Tropical Technology Consortium Strategies

In order to meet its objectives, TTC members will use three interrelated primary strategies:

technology identification, assessment, validation, adaptation and development; information collection, synthesis and exchange; and, outreach and education.

Technology identification, assessment, validation, adaptation and development

• Evaluate the transferability of available natural resource models and databases for predicting the behavior of the natural resources in tropical regions and designing optimal conservation systems.
• Adapt existing technologies as necessary to provide appropriate land management information to land use planners (NRCS Field Staff) and landusers.
• Identify and evaluate the conservation effectiveness of current local management practices in the US affiliated tropics.
• Identify promising technologies and conservation strategies from other tropical areas and assessing their applicability and appropriateness for use in the US affiliated tropics.
• Work cooperatively with university partners and other groups to develop new models, databases and other technologies as necessary to provide NRCS personnel and landusers with appropriate management information.
• Acquire, examine, and develop methods, as appropriate, for the applicability of available techniques for characterizing and interpreting tropical agroecosystems.

Information collection, synthesis and exchange

• Identify resource management problems and technology needs through participatory needs assessment.
• Synthesize and diffuse information in a variety of forms tailored to cultural diversity and local conditions, designed to educate landusers and policy makers, train field professionals, meet the NRCS conservation technical assistance mandates, and contribute to efforts aimed to enhancing, restoring and maintaining critically degraded and threatened resource areas.
• Establish readily accessible databases for use by clients, especially planners and policy makers, for retrieving current data and information on natural resources SWAPAH. (Soil, Water, Air, Plants, Animals and their relation with Humans).
• Provide technical consultation and serve as liaison with government and universities to ensure cooperative development and diffusion of information of natural resources conservation.

Outreach and education

• Develop and implement outreach and education activities to disseminate information gained and technologies developed.

• Develop printed materials (brochures, newsletters and periodicals) with corresponding electronic forms if customers can use them.
• Develop manuals and guidelines for new or adapted technologies in print and, where appropriate, in electronic format
• Develop NRCS Standards and Specifications for tropical conservation technologies.
• Produce training materials that can be used both within and outside NRCS.
• Produce state-of-the-art reports and other scientific publications (e.g. journal articles) where appropriate.

• Make use of the CSREES-USDA relationship and direct connections between the Cooperative Extension Service of the Consortium member Land Grant institutions to develop, implement and evaluate materials development and training activities.

Work with national, regional, and international entities as appropriate to disseminate information to the widest possible audience of tropical resource management professionals and land users.