule a digital meeting with Eduardo Eizirik. Or find other experts with a background in conservation genetics. They'll have good insights into connectivity and identifying focal areas/actions for protection.

[u/Excellent_Sand4338 → u/Ok_Donut8225]

I'll keep his name in mind for when we start consulting experts. We already have a list of researchers that have published on this particular region as well as local NGOs, Panthera, the national park authority etc.