Biodiversity research in the Laguna San Rafael National Park: programme review and forward planning

44 Pages·1998·1.8 MB·English

by  Rose, S., Herrera Encina, S.

Biodiversity research in tlie
Laguna San Rafael National
Park: programme review
and forward planning
Proceedings ofthe second workshop ofthe
^^P^
Laguna San Rafael National Park
Biodiversity Research
Programme
WORLDCONSERVATION
MONITORING CENTRE
Coyhaique, Chilean Patagonia
March 30th - April 2nd 1998
^1^
~
THE
NATURAL
HISTORY
MUSEUM
Workshopsponsoredby museonacional
S. Rose 8c S. Herrera Encina
»ll
Chile July 1998
histofia natural
Digitized by tine Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
UNEP-WCIVIC, Cambridge
http://www.archive.org/details/biodiversityrese98rose
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ll^OG
Biodiversity Research in the Laguna
San Rafael National Park: programme
review and forward planning
Contents
M«««MK««fflM
Foreword 2
Introduction 5
PartI: Workshop-biodiversitysurveyingandinformationmanagementintheLagunaSan
RafaelNationalPark(LSRNP)
Session I: Introductionandprogrammeoverview 6
Session 2: Biodiversityinformationmanagement-theframeworkrevisited 8
Session3: Projectreview 9
Session4: t/singaGeographicalInformationSystem(CIS)forthemanagementofbiodiversity
information //
Session5: ProjectreviewfromCONAF'sperspective 14
Session 6: Thewayahead 16
Session 7: Sustainingtheproject 18
Session 8:Summary, conclusionsandactionplan 20
AppendixI: Listofparticipants 22
Appendix2: WCMCbiodiversityinformationmanagementpresentation 24
Appendix3: Summaryofresearchprojectsundertakeninthefirstfieldseason 27
Appendix4: Workshopassessment 29
Appendix5:ResearchpublicationsrelatingtoLSRNP 30
PartII:Half-dayenvironmentaleducation workshop
IntroductionandBackground 35
Results 36
Conclusions 37
s
Prologo Foreword
Entreel 12yel 15 deNoviembrede 1996sereunieronen Between the 12th- 15thofNovember 1996, 25Chileanand
Coyhaique,capital de laUndecimaRegiondeChile,25 inves- UKresearchersandconservation plannersparticipated in a
tigadoresy administradoresderecursos naturales,deChileyel workshop inCoyhaique, thecapital ofRegion XI,Chile.The
ReinoUnido (UK). Su objetivofuedeterminarunaagenda aimofthis meeting wastodetermineanagenda forabiodiver-
paraun programade investigacionsobrebiodiversidada sityresearch programmetobe undertaken in the Laguna San
desarrollarseenel ParqueNacional LagunaSanRafael, un Rafael National Park(LSRNP),a 1.7 million ha. protected
areasilvestreprotegidade 1,7 millonesdehectareas. Estepro- area in Region XI.This programme is funded by the UK
gramaesta financiadoperlaIniciativaDarwinparala Government's Darwin Initiative forthe SurvivalofSpecies,
SobrevivenciadeEspeciesdelgobiernobritanico,yesuna and isacollaboration between the UK-based youthdevelop-
colaboracionentre RaleighInternational, laCorporacion mentorganisationRaleigh International,Corporacion Nacional
Nacional Forestal (CONAF), theNatural History Museumde Forestal (CONAF)theChilean forestry and protected areas
Londres(NHM),el MuseoNacionalde HistoriaNatural de authority, theNatural History Museum in London (NHM), the
Santiago(MNHN), yel WorldConservation Monitoring MuseoNacional de HistoriaNatural inSantiagodeChile
CentredeCambridge(WCMC). (MNHN), andtheWorldConservation MonitoringCentre
(WCMC)inCambridge, UK.
Estedocumentodescribeel segundotallerrealizadoen
Coyhaiqueentreel 30deMarzoyel 1°deAbrilde 1998,que Thisdocumentrepresentstheproceedingsofasecond work-
fueconvocadopararevisarel avancedel programaydetermi- shop, whichtookplaceinCoyhaique from March30thto
narsudesarrollofuturo. Ademasdelasactasdel taller,este April 1st 1998.This meeting wasconvened toreview progress
documentoentregaunresumendelosestudiosrealizadosala oftheresearchprogrammeand todetermine its futuredirec-
fechaenesteproyectoe incluyeunacompletabibliografiade tion. In additiontotheworkshopproceedings,thisdocument
las investigaciones relacionadasal PNLSRrealizadascon providesasummaryoftheresearch undertakenon thepro-
anterioridad y un resumendelaevaluaciondel taller.Tambien grammetodate,afull bibliographyofall research relatedto
sepresentael resumendeunbrevetaller,demediodi'a, real- LSRNPandasummaryofthe workshopassessment. Italso
izadoel 2deAbril de 1998conel findedaraconocerala containstheproceedingsofahalf-day workshoptoexplore the
comunidad local elpotencialdeesteprogramaparalaedu- potential forenvironmentaleducation material which may be
cacionambiental regional. generated fromtheresearch.
Paracadasesiondel tallerseesbozan losobjetivosiniciales, Foreachoftheworkshopsessions,the initial objectivesare
seguidosporunasi'ntesisdecadapresentacionoejercico outlined, followedbyasummaryofany presentationsorexer-
realizados, incluyendoalgunosresultadossicorresponde. cisesundertaken, includingresults ifappropriate. Any issues
Luego,el textoserefiereaaquellospuntosclavequeprovo- whichprovokedparticulardiscussionorinterestarethen relat-
caronalgunadiscusionparticular.Porultimo,seentregaun ed ina'Keydiscussionpoints'section. Finally,asummaryof
resumendelas ideasesencialesdelasesion. Sehanproducido thekeyfindingsorresolutions fromthesession ispresented.
sendas versionesdeestasactas,encastellanoyen ingles. Las Whilethefirsttwopagesoftheseproceedings,andsomeof
seccionesdePrologoeIntroduccion,asi'comoalgunasfiguras, thefigures,arewritten in both EnglishandSpanish, the
hansidoescritasen formabilingue,y laversioncompletaen remainderofthedocumentis in EnglishandaSpanish version
inglespuedesersolicitadaaloscoordinadores. isavailableonrequest.
Agradecimientos Acknowledgements
ElapoyocontinuodeShell Chilehapermitido laparticipacion Weareverygrateful toShell Chile, whosecontinuedsupport
de investigadoresdediversasinstitucionesdeChile. enabledtheparticipationofresearchersfromarangeofinstitu-
AgradecemostambienalpersonaldelasoficinasdeCONAF tionsinChile.Thanksalsoaredue tothestaffatCONAF'
RegionalydeUnidaddeGestionPatrimonioSilvestre Natural Heritage(UGPS)andRegionaloffices,and toRaleigh
(UGPS),ydeRaleighInternationalenCoyhaique. International'sFieldBaseinCoyhaique.
Ademasdel financiamiemtoprincipaldelaIniciativaDarwin, Inadditiontocorefundingfrom theDarwin Initiative, thanks
variasorganizacionesdel ReinoUnidoyChilehan apoyado arealsoduetothefollowingorganisations, whosesupport has
esteprogramadeinvestigacionduranteel ultimoafio. enabledtheprogrammetofulfill itspotentialduringthe last
Agradecemossinceramentealassiguientesorganizacionespor year: People'sTrustforEndangeredSpecies, UK;British
su importantecolaboracion:People'sTrustforEndangered Council,Chile; Natural History Museum, London; Museo
Species, UK; BritishCouncil,Chile; Natural HistoryMuseum, NacionaldeHistoriaNatural, Santiago; ErnestKleinwort
Londres;MuseoNacionaldeHistoriaNatural,Santiago; CharitableTrust, UK;UniversityofDurham, UK; Universidad
ErnestKleinwortCharitableTrust,UK; UniversityofDurham, deChile; UniversidaddeValapaiso,Chile, Instituteof
UK;UniversidaddeChile; UniversidaddeValparaiso.Chile; Terrestrial Ecology,UK; and BritishAirways.
InstituteofTerrestrial Ecology, UK;y BritishAirways.
.
Figura 1 ParqueNacionalLagunaSanRafaely alrededores
(Figure 1 LagunaSanRafaelNational Parkandsurroundingarea)
u' yijr
Peninsula de Taitao
Golfo Elefantes
Laguna San Rafael
Lneyenda (Key)
Limitesdel PNLSR-aprox. (LSRNP Boundary-approx.)
Areasprioritarias (Priorityresearch areas)
I
.^•/ Limiteintemacional-nooficial (Intl. border-approx.)
/" y Rios(Rivers)
,'"-,.' Caminos(Roads)
Hielo(Ice)
Cuerposdeagua(Waterbodies)
I
Areas prioritarias (Priority areas)
1 Golfo Elefantesa LagunaSan Rafaelyel IstmodeOfqui
(Golfo ElefantestotheLagunaSan RafaelandtheOfqui Isthmus)
2. Lago Leonesyalrededores (LagoLeonesandsurroundings)
3. Lago PresldenteRios
4.Areaalrededordel glaciarHualas (areasurroundingthe Hualas glacier) N
5. Areaalrededordel glaciarSteffen(areasun'oundingtheSteffen glacier)
6.Areaalrededordel giaciarSoler(areasurroundingtheSolerglacier)
7. ValleExploradores(ExploradoresValley)
N
Figure 2a) From Laguna SanRafael to Estero Elefantes, as seenfromthe Space /
Shuttle (NASA).
Figure 2b) TheLago Leones
priority areawas the focus ofan
insect survey betweenJanuary and
March 1998.
Programa de investigacion sobre Laguna San Rafael National Park
biodiversidad en el Parque Nacional biodiversity research
Laguna San Rafael: introduccion programme: introduction
Esteprogramadeinvestigacionseconocecomo'Estudiosde Thefull titleofthisresearchprogramme is'Biodiversity
biodiversidadymanejodeinformacionenelParqueNacional SurveyingandInformationManagementin theLagunaSan
LagunaSan Rafael'. Se presentsaqui un resumendesusobje- RafaelNationalPark'. Asummaryofits mainobjectives is
tivosprincipalesysepuedeencontrarunacompletadescrip- belowand afull descriptionoftheprogramme, including
ciondel proyecto, incluyendoantecedentes,objetivoseinfor- background,objectivesandprojectpartnerinformation is
macion sobre loscolaboradores,en lasactasdel primertaller, detailed in theproceedingsofthe firstworkshop,copiesof
que pueden sersolicitadasaloscoordinadoresdel proyecto whichareavailable from theprojectco-ordinators(seeaddress
(verdireccionesen Apendice I). inAppendix 1).
Objetivos Aims
El objetivocentral deeste programade investigacion es Theprincipal aimofthisresearchprogramme istoobtain
obtenerinformacion sobre ladiversidadbiologicadel Parque informationaboutthebiodiversityoftheLagunaSan Rafael
Nacional LagunaSan Rafael (Figura I),quepuedaserutiliza- National Park(Figure 1), foruse byCONAFformanagement
daporlaCorporacion Nacional Forestal (CONAF)parasu decision-making. In addition to undertaking baselinesurveys
apropiadaadministracion y proteccion. Ademasderealizar ofbiologicaldiversity,otherobjectives includemonitoring
estudiosde li'neabase,tambien se incluyen programasde programmesofselectedtaxaandecological studiesofparticu-
seguimientoyestudiosecologicosdeespeciesseleccionadas larspecies, suchas thosewhich may be useful indicatorsof
quepuedanserindicadoresdelestadodesaluddeecosistemas ecosystemhealth,orthosewhicharethreatenedorendan-
oquetenganproblemasdeconservacion. Lacapacitacion gered. Buildinginstitutional capacity -essential fortheproject
institucional es un componenteesencial paraqueesteproyecto tobesustainableinthelong term - isalsoa majorpartofthe
semantengaenel largoplazo,porloquetambien formaparte programmeandtakestheformoftraining forofficeand field-
importantedeeste programaelentrenamientodel personalde basedCONAFstaffinappropriatetechniques, including infor-
CONAFentecnicasdemanejodeinformacion ydemonitoreo mation managementand biological monitoring.
biologico.
Information management
Manejo de informacion Managementofdataiscrucial inenablingCONAFtoproduce
El manejodelosdatosescrucialparaqueCONAFuseypro- anduseinformationeffectively. Forthisproject,a
duzcainformacion en formaefectivaAbordandoestanecesi- Geographical InformationSystem hasbeenestablishedat
dadsehaimplementadoen laUnidaddeGestidn Patrimonio CONAF'sDepartmentofNatural Heritage(UnidaddeGestion
Silvestre(UGPS)deCoyhaiqueun SistemadeInformacion PatrimonioSilvestre-UGPS)office inCoyhaique, withapar-
Geografica,basadoenel softwareArcView3.0a,quecuenta allel system intheRaleighInternational ProjectsOfficein
con un sistemaparaleloenlaOficinadeProyectosdeRaleigh London. Acoordinatorisineachoftheseoffices,andtogeth-
International en Londres. Estasdosoficinasconformanel erformthecentralco-ordinating 'hub' oftheprogramme.
'coordinadorcentral'delproyecto.
Projectpartners
Colaboradores RaleighInternationalisaorganisation whichaims todevelop
RaleighInternationalesunaorganizacionqueapuntaaldesar- youngpeoplethroughtheirinvolvementinconservationand
rollodegentejoven.EnChile,proporcionael apoyologistico communityprojectsonexpeditions world-wide. InChile,
yde asistenciaen terrenoalainvestigacion,yfacilitala Raleighprovideslogistical and manpowersupportforthe
comunicacionentrelas institucionescolaboradoras. Enpartic- research,andfacilitateslinksbetweencollaboratingorganisa-
ular, elcoordinadorbasadoen lasoficinasdeRaleighen tions.TheRaleighprojectco-ordinatormaintainsrelationships
Londres, mantienecontactosconlosinvestigadoresbritanicos withUKscientistsandoverseesprojectplanning.
ysupervisa laplanificaciondelproyecto. CONAF'sco-ordinatoristhelocally basedhalfofthehub,
ElcoordinadordeCONAF, basadoenlaUGPSdeCoyhaique, withresponsibilityforcontactingChileanscientificstaff,
lienelaresponsabilidaddecontactaralos investigadores undertakingprojectplanningand management,and working
chilenos,colaboi"aren laorganizaciondelosproyectosytraba- closelywithRaleigh'sfieldstaff
jarenconjuntoconelpersonaldeRaleigh.
TheNaturalHistoryMuseum, London (NHM)andtheMuseo
ElMuseodeHistoriaNaturaldeLondres(NHM)yelMuseo NacionaldeHistoriaNaturalin Santiago(MNHN),arethe
NacionaldeHistoriaNaturalenSantiago(MNHN), sonlas twoorganisationswheremostparticipatingresearchersare
institucionesdedondeprovienen lamayon'adelos investi- based.Othercollaboratingresearch institutions includethe
gadores.Tambiencolaboranprofesionalesdela Universidad UniversidaddeChile, the Universidadde Valparaiso(Chile)
deChile, Universidadde Valparaisoy la Universidadde andthe UniversityofDurham(UK).
Durham(UK).
Finalmente,el WorldConservationMonitoring Centre Thefinalkeyprojectpartneris the WorldConservation
(WCMC),deCambridge,UKhafacilitadolosdostalleres Monitoring Centre(WCMC), based in Cambridge, UK, who
realizadosy haproporcionadoasesori'aenel manejodeinfor- havefacilitatedbothprojectworkshopsand haveprovided
macion sobrebiodiversidad. adviceandexpertise inbiodiversity informationmanagement.
.
Part I: Workshop - Biodiversity 2. Projectstatistics
-20UK-basedandChileanbiologicalscientists in the field;
and information management in -atotalof85scientist-weeksoffieldworkconducted;
-around250RaleighInternational VenturersandStaff
the Laguna San Rafael National actively involved intheresearch;
Park -4seminarsgiven by UK-based researchers inChile;
- morethan 15collaboration meetings;
-atleast30UK-basedorChilean researchers have been
Session 1: Introduction and involved intheprojecttodate;
- andatleast 17differentresearch, NGO,governmentalor
programme overview commercial institutions havea linkwiththeprogramme.
Monday30th March a.m.
3. Collaborations
LedbyDennisAldridgeandSergioHerrera - MuseoNacionalde HistoriaNatural (MNHN): A featureof
(CONAF) theproject isthestrengthofsomeofthecollaborations
MNHN
whichhavearisen. Inparticular, the in Santiagohas
Aims emergedasthekeycollaborating research institution in
1 Toprovideanoverviewoftheresearchprogrammeandto Chile,withsomeoftheirseniorresearchstaffundertaking
summariseachievementstodate; fieldworkduringthe lastyear.
2. Topresentthetimetableandobjectivesoftheworicshop; - Specimensagreement: Thedirectorsofeachofthe five
3. To introducetheworkshopparticipants; principal projectpartners havesignedanagreementdeter-
4.Toreviewthekeyobjectivesoftheprogramme. miningconditions fordepositionofspecimensandthedis-
seminationofinformation fromthisresearchprogramme.
Presentations
•WelcomespeechbyDennisAldridge, HeadofCONAF -Thediversityoforganisationslinkedtotheprojects(at
UGPS RegionXI. manydifferentlevels)isoneofthe keycharacteristicsof
thisresearchprogramme. Figure3 showsthe networkof
inter-relationshipsco-ordinated fromacentral facilitating
"Thepressuresfacingprotectedareashereareveryreal, and hub.
thereisa veryapparentlackofinformation availabletothose
whoaretryingtomanageandadministerthem."
Figure3 Afacilitated networkshowingthelinksbetween
"Thedecisionsthatwehavemadesofararelargelybasedon organisations involvedintheresearchprogramme.
sentimentality... decisionsshouldbefirmlygroundedin
reality."
•Projectoverviewandsummaryofachievements, Sergio
Herrera,DarwinInitiativeProjectOfficer,CONAF.
"MostpeopleonlyseetheLagunaSan Rafael, theydon7know
thatitisanationalpark- thereismoretoitthanjustaspec-
tacularglacier... lastyearapproximately20,000peoplevisited
theLagunaSanRafaelbyboat, only 164landed."
Ke\achievementsofthelastyear:
L Research
FieldworksinceNovember 1996hasfocusedonthefollow-
ingtaxonomicgroups:
• lichens • chironomid midges
• diatoms •cnjstaceans
• marine algae • polychaetes
• mammals (esp. GiJIna • molluscs (marine, 4.Additionalsupport
Inadditiontocorefunding fromtheDarwin Initiative,the
and Huemul freshwaterand land)
followingorganisationshavegiven financial assistanceor
• beetles • echinoderms 1 supportedtheprogrammein kind(details in brackets):
• dragonflies • bryozoa
Preliminaryobservationsorcollectionshavebeenmadeof: --SthheelElrCnheislteK(ltewionwwoorrktsChhoaprs)i;tableTrust,UK(mammals
ferns and liverworts • amphibians andmarineresearch);
soil algae • birds -theNaturalHistory Museum, London (allprojects);
f
, freshwateralgae • marine mammals -thePeople'sTrustforEndangeredSpecies(mammals);
- the BritishCouncil,Chile(collaborations, marineresearch •ReviewofprogrammeobjectivesbyDennisAldridgeand
and mammals); JonathanCook(HeadofPlanning,Raleigh International)
- BritishAirways, UK(marineresearch);
- the UniversityofDurham, UK(mammals); Thisfinal partofthe firstsession provided an opportunity to
- the InstituteofTerrestrial Ecology,UK(mammals); reviewanddiscusssomeoftheoriginal objectivesand issues
- MuseoNacionalde Historia Natural (marineresearch); defined in theDarwin Initiativeproposal,all ofwhich must
- UniversidaddeValparaiso(lichens); beaddressed by theendoftheprogramme. The following
- UniversidaddeChile(marineresearchand mammals). pointswere raised:
WorkshopObjectives DennisAldridge. objectives:
' - Baselinesurveys:essential;
\ I - Monitoring: crucial toshowchanges in biodiversity and
I 1.Toreviewresearchundertakenduringthefirstfield | ecosystemhealth;
I season, paying particularattentionto; how itrelates f -Capacitybuilding: training forCONAFanddiffusionof
I tothepriorities identifiedatthefirstworkshop;col- I information ataregional level;
I olbabtoarianteidonfsorestthaebmliasnhaedg;emdiernetctoufsLeSoRfNiPnf;ormation I - ApplyingtheWCMC information management model to
I f otherareas: this isalongterm objective.
I 2.Toensurethattheprogramme is meetingallofthe |
I objectivesspecified intheinitial Darwin Initiative s Jonathan Cook, issues:
I grantproposal; l -Management issues: forexample, Raleigh has worked in
I 3.Todetermine research priorities forthe 1998/99 | LSRNPforyears,butareonly nowproviding information
I fieldseason;eitherbuildingonexistingresearchor \ directly formanagementpurposes;
I initiatingnewprojects; | -CONAFastheclient: the maincriteriaforsuccess is
I 4.Todiscusshowtheresearchprogramme maybe | whetherthe information will beuseful forCONAF;
i continued in asustainable waypastthelifetimeof ? - Focusonobjectives: thestated objectivesoftheproject
I thecurrentgrant(ends March 1999); I mustbeaddressed. Forexample,training, monitoringof
5.Topropose ideas forthedisseminationofresults
I | indicatorspecies;
I produced in thecontextofthisprogramme,witha ^ - Education: there ismuchpotential, and it is very relevantto
I view toproducing information whichsupportspark Raleigh volunteers;
I management, research andenvironmentaleducation. - Howcantheprojectbe madesustainable?
' Introduction tothedelegates: eachofthedelegatespresented Summary
themselvesandtheirroleorinterestintheprogramme. In •Thissession reviewedthekey achievementssincethepro-
addition tokeyrepresentativesfromeachofthefiveprinci- gramme'sinceptionandhighlightedthefactthatresearch
pal projectpartners,CONAFwasalsorepresented bythe undertakentodatehasrespondeddirectlytopriorities identi-
headofUGPS (protectedareasdivision)fromRegionX. fiedatthefirstworkshop.
OtherChileandelegateswerefromthe MuseoNacionalde
HistoriaNatural, the UniversidaddeChile,theUniversidad •Thestrengthofcollaborationsandinstitutional linkswere
deValparaisoandtheUniversidadAustraldeChile. The recognisedasakeyfeatureoftheresearch programme,but
local branchofServicioAgricolayGanadero(theagricul- theneedto maintain these linkswasstressed.
tureandwildlifeservice) wasalsorepresented. Anumberof •Theoriginal objectivesoftheprogramme werereinstatedand
delegateshad worked in thefieldduringtheprevioussix theimportanceofaddressingeachofthesebeforeMarch
months, includingoneeach fromtheNatural History
1999wasrecognised.
Museum, andtheMuseoNacional deHistoriaNatural in
Santiago.Thefull listispresentedinAppendix 1.
Figure4 Workshopparticipants
outsideCONAF'sregionalofficein
Coyhaique.
1
Session 2: Biodiversity Information - Itwasagreedthattheprojectpartners needtodetermine aset
ofruleswhichanswerquestionssuchasthe following: Who
Management - the framework arethecustodians?Whatare therulesofaccess todata?
revisited Whatistheroleoftheuser?Whatfurtherresearch is needed
tosupporttheinformationgathered?Whoarethepartners
Monday 30th March, a.m. supportingtheprogramme?Whataretheconditionsofdata
Ledby DonaldGordon andJavierBeltrdn (World exchangebetweenorganisations?Theserules may besetout
ConservationMonitoring Centre) inaDataAccess Agreement, which wasconsidered suitable
forthepresentsituation. A furtherdiscussioncentred around
Aims thepossibleeconomicoutputs which information and intel-
1.Torevisitthebiodiversity information managementframe- ltheicstusaulbjpercotpenreteydcsamnosroemceotnismiedserpartoivoind.e. Itwasagreed that
workinthecontextofthisresearchprogramme;
2.Todeterminehowthe information managementsystem Capacitybuilding
beingdevelopedsupports this initiative.
-Ifanorganisationdoes nothavetheexperience, staffer
Presentations money torun and maintain atool suchas theGIS system,
thenseriousconsideration must begiven tocapacity build-
• PIrnefsoernmtaattiioonnMofan'aOvgeermveienwt:SCyostmepmo'nebnytsDoonfaGoBrioddoinvearnsidtJyavier ing. Itwasrecognisedthatthis is necessary forCONAFso
thattheycan useand manageinformationproducedeffec-
BeltranoftheWorldConservation MonitoringCentre.The
tively.
overheadsusedforthispresentationare inAppendix2. For
more information, theseconsultants may becontactedat - Inordertodetermine whatactionsare necessary to build
WCMC. CONAF'scapacitytoasustainableposition, asetofques-
tions needtobeasked, and theanswers used to formulatea
Key discussion points plan.Theseinclude: Whatistheircapacity now?What needs
arethere?Whatresourcesareavailable?Are there areas
Networksandpartnerships whichneedconsolidatingandotherswhich need starting?
-Networksandpartnershipsareincreasinglybeingusedto Howcantheresearchbeintegrated intoaprogramme for
solveproblemsinconservation andtheenvironmentandrep- increasingthecapacityofCONAF?
resentamoveaway from 'technology' astheanswertoall -Onedelegateobserved: "somepartnersmaybedoing things
pproowbelremasn.dToetchhernorleosgouyrcisesavaarielaabvlaeilaanblde.isBvuetrytousmeafkuleiiftman- tnheeemdsetlovuesse,tshoeCnOetNwAorFkwtihlaltneoxtisntese(dseteoadboovite".)Tahnedrewoirska
work,peopleneedtocometogethertocollate, shareand use withpartnershipsto useexpertiseefficiently.
information.Thisapproach is 'strategic', basedon partner-
shipsandsharingdata,ratherthana 'tactical' projectsystem Datastandardisation/management
daensdig1n2eidntAopapdednrdeissxo2)n.especificproblem.(Seeoverheads 1 -Arecurringthemethroughoutthissession wasthe need to
harmonisedata intostandard,comparableandglobally
-Figure3 isagoodexampleofa 'facilitated' network, where acceptableformats,sothatit may besharedeffectively by
a 'hub' facilitateslinksbetweenallofthepartnerorganisa- thedifferentpeopleandorganisations in the network. This
tions. Inthiscase,CONAF'sUGPSoffice inCoyhaiqueand notonlyapplies tophysical results, butalsotodocumenta-
Raleigh'sProjectsOfficein Londonrepresentthehub, tion.Theseissues will beconsidered in Sessions 6and 7.
throughwhichindividual organisationshave formed new
links.Onedelegateobservedthatthenetworkhasahigher -"Gettingprimarydatasetsisimportant", buttheircombined
levelsteeringcommitteeinthefivedirectorsoftheproject usewill bemorepowerful iftheycanbecompared.
partners whosignedthespecimensagreement, whichisan "FollowingthecommentofDennisAldridge, itisclearthat
influentialfronttothe network'sactivities. thereisaneedtomakedecisionsbasedongoodinformation,
ratherthanonsentimentalattitudes."
Custodianship
Theinformationcycle
-Thisissuerelatestowhoisresponsiblefortheinformation
producedbytheprogramme. Whowill bethe 'custodian' of -Theinformationcycleprovidesaframework forthedevelop-
thedata?Itmightbethemanagingorganisationoritmight mentofabiodiversity informationmanagementsystem. The
beaspecificorganisationagreedbyallpartnerstobemanag- graphicbelow(Figure5)shows firsttheneed todetermine
er; forexample, itmightbetheusers(CONAF)orthepro- keyissues,then identifiesinformation needstoaddress them.
ducers(e.g. NHMorMNHN).Somecountriesdefinethe Theissuesand needsshould bedetermined between the
custodianofsuchdataby law. providersofdataandtheusersofdata; in thiscase between
CONAFandtheresearchers. Information productsare then
designedtoaddress key issues. Aconsensus was reached
betweendelegatesthatproductsshouldbeclearand simple,
"Therearetwolevelsofcustodianship, thescientistswhohave anditishopedthattheGIS will provide thissortofproduct
custody, orownershipofthedata, andCONAF. whowillbe helpingCONAFto makedecisions.
theusersofthedata." -Onedelegatecommentedon the flexibility ofthecycle, and
observedthateven iftheprioritieschangeafterthis work-