Research?management partnerships in Latin America: Identifying gaps and opportunities

CONSTANZA NAPOLITANO; FELIPE CECCHI ; MARIA OLIVEIRA-MIRANDA; ANGELA MARIA G MARTINO; MARIA MONTIEL-VILLALOBOS ; CRISTIAN CLAVIJO; CAROLINA ISABEL MIÑO

Kigali

Congreso; International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2021); 2021

Society for Conservation Biology

Building trusted relationships between researchers and conservation practitioners in Latin America is challenging. We conducted a survey across Latin America to identify gaps and opportunities between genetic researchers and conservation managers. We aimed to better understand conservation managers? points of view and how genetic research can help conservation practitioners to achieve their goals. We used the same survey instrument implemented by Taft et al. (2020) for comparative purposes, focusing specifically in Latin America. We included the participation of 33 focal points across 21 countries to increase sample size and achieve a homogeneous representation across the region. We will show the survey?s preliminary results. We will also share experiences bridging research and conservation implementation with Chilean environmental agencies through different approaches. We provide training to conservation practitioners and local indigenous communities, to build capacity in the application of genetic analyses and other monitoring strategies in conservation areas. We will discuss perspectives on next steps o co-create research questions and co-develop studies specifically tailored to suit conservation practitioners? and communities? needs and integrate genetic information in conservation actions. Building  and maintaining meaningful relationships between conservation research and practice need long-lasting efforts, strong partnerships and understanding the different points of view of researchers, practitioners, decision-makers and local communities. We aim to bring conservation practitioners and academic researchers closer together to help create and implement genetic assessments that can effectively inform conservation practice.