Regional workshop to familiarize participants with the Sys4ENCA tool
Given the importance of mobilizing various stakeholders in Natural Capital Accounting and ensuring the adoption of dedicated methods and techniques, the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE), and its national partners, is organizing a series of training sessions, awareness programs, information sessions, and national ecosystem accounting workshops in Dakar, Senegal, from October 23 to 27, 2023.
The opening session featured a speech by Mr. Nabil Ben Khatra, Executive Secretary of the OSS, in which he highlighted the inception of the Copernicea project financed by The French Development Agency (Agence française de Développement) and stressed the significance of making the developed methods and tools accessible to stakeholders, ensuring their long-term viability for improved sustainable natural resource management. He also commended the dedication of IUCN through VITO (Flemish Institute for Technological Research) and the active involvement of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA).
These organized training sessions are tailored for experts engaged in the PAPBIO (Management of Mangrove Forests from Senegal to Benin) and Copernicea (COoPEration Régionale pour de Nouveaux Indicateurs de Comptabilité Écosystémique du capital naturel en Afrique) projects.
Their aim is to build the skills of the players involved in using the Sys4ENCA tool, developed in collaboration with VITO, to successfully complete the process of drawing up the CECN's annual accounts and defining priority activities. They also aim to draw up accounts at national level for the various countries involved in the COPERNICEA project, namely Burkina Faso, Guinea-Conakry, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia, as well as at local level for the various national parks involved in the PAPBIO project (IUCN/VITO). In addition, the aim is to strengthen the skills of the players involved in the analysis of CECN results and to technically evaluate the Sys4ENCA tool.