E-LEARNING tool for virtual capacitation in sustainable forest management of the urban and rural sector in cities of the 8 countries of the Amazon basin

This work includes the development and validation of a computerized e-learning platform for training in sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation oriented to urban, rural and indigenous populations in the 8 countries of the Amazon basin. This tool has been called "Regional Platform for Information and Knowledge Exchange" - PRIC and was developed in the framework of the implementation of the Amazon Regional Observatory (ARO) promoted by ACTO, through the ITTO/CDB/ACTO project. The Amazon Basin contains considerable natural and cultural wealth, however, it has been affected by various legal and illegal economic activities among which are illegal logging and trafficking of wood, large-scale migratory and commercial agriculture, among others that are generating deforestation, water pollution and even loss of Amazon culture and language, so it is necessary to manage and handle Amazon natural resources appropriately. In this way, the development of capacities, supported by on-line computer tools, of diverse actors related to the sustainability of forest management, becomes an effective means to increase the capacity to sustainably manage the Amazon forest and guarantee its sustainability. This work included the identification and analysis of requirements, design, development, validation and feedback of services. The platform has a hybrid virtual training mechanism that combines the typical LMS e-learning model with the MOOC mass training model, which are complemented by resources such as virtual forums, webinars, chats, etc. The socialization and validation with users from the 8 countries has been successful and through the feedback of the participants, some functional details have been adjusted.