Refresher Seminar - Kenya 2009
The Refresher Seminar "The Ecology of Livelihoods in African Wetlands" for UNESCO-IHE alumni in Sub-Saharan Africa was held successfully in Kenya from 24-28 August.
Venue for the seminar was the Agricultural Resources Centre (ARC) Hotel at Egerton University in Njoro, near Nakuru. The seminar was organised in close collaboration with the Department of Biological Science of Egerton University and the Eastern Africa Water Association (EAWA). EAWA counts a large number of UNESCO-IHE alumni among its members.
Participants
The seminar was sponsored by NUFFIC which funded the participation of 22 alumni. In addition, WaterNet sponsored another five participants. The total number of registered participants in the course was 33 from 12 countries (Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Ghana and Cameroon).
Presentations
The seminar programme included presentations by a number of resource persons and some presentations introduced innovative research methods for wetlands. A field trip to Lake Victoria took place during the week. On the last day participants work on case of studies with topics that they themselves contributed.
Follow-up Actions
As a follow-up activity to this seminar, all participants agreed to develop the posters into papers that will be published together in an "Ecology of Livelihoods in African Wetlands" book. Working on this publication will provide focus for continued interaction and collaboration with this group of wetland professionals in the coming year.
A more detailed report on the Refresher Seminar will be published in the November issue of UPDATE magazine.