Research and Conservation Program

The purpose of the Prescott College Kino Bay Center Research and Conservation Program (RCP) is to:

1. Contribute to increasing scientific knowledge of the ecosystems and biodiversity in the region.
2. Contribute to the development and implementation of collaborative intercultural initiatives to achieve sustainable relationships between human communities and the biodiversity and ecosystems in the region.
3. Support and motivate collaboration between academic, non-government, research and community groups interested in conservation in the region.
   

The Kino Bay Center Research and Conservation Program (RCP) implements the Center’s research agenda and supports research projects conducted through collaborative agreements with approximately ten Mexican and American research, government, NGO, community, and academic institutions.  The Center has supported dozens of projects in a broad array of disciplines, ranging from geology, to community-based fisheries management and desert ecology.  The Kino Center provides support for research and conservation projects in many ways, including: boat time, lab and desk space, communications, logistical support, local knowledge, data collection and sharing, meeting facilities, research design and implementation, lodging, and workshop facilitation.  The RCP maintains the Center’s research metadata base and publications bibliography, as well as a rich database of photographs.

The Center facilitates and hosts regular workshops and small conferences, including an international conference in 2007 entitled: Linking Research, Education and Conservation in the Eastern Midriff Island Region of the Gulf of California.  Attended by over 40 researchers, conservation practitioners, and educators, the conference highlighted the Kino Center’s role in forming connections between researchers in order to clarify conservation priorities in the region.