Participants of student conference in Samarkand.

To develop Uzbekistan’s nature conservation efforts, it is crucial to train and educate capable conservationists. Theory-based universities do not give opportunity for students to gain practical knowledge and skills. Therefore, the Uzbekistan Society for the Protection of Birds (UzSPB) has developed this project. More than 50 students from five regions of Uzbekistan will participate in this project. All of them will be potential employees of nature conservation organizations in Uzbekistan, where all institutions lack capable young staff.

In this project, UzSPB will work through students, the leaders of 5 birdwatching clubs located at Faculties of Natural and Biological Sciences in Uzbekistan. Club leaders will be prepared to work as trainers and will pass on their knowledge and skills to their colleagues at universities with the help of interactive training sessions on CDs and a special manual, which will be developed by this project. Furthermore, club leaders (trainers) will be supported and coached by their supervisors and the project team, who will overlook the process.

As a result, young specialists for non-governmental and governmental nature conservation organizations will be educated and trained by their own university mates. Two small grants awarded through this project will make students active and give them the chance to use gained knowledge. Club supervisors together with the project team will support the educational process and carry out the final examination for all participants. It is anticipated to choose 10 most talented students, who will take part in a final student conference. Students will share experience at a conference in Bukhara. All materials of the project will be summarised, and a best-practice-guide will be published and distributed among universities and environmental organizations. The network of student birdwatching clubs in Uzbekistan will be expanded through good PR work.

We hope that the new generation of conservationists trained in the framework of educational program will increase the number of qualified employees in nature conservation organizations in Uzbekistan. The realization of the project will also contribute to the integration of interactive methods to the educational process of universities.