Nicaragua Landscape Leadership course provides opportunities to establish common goals for sustainable development in the RACCS and equip community leaders with tools necessary for implementation.
This September, in cooperation with Solidaridad and CIAT, EcoAgriculture Partners put on a four-day Landscape Leadership course as part of the PASOS (Paisajes Sostenibles) Nicaragua program. Nicaraguans from diverse backgrounds participated: civil society, industry, agriculture, local government, and community leaders convened at Laguna de Apoyo to share their distinct visions for the sustainable development of the region. The workshop sought to help PASOS Nicaragua leaders blend their differing outlooks into a common vision, strategies, and priorities for sustainable development and natural resource management for the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region (RACCS) of Nicaragua.
In addition to this platform for developing an integrated vision of sustainable development in the region, the course prepared participants to design, manage and administer inter-sectoral and participatory initiatives that further goals of agricultural and industrial development, conservation of biodiversity, and social welfare. This was accomplished by providing a learning environment in which participants could engage with and explore the technical foundations and tools of assessment, planning and monitoring of integrated landscapes.
Throughout the four-day course, participants engaged with presentations made by different stakeholders, participated in discussion, and utilized a variety of tools to further build common understanding. One such tool, the Landscape Measures Scorecard, is used to collaboratively develop an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the landscape in four domains: Conservation, Institutions, Livelihoods, and Agricultural productivity. Participants used the example of Laguna de Apoyo, a nature reserve and community between Managua and Granada, to assess the landscape on these four criteria and establish a common conception of the landscape’s attributes as a whole.
