Bonn, 12 December 2024 - An AEWA National Reporting training workshop for Anglophone African Parties took place from 27-28 November 2024 at the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat premises in Bonn, Germany. The training was made possible thanks to the generous financial support from the European Commission’s Global Public Goods and Challenges (GPGC) Programme Cooperation Agreement (PCA) with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which seeks to improve international environmental governance.

A total of 15 representatives from 13 Anglophone African Contracting Parties to the Agreement participated in the training workshop. The training was the first of its kind organized by the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat and included participants from Eswatini, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The aim was to enhance participants’ knowledge and skills on National Reporting in the framework of AEWA, with the workshop being a direct response to a request to the UNEP/AEWA Secretariat under AEWA Resolution 8.3 to provide training to National Focal Points and Designated National Respondents from prioritized regions and countries, in advance of the launch of AEWA’s national reporting cycles.

Participants of the two-day workshop, received hands-on guidance on the process for completing and submitting the different National Reporting modules that are required under AEWA and delivered through the Online Reporting System (ORS). These modules include the General AEWA National Reports, National Reports on the implementation of the AEWA Plan of Action for Africa (PoAA), as well as National Reports on the population status of AEWA-listed species and non-native waterbird species and of harvest data.

The training comprised of interactive presentations on reporting obligations and practical sessions on a range of sample questions in the Online Reporting System from across the different AEWA reporting modules. It also included a guided session on identifying and planning effective engagement with stakeholders who are involved in the national implementation of AEWA and subsequently in supporting the AEWA reporting processes, thereby emphasizing the close link between implementation and reporting.

The workshop in Bonn also offered the opportunity to share experiences on various aspects of AEWA implementation in the participating countries and ways to enhance them. Participants received a practical take-home kit of useful documents and materials to facilitate delivery of their national reporting obligations, including a hands-on tool for identifying and maintaining the network of national stakeholders involved in the AEWA implementation and reporting processes.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat hopes that resources will become available to also be able to provide similar training opportunities to Francophone African Contracting Parties in the near future, as well as to address other aspects of AEWA implementation that were identified as priorities during this training workshop.

The UNEP/AEWA Secretariat would like to call on Contracting Parties and other donors to kindly consider providing support for these capacity enhancement efforts, as requested in AEWA Resolution 8.3.

This year marks a significant milestone for AEWA, as the Agreement celebrates its 30th Anniversary. It is also a pivotal moment for international waterbird conservation, with the 9th Session of the Meeting of the Parties (MOP9) to AEWA set to take place from 10 to 14 November 2025 in Gaborone, Botswana. This major gathering will bring together governments, conservation organizations, and experts to assess progress and further strengthen the implementation of the treaty and chart the future of waterbird conservation across the African-Eurasian Flyway.