Measuring progresses of an education programme for the conservation of the Andean cat.

LUCHERINI, M.; MERINO, M.J.; CASANAVE, E.B.

Oxford University, UK ,17-21 September 2007.

Conferencia; Felid Biology and Conservation Conference. An international conference; 2007

The Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Oxford University and IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group

Measuring Progresses of an Education Programme for the Conservation of the Andean Cat Mauro Lucherini1,2*, Maria Jose Merino1 & Emma Casanave1,21,2*, Maria Jose Merino1 & Emma Casanave1,2 1 Grupo de Ecología Comportamental de Mamíferos (GECM), Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan, Argentina Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan, Argentina Grupo de Ecología Comportamental de Mamíferos (GECM), Cátedra de Fisiología Animal, Departamento de Biología, Bioquímica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan, Argentina 2 Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) EduGat Program is an education and community participation initiative aiming to support the conservation of the endangered Andean cat Oreailurus jacobita. The program has already completed 10 campaigns in the communities within the potential distribution range of this cat in Argentina. We visited 39 localities, carried out formal education in 19 schools (reaching 504 students), no-formal activities, eight participative community workshops, festivals and informal interviews. Each target public was reached by a different set of activities. Programme evaluation, through both quantitative and qualitative tools, suggested that our activities for school children were particular successful. Most of them enjoyed and learnt a lot (85% and 90%, respectively, of the auto-evaluations), and their attitude towards the Andean cat improved (85.1% of favorable responses after our activities vs. 58.4% before).We also observed the need to increase efforts to guarantee teacher and adult participation in conservation plans. To improve the effectiveness of the Program, we are implementing new initiatives: create a network of local educators to raise awareness; produce new educational materials to increase the comprehension of ecological concepts; facilitate capacity building for the development of community-leaded ecotourism. We used these feedbacks to develop a more complete assessment of programme success. completed 10 campaigns in the communities within the potential distribution range of this cat in Argentina. We visited 39 localities, carried out formal education in 19 schools (reaching 504 students), no-formal activities, eight participative community workshops, festivals and informal interviews. Each target public was reached by a different set of activities. Programme evaluation, through both quantitative and qualitative tools, suggested that our activities for school children were particular successful. Most of them enjoyed and learnt a lot (85% and 90%, respectively, of the auto-evaluations), and their attitude towards the Andean cat improved (85.1% of favorable responses after our activities vs. 58.4% before).We also observed the need to increase efforts to guarantee teacher and adult participation in conservation plans. To improve the effectiveness of the Program, we are implementing new initiatives: create a network of local educators to raise awareness; produce new educational materials to increase the comprehension of ecological concepts; facilitate capacity building for the development of community-leaded ecotourism. We used these feedbacks to develop a more complete assessment of programme success. Oreailurus jacobita. The program has already completed 10 campaigns in the communities within the potential distribution range of this cat in Argentina. We visited 39 localities, carried out formal education in 19 schools (reaching 504 students), no-formal activities, eight participative community workshops, festivals and informal interviews. Each target public was reached by a different set of activities. Programme evaluation, through both quantitative and qualitative tools, suggested that our activities for school children were particular successful. Most of them enjoyed and learnt a lot (85% and 90%, respectively, of the auto-evaluations), and their attitude towards the Andean cat improved (85.1% of favorable responses after our activities vs. 58.4% before).We also observed the need to increase efforts to guarantee teacher and adult participation in conservation plans. To improve the effectiveness of the Program, we are implementing new initiatives: create a network of local educators to raise awareness; produce new educational materials to increase the comprehension of ecological concepts; facilitate capacity building for the development of community-leaded ecotourism. We used these feedbacks to develop a more complete assessment of programme success.