Capacity-Building of Trainers to Monitor Migratory Waterbirds in Africa

Article submitted by Tour du Valat (Pierre Defos du Rau (ONCFS), Clemence Deschamps (Tour du Valat), Abdoulaye Ndiaye (UST) & Jean-Yves Mondain-Monval (ONCFS))

 

Bonn, 01 November 2018 - At the end of 2015, at the AEWA MOP6, the three directors of the African Wildlife Management Schools: College of African Wildlife Management Mweka (Tanzania), the Kenyan Wildlife Service Training Institute in Naivasha (Kenya) and the School of Garoua Fauna (Cameroon) signed an agreement to integrate a training module on migratory waterbirds into their curriculum.

The Technical Support Unit (TSU) for the Implementation of the AEWA Plan of Action for Africa  initiated and facilitated a training of trainers workshop with two teachers from each of the three schools to master and appropriate the ONCFS and WOW teaching kits.

This train the trainer action corresponds to several priority objectives of the AEWA Africa Action Plan and the RESSOURCE project (in French). It has also received financial support from the François Sommer Foundation.
 

The two teaching kits are easily combined to provide two to three weeks of classroom and field lessons and practical work. Students can acquire the necessary skills for identification and counting, as well as mastering the conservation and management issues of migratory waterbirds along their flyway.

The educational teams of the three schools appreciated the quality and flexibility of the course and reaffirmed their willingness to continue to integrate them into their curriculum.

At this meeting, the representatives of the three schools wanted to strengthen their partnership within the WIN (Wildlife Institute Network) network, which they hope to expand in Southern and Northern Africa. This approach is all the more important for the monitoring and conservation of migratory waterbirds, as it reinforces the continuous education of future African professionals by teachers of the continent.

The educational kits are available for free online at the following addresses:

Last updated on 05 November 2018

Type: 
News item
Species group: 
Birds