The new firefighters at the training course. Photo courtesy of Marco Bustos.
A recent forest fire preparedness training course had some exciting new participants: 10 parataxonomists! For four days, these parataxonomists, along with other new firefighters, participated in a series of rigorous training sessions aimed at improving their ability to deal with fire emergencies in ACG.
With partial support from GDFCF, this initiative is part of ACG’s ongoing effort to mitigate fires risk in vulnerable areas. It is also part of a GDFCF effort to expand the roles of the parataxonomists. As the long running bioinventory of Lepidoptera winds down – the mainstay of the work of the parataxonomists for over 30 years – the role of the parataxonomist is evolving and their roles will change based on the needs of ACG and their individual expertise and interests. In a similar manner to when Dan and Winnie conceptualized a "new species of national park" in the 1980s with a hybrid public-private marriage of research and conservation, we are developing a "new species of park guard" in the evolution of the parataxonomist program. Practically this means that some field staff will shift to researching new terrestrial and marine species groups, while others train in ecotourism, conservation management, and firefighting to complement ACG's needs — all further cementing their roles as forest and marine guardians armed with biological knowledge rather than with guns.
As parataxonomist Adrian Guadamuz wrote after the training, “I want to express my deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate and discover how much a person can contribute to a forest fire, not only by fighting the flames directly, but in many other indirect ways in that venerable and arduous task of fighting, controlling and extinguishing a fire... [The course gave] us the opportunity to be a little more useful and responsible with knowledge to collaborate in the future in the protection, conservation and use of our important National Park, its resources, and also its environment. It is a pleasure and a pride for me to be part of this team and believe me, I like being part of this great family more and more... I put at your disposal my knowledge as a parataxonomist, botanist, a little first aid and now a forest firefighter for when required.”
Parataxonomist Gloria Sihezar, learning new firefighting skills. Photo by Marco Bustos.