Chicago Zoological Society

From Shortage to Tenfold Increase

Latin America and the Caribbean are home to a vast number of diverse and fascinating species, many of which face threats to their continued existence. However, the region faces a severe shortage of trained conservation professionals, limiting efforts to study and protect the wealth of biological diversity.

Working with the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigations and the international research organization Diversitas, the Chicago Zoological Society is helping to spearhead a large-scale, collaborative solution to remedy this shortage. Our joint International Capacity Building program is working to develop a network of training centers, or “nodes,” at local and regional universities.

The program is working to increase scientific capacity in the region tenfold by developing, supporting, and providing essential resources to this training network. Training capacity at each node will be enhanced by the sharing of curricula, the provision of competitive scholarships for graduate studies, three-year grants for young professionals returning to graduate studies, and outreach programs for children and teens like that of Iwokrama.

The resulting increase in conservation scientists will have a multiplying effect in the region, as their efforts increase education and training efforts on the undergraduate and graduate levels and actively encourage students and young professionals to enter the field.