COMMUNITY-LED CONSERVATION
The Institute’s community projects are located in Myanmar, the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, and Fiji. They have been supported by a range of grant-giving bodies, including the Darwin Initiative, the Waterloo Foundation, and National Geographic.
The Institute's project, ‘Destination Ayeyarwady’, in Myanmar won two prestigious national/international awards, in 2017 and 2019, and was placed third in a global responsible tourism competition in 2020. The judges in all three competitions highlighted the excellence of its community-based involvement.
In all three projects in Southeast Asia and Melanesia, the emphasis has been on meeting SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) within the context of biodiversity conservation. These goals include:
* Goal 5 – gender equality
* Goal 8 – providing work and economic growth
* Goal 10 – reducing national economic and social inequalities
* Goal 13 – climate action
* Goal 15 – protecting life on land by supporting the sustainable use of ecosystems.
Through these projects, the Institute has developed many different areas of expertise, with a theoretical and practical understanding of how to promote community-led biodiversity conservation in parallel with poverty alleviation.
SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
The Institute seeks to develop a range of transferable skills within the communities, ensuring that training is delivered in a way that is gender and socially equitable. Some skills are technical and specific and others more transferable. They include:
* ecotourism and the economic value of wildlife conservation
* concepts of sustainability, plastic free, and the use of eco-friendly materials
* designing a business model based on hosting ecotourists/nature tourists/cultural tourists
* health and safety
* hospitality, cooking, and hygiene
* the importance of design and presentation
* English language skills and cultural exchange
* book-keeping, money management, and banking
* marketing, social media, communication, and outreach
INTERNSHIPS in COMMUNITY-LED CONSERVATION
The Institute hosted internships for Myanmar and foreign students with an interest in:
* community-led biodiversity conservation
* ecotourism/nature tourism/ cultural tourism
* the impact of alternative livelihoods on traditional rural societies
* developing strategies to deliver schools-based environmental education
* economic/social/cultural aspects of a traditional rural fishing and agricultural community
* sustainable living
SCHOOLS-BASED CONSERVATION
The Institute is collaborating on a project which is showcasing how Bhutan's schools can assist in delivering important conservation data; place local communities at the heart of local conservation; and enthuse a new, environmentally aware generation.
The project is led by a former Harrison Institute MSc student who is a teacher at Phuntshothang School. In 2022, Mr Tshering Dendup received a prestigious ‘Conservation Leadership Programme’ award for this work.
The project is in collaboration with a range of in-country CSOs (Civil Society Organisations) and focuses on Deothang-NSJ IBA (Important Bird Area). This IBA is situated opposite the school, provides an irreplaceable forest corridor within the Bhutan Biological Conservation Complex, and is home to IUCN vulnerable species.
Harrison Institute is a registered
UK charity (No: 268830) and CITES listed (GB010)