The national awareness and training workshop on Ecosystem Natural Capital Accounting (ENCA) was held on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, in Conakry.
The event was convened as part of the Copernicea project, by the National Centre for Environmental Observation (CNOE) and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS) and brought together representatives of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MESD), the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Forestry, with the involvement of the National Institute of Statistics.
The opening session was given by Mr. Karim SAMOURA, Secretary General at the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Ms. Ndeye Fatou MAR, OSS Land and Biodiversity Department Director and Mr. Paul KIMAHEVE, Head of the Communication and Public Relations Department at the Ministry of the Environment.
Mr. Karim SAMOURA spoke on behalf of H.E.Ms. Hajja Safiatou DIALLO, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development and expressed his gratitude to the OSS and the Copernicea project team, as well as the French Development Agency (AFD), for their commitment to the preservation of Guinean natural heritage. He reaffirmed the ministry's full involvement in supporting the project activities, particularly with regard to the collection of national biophysical and socio-economic data essential for the development of the ENCA national accounts.
Ms. Ndeye Fatou MAR paid tribute to the Guinean government and the partners for the warm welcome and the interest shown by their presence at this workshop. She underlined the importance of inter-institutional collaboration at the national level to mobilize the most relevant data with a view to developing ecosystem accounts and thus assessing the state of biodiversity in the country. She recalled the OSS willingness to support countries in this process, taking into account the 2030 agenda on biodiversity.
The workshop, which is part of the mission to raise awareness and support the project activities in Guinea, aims at raising awareness among national decision-makers on the ENCA role in the development and establishment of relevant indicators for measuring progress and valuing natural capital. It also aims at promoting the ENCA popularization tools to a wide audience by opening the eyes of all stakeholders on aspects of ecosystem restoration.
This meeting was an opportunity for Mr. Abina Abdoulkarim BELLO, Coordinator of environmental projects at the OSS, to present the various results obtained.
Ms Leila BENNANI and Ms Mama ADAMA KEITA underlined the crucial role of communication in promoting the results and impacts of the project at the national and regional levels. They underlined the importance in alerting decision-makers on the issues of ecosystem accounting, its role and impact, thus encouraging the integration of accounts as indicators of sustainable development.
The participants were trained by Mr. Thierry TAPSOBA on the account preparation principles at the regional level, with a demonstration of AFRIKENCA accounts.
The event was high in exchanges, full of information and brought quality training and made it possible to make recommendations to build the capacities of the national officials and actors on ecosystem accounting. It was also recommended to promote close collaboration with the media and the press so that they forward all project-related information and achievements for an optimized impact.