Events and Publications
Blog post
Exciting Internship experience at the Ghana Forestry Commission by Angelina Serwaa
The internship program within the SPIBES MSc. program aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice, allowing students to update their knowledge through real-world case studies. Excitedly participating in this SPIBES internship, I discovered a remarkable opportunity to apply my theoretical knowledge in biodiversity and ecosystem services to real-life scenarios. I was interned at the Resource Management Support Centre (RMSC) of the Ghana Forestry Commission.
Blog post
Cultural crossroads: exploring Nairobi's natural wonders and a glimpse of Abidjan's urban greenery by Serwaa A. & Orina A.
Nairobi, the vibrant capital city of Kenya, offers a captivating blend of natural beauty and urban sophistication. Arriving at Nairobi airport in the early hours of the morning of May, I couldn’t help but notice the three-hour time difference from Abidjan and the cold temperature of 16ºC, later rising to around 18ºC throughout the day. As we drove further from the airport, a remarkable sight awaited me. I was told that the unique savannah ecosystem is a part of the Nairobi National Park, where majestic wildlife such as lions, giraffes, buffalos other wild cats thrive.
Blog post
Flight of meaning: birds as harbingers of ecosystem health by Andrew Orina
The Giraffe Centre is a magnificent wildlife sanctuary in Nairobi, Kenya. This unique environment, nestled in the Nairobi dry highland forest, demonstrates the intricate interplay between wildlife, plants, and bird species. Birds have always played an important role in the cultural fabric of Nairobi, with local Nairobi communities attaching symbolic values to their presence and behaviour. Birds have long been revered as messengers and omens, and are believed to have spiritual connections to the natural world.
Event
CABES Training on the utilization of IPBES assessments
As part of our CABES Capacity Development Programme – CCDP for professionals, we organized the first face-to-face training from November 6 to 7 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on “the utilization of IPBES assessment outcomes in national policy making“. The training brought together IPBES and CBD national focal points, as well as scientists from East, Central and West Africa who actively discussed tactics and strategies for the uptake of IPBES outcomes.
Event
CABES First East Africa sub-regional science-policy-practise dialogue
CABES first sub-regional workshop, hosted by the Horn of Africa Regional Environment Center and Network-Addis Ababa University, took place from November 8-9, 2023 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia under the theme: “The Road to a Desired Future: the IPBES Nature Futures Framework and Science-Policy-Practice Interface for People-Planet Harmony”.
Event
IPBES Nature Futures Framework (NFF) - stakeholder consultation
A section of the East African sub-Regional workshop was dedicated to training on, and hands-on activity on The IPBES Nature Futures Framework, which is a new conceptual framework and heuristic tool to explore plausible scenarios for a desirable future. By considering the complex properties, interactions and feedback that operate in nature, the NFF emerged from stakeholder consultations that gathered a wide range of visions of desirable futures for people and biodiversity.
Launch event
Launch of CABES e-learning portal!
The CABES Capacity Development Programme CCDP – for professionals started with the launch of the CABES e-learning portal! Our first online course: Train the Trainers – developing, organizing and teaching online courses on the 17 – 18 October 2023 was delivered to more than 40 participants from 22 different countries in Africa and beyond. Register in our CABES e-learning portal to get frequent updates on our courses!
Event
CABES "Meet and Greet" event
CABES organised a “meet and greet” event, which took place on the evening of the IPBES-10 Stakeholder Day on the 27 August, 2023 at the Centre for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness of CABES’ capacity building initiatives and to provide an update on their progress.
Blog post
Plastic pandemonium: exposing the dark side of African waste management by Orina A. & Talemwa W.
The blockbuster animated film Wall-E is one of the critical films of contemporary society. It follows the life of a robot in a dystopian future, and without giving too much away, this sci-fi movie is closer to reality than we realise. As it reveals the unsettling parallels between fantasy and truth. Plastic pollution and waste management in African cities are reminiscent of the enthralling sequences in Wall-E. Pollution can be regulated and avoided; nonetheless, humans choose to ignore it.
Event
2nd International Conference on Biodiversity in the Congo Basin
The Second International Conference on Biodiversity in the Congo Basin was held in Kisangani, DRC Congo, from 6 -10 March, 2023. It was organized by the Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences’ (RBINS) CEBioS (Capacities for Biodiversity and Sustainable Development) initiative and the University of Kisangani’s Biodiversity Monitoring Center (CSB).
Event
CABES at the 6th IPBES Capacity Building Forum in Nairobi
The sixth meeting of the IPBES Capacity-Building Forum held at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi, Kenya, on 12 May 2023.The CABES team, led by Prof. Mekuria Argaw and Dr. Paul Kazaba, attended the event and were joined by our SPIBES MSc. scholars, Ms. Angelina Serwaa and Mr. Andrew Orina.
Event
International Biodiversity Day Celebrated in Ethiopia
The International Biodiversity Day under the theme “Agreement to Action to Build Back Biodiversity” and in giving emphasis to the commemoration day, the 1st International Research Conference on” Biodiversity Conservation and Ecosystem Management: Opportunities and Challenges”, were celebrated & conducted on May 22–23, 2023, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Event
IPBES-9 Stakeholder Day
IPBES-9 Stakeholder Day event took place prior to #IPBES9 – the ninth session of the Plenary of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), on Saturday, 2 July 2022, at the World Conference Center, Bonn, Germany.
Event
CABES First sub-Regional Workshop, Central Africa
CABES organised its first virtual sub-regional workshop on ‘Fostering Africa-IPBES Engagement: The roles of stakeholders in Central Africa’. The workshop took place on 8 September 2022 with the objective of introducing the CABES Programme, its Sub regional Science-Policy-Practitioner Interface (SPPIs), and discussing the role of stakeholders in project implementation in the sub-region.
Event
CABES First Regional Workshop in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
CABES organized its first regional workshop on: “Co-development of strategies for sustainability in Africa: Use of the products of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and the Environment (IPBES).” The workshop held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 25 – 27 October 2022.
