[[{"fid":"43317","view_mode":"fs_width_0424px","fields":{"format":"fs_width_0424px","field_fs_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_fs_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_fs_image_caption[und][0][value]":"FS specialist Suzanne Cable with seminar participants. Forest Service photo.","field_fs_image_copyright_notice[und][0][value]":"","field_fs_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Forest Service photo","field_fs_internal_notes[und][0][value]":""},"type":"media","field_deltas":{"1":{"format":"fs_width_0424px","field_fs_image_alt_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_fs_image_title_text[und][0][value]":false,"field_fs_image_caption[und][0][value]":"FS specialist Suzanne Cable with seminar participants. Forest Service photo.","field_fs_image_copyright_notice[und][0][value]":"","field_fs_image_credit[und][0][value]":"Forest Service photo","field_fs_internal_notes[und][0][value]":""}},"attributes":{"style":"width: 424px; height: 318px; float: right;","class":"media-element file-fs-width-0424px","data-delta":"1"},"link_text":false}]]WASHINGTON — Willamette National Forest recreation specialist Suzanne Cable and the International Programs office are supporting the Jordanian non-government organization Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature in delivering their first Arabic-language Regional Protected Area Management Seminar from August 3 to 14. Twenty-four natural resource professionals from seven countries in the Middle East and North Africa are participating. Cable is in Jordan working with RSCN to deliver the course and offer perspectives on managing protected areas in the U.S.

RSCN developed the course content in partnership with the University of Montana and the International Programs office. Topics covered during the course include integrated planning, community involvement, habitat and biodiversity management, ecological restoration, and sustainable tourism and visitor management. The course curriculum is supplemented by field visits to four protected areas in Jordan. RSCN aims to deliver the course annually.

Although Jordan is a water-poor country with limited green areas, it has considerable biodiversity, beautiful landscapes, and a network of protected areas. RSCN manages all the protected areas in Jordan and has become a regional leader in protected areas management. The International Programs office has been working with RSCN since 2002, in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development, to advance natural resource conservation in Jordan, primarily by providing technical assistance and exchange opportunities for Jordanian professionals in the natural resource sector.