Honduras and Central America
A number of training schemes and workshops have been organized in Honduras in which participants from the Central American countries have been trained in land use and biodiversity modelling. Finally results of the country assessments made by the participants have been used for a complete biodiversity assessment of Central America. The following policy related processes have been facilitated by Wilbert van Rooij of Plansup:

• Biodiversity assessments for all Central American countries (2009) who committed themselves to the Kyoto protocol. Results for Honduras and aggregated results for Central America (2010) have been presented in Nagoya by the Regional Institute for Biodiversity (IRBIO, Honduras) in collaboration with the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD) and the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD).
• In Honduras capacity building results have been used as input for the Fourth National Report on Biodiversity Design (2010) and development of monitoring programs for managing. Biodiversity monitoring is implemented by IRBIO as part of the Regional Monitoring Program and Biodiversity Assessment (PROMEBIO) and used for the National Environmental Information System (SINIA). Improved scenarios are supporting the government of Honduras with their policy decisions for biodiversity conservation in Central America (2011).
• Trained staff of the University of Zamorano uses land use and biodiversity modelling as part of their educational program.
• As a result of inputs at two workshop sponsored by UNEP entitled ‘Symposium on Trade-related Policy Assessments, Agriculture and Biodiversity’ in Geneva (2010), higher level participants from Jamaica requested additional input on land use and biodiversity modelling in SEA (2010) for their workshop ‘Integrated Assessment Conference’ that took place in Jamaica (2010). Based on the results of this workshop the National Environmental Planning Agency (NEPA) and University of West Indies (UWI) in Jamaica requested the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) to support CB in land use and biodiversity modelling in order to support the Jamaican National Development Plan to realize a sustainable management and use of environmental and natural resources.

Honduras: Workshop Regional changes of land use for climate change adaptation and mitigation

Period: 24-25 May 2011
Location: Zamorano Agricultural University, Honduras
Client: IRBIO, CCAD

Main project features and activities: Integration of modelling with policy making. Scenario building and quantification.

Honduras: Scenario specialist workshop: Construction of base scenarios ALIDES and CAFTA and introduction of quantitative data for modelling of three scenarios in order to assess future biodiversity in Central America

Period: 15-18 September 2009
Location: Zamorano Agricultural University, Honduras
Client: IRBIO, CCAD

Main project features and activities: Selection and instruction of CA specialists in building and quantification of baseline scenarios ALIDES and CAFTA with a focus on socioeconomic and environmental factors, Providing support with the preparation of demand tables per scenario for each of the countries in Central America (CA), production of 2030 land use and biodiversity maps in the CA countries for each of the three scenarios, discuss the methodology with selected Central American specialists.

Honduras: Future Biodiversity Modelling and Analysis

Period: 15-26 June 2009
Location: Tegucigalpa & Zamorano Agricultural University, Honduras
Client: IRBIO, Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)

Main project features and activities: 2nd training Central American participants. Focus on scenario building and the calculation of future land use and biodiversity with Clue and GLOBIO3. Participants used their own country data sets with support from trained Central American trainers.

Honduras: Biodiversity Modelling and Analysis

Period: 9-20 February 2009
Location: Zamorano Agricultural University, Honduras
Client: IRBIO, Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)

Main project features and activities: 1st training Central American participants. Focus on current biodiversity modelling with GLOBIO3. Participants used their own country data sets with support from trained Central American trainers.

Honduras: Advanced biodiversity modelling for trainers

Period: 22-27 September 2008
Location: Zamorano Agricultural University, Honduras
Client: IRBIO, Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL)

Main project features and activities: Training instructions for advanced modellers from CA: Use of national and regional databases. Land use scenario building and quantification, advanced Clue training, advanced GLOBIO3 training, development and running national (CA) models, drafting programs for beginners. Instruction for provision of support to participants from Central American countries that already received a first training.

Jamaica: Presentation about the use of GLOBIO3 model as a decision support tool in Integrated assessments

Period: 1-4 December 2010
Location: UWI Mona and NEPA, Kingston, Jamaica,
Client: UNEP

Main project features and activities: Training Central American participants. Introduction in land use and biodiversity modelling with Clue and GLOBIO3 for integrated assessments.

The introduction was received well at the Integrated Assessment conference at UWI Mona, Jamaica. Positive feedback was given by participants from Jamaica, The Cayman Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Haiti, Grenada, Costa Rica, Canada and Barbados. The model was recognized as a good decision support tool in an IA to assess historic, current and future biodiversity and land use change. The UWI University would like to build in the tool as part of the educational program.The model fits well in the IA approach as it integrates expected socio-economic developments with their also impact on the environment. The modelling adds an important quantification aspect to the process. Not only in terms of land use and biodiversity change but also in relation to the quantification of scenarios and policy alternatives.Participants indicated that there was a request for capacity building on land use and biodiversity modelling for the Caribbean.

A 2nd presentation was given at at NEPA (National Environmental and Planning Agency) with 40 participants. NEPA asked how this tool could practically be implemented by the planning agency. A discussion followed about limitations and possibilities and it was concluded that the tool would be especially useful for the agency for planning processes at national scale and for strategic planning processes.

A request by NEPA and University of West Indies (UWI) was made to the Inter American Development Bank (IADB) to support capacity building in land use and biodiversity modeling in order to support Jamaican National Development Plan to realize a sustainable management and use of environmental and natural resources.A proposal has been handed over to the IADB but due to a change of IADB staff the proposal has not yet been included in their Caribbean program.

Panama: Biodiversity assessment workshop, Biodiversity modelling as a policy tool

Period: 21-24 April 2010
Location: Panama city, Panama
Client: CCAD

Main project features and activities: Introduction to land use and biodiversity modelling and presentation assumptions and results biodiversity assessments central American countries

Brazil: Potential use of biodiversity modelling workshop for national biodiversity outlook

Period: 24-26 March 2009
Location: Rio, Brazil
Client: Ministry of Environment (MMA) Brazil

Main project features and activities:  The 3 day Globio workshop in Rio in 2009 was on request of the Min. of Environment of Brazil to support an initiative to support using modeling for their national GEO.The Brazilian Ministry of Environment (MMA) invited several Brazilian related environmental institutes to participate in a three-day pre-evaluation workshop on the use of the Globio3 biodiversity model to complement their national outlook report. More than eighty participants agreed to test and implement the model as an additional policy tool. Despite earlier intentions and no official rejection, the Brazilian government has not yet implemented the modeling for their Global Biodiversity Outlook.

Brazil: Forest exploitation methods and their impact in the Amazonian Varzea forests

Period: 6 months 1989
Location: Manaus, Brazil
Client: INPA, Larenstein Velp

Main project features:  The six months practical training was carried out for the INPA Institute (Instituto Nacional de Pesquisa Amazonia) in the Brazilian Amazon. The research subjects concerned the forest exploitation methods and their impact in the Varzea forests and a vegetation study of the Varzea forest type.

Costa Rica: Biodiversity-Human Well-being linkages for teak farms in Hojancha, Nicoya peninsula, Costa Rica

Period: 2006
Location: Costa Rica, the Netherlands
Client: PBL, CATIE

Main project features: Case study in the Hojancha canton with international research team. The study examined the relationship between biodiversity, environmental goods and services and human well-being for teak farms and related timber plantations at the farm and regional level

Activities performed: Initiation project and project team, drafting ToR team members, coordinating research and analysis, report writing and editing input others

Costa Rica: Development of criteria for growing Teak

Period: 2003-2005
Location: Costa Rica, Netherlands
Client: Terra Vitalis

Main project features: Criteria development for the establishment of commercial teak forest plantations in Costa Rica & development of sustainable management guidelines along with GIS tools to support plantation management.

Activities performed: SFM guidelines development, development of minimum growth criteria for teak plantations (soil/humidity requirements, analysis of land suitability/availability)