The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania covered in tropical rainforest, which otherwise continentally remain primarily in Western Africa. (Photo: David Ashby via Wikimedia Commons)
Furthering education in forestry is key in building Africas managerial capacity that is critical for managing forest and tree resources on the continent in ways that enhance the provision of forest ecosystem goods and services to present and future generations. However, given the dynamism of the forestry sector in terms of its changing stakeholders and growing demands on the sector, there is a continuing gap in capacities of African forestry and allied institutions in skills and knowledge. Capacities are needed to facilitate the effective and sustained uptake of available knowledge and technologies that would catalyse the satisfaction of the increasing and changing demands on the sector, and in ways that will not jeopardise the sustainable management and use of Africas forest and tree resources.
It is for this reason that the African Forest Forum (AFF), in partnership with the Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), and with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), is organising a regional workshop on Training needs on new and emerging issues in African forestry from 23rd to 26th October 2017, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The purpose of this workshop is to:
1. Receive and deliberate on findings of training needs assessments conducted by AFF in Anglophone and Francophone African countries in relation to current needs and trainers perspective and including emerging trends in forestry in Africa, and gender specific training needs.
2. Examine the adequacy of current curriculum content in relation to (1) above, specifically targeting professional and technical forestry education that could effectively respond to employers demands of current forestry graduates.
3. Propose elements that could address the training needs at two levels:(a) National level- training modules for both professional and technical education in forestry (b) Sub-regional/regional level- training modules to address issues that are of sub-regional or transboundary nature to be implemented through multi-institutional arrangements
The regional workshop will bring together African forestry stakeholders including government officials, researchers, academicians, civil society and private sector involved in both forest management and forestry education and training from different sub-regions of Africa. It is expected that after the four day workshop there will be:
Enhanced awareness of state of forestry education in Africa, in particular with regard to new and emerging forest related environmental issues.
Concrete plans of action to contain identified gaps and needs. These would include national level training modules and appropriate regional training programmes.
For further information on the training workshop contact:
The Executive Secretary
African Forest Forum
United Nations Avenue, Gigiri
P.O. Box 30677-00100, Nairobi, Kenya
Phone: +254 20 722 4203
Fax: +254 20 722 4001/4181
Email: exec.sec@afforum.org
Website: www.afforum.org