The Environmental Sciences and Policy Program (ESP) of OTS has a long history of offering courses broadly designated as courses for decision makers and courses related to environmental policy. The program began in 1988 to directly support OTS’ mission of promoting responsible natural resource use in the tropics through education. The program has supported biodiversity conservation and sustainability of natural systems and resources by training strategically positioned individuals within the public, private, and non-governmental sectors, whose decisions affect tropical systems.
ESP courses are a site-based, structured mix of ecological principles, conservation issues and tools, and policy context. The goal of training is to equip participants with a science-based framework for decision and action that takes account of implications for natural systems.
