Africa Practitioners Network forges ahead with training

The Africa Practitioners Network was established in 2014 with the aim of building practical capacity among governments, companies and NGOs to understand, implement and monitor key initiatives to improve management and governance of natural resources.

These initiatives include voluntary certification schemes like the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC); international initiatives like the EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) programme to address illegal logging; as well as national approaches to land use planning.

Since its inception, the APN has provided formal training to more than 100 practitioners from seven countries – more than three times the target number. Trainees have come from Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, substantially increasing capacity across the region. Thirty-one of these participants, from four countries, have developed their skills further through practical hands-on field experience and mentoring provided by the APN. As a result, 15 practitioners are already using their skills and new know-how independently in their work.

In delivering 22 training courses on FSC, RSPO, FLEGT and High Conservation Values (HCV), the APN has partnered with 11 implementing organisations*, three government ministries and nine producer countries.

The APN is looking ahead to 2016, when we expect to extend our delivery of training modules with partners in Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and the Congo Basin.

*The APN is grateful for the important contribution of its implementing partners: Rainforest Alliance, Resource Trust/NDF, WWF-Cameroon, CFCI and Yaounde University, Client Earth, Proforest Initiative, Proforest Ltd/Ghana, HCV Resource Network, Tropenbos Ghana, IUCN-PACO and SHARP Partnership.