As part of implementation of the Protected Area and Biodiversity Management Program, funded by the EU using ACP funds, a workshop on capacity building for management of Protected Areas and Biodiversity was held in Brazzaville from October 12 to 14, 2014. The workshop objectives were to: Collect the attendees' recommendations for improving the capacity building strategy of the BIOPAMA IUCN program, validate the strategy, rally stakeholder support for the implementation of the strategy, define the next steps in the implementation of the strategy over the next 18 months and identify ways of ensuring sustainability of gains beyond the 18 month period.

To achieve these objectives, the workshop was built around presentations and group sessions which discussed the overall strategy and featured a presentation of the main thrusts (thrust 1a: Build capacity for data collection using the form, thrust 1.b: Developing skills for interpreting and using information collected through the form and thrust 2: Sustaining gains over the medium and long term).

The fruitful discussions which marked the group sessions and plenary presentations, produced recommendations with a view to enhancing the proposed strategy, profile and choice of trainers, conducting a series of training courses, establishing the conditions for implementing capacity building activities and next steps.

Gains from the three-day workshop included the validation of the capacity building strategy, of the proposed ways of ensuring project sustainability beyond 18 months and commitments from the participants to help implement the strategy.

It is with these pronouncements of commitment that the delegates parted ways, in hopes of meeting again for the next steps which will be to finalize the strategy and kick off implementation, bearing in mind that 18 months is a tight timeline for the implementation of this project which is ambitious yet crucial for protected areas in West and Central Africa.

For more details on the conduct of the workshop, please view the report HERE BELOW: