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African wetland training course, October-November 2004

International Course on African Wetland Management

The International Course on African Wetland Management (ICAWM) is an international training initiative for wetland managers. It is a Ramsar Convention-endorsed programme and is based on the Ramsar Management Guidelines. Its Advisory Board is chaired by the Secretary-General of the Ramsar Convention and made up of members chosen from the lead government and international agencies dealing with wetland matters.

The ICAWM has been developed and organized primarily by Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute (KWSTI) in conjunction with Wetland Advisory and Training Centre RIZA-Rijkswaterstaat of the Netherlands, with subsequent contribution from Uganda and Tanzania to suit the African or tropical situation. The execution of the programme is jointly done by personnel from Kenya Wildlife Service, Wetland Inspection Division, Ministry of Water, Lands and Environment, Uganda, Wildlife Division of Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania, renowned wetland organizations (such as IUCN, WWF, Wetlands International) and tertiary institutions (local universities).

The course aims at providing knowledge and skills necessary in management of wetland sites - both protected and unprotected. It takes participants through the process of developing wetland management plans using biodiversity data, stakeholders' analysis information, legal/institutional framework and other communication variables. The course consists of a mixture of lectures, workshops and field practicals as well as interactive learning.

This is an annual course that has been running since 2001. During these three periods, a total of 59 participants from East, Central, West and Southern Africa have been trained and they included people from various professions including natural resource managers (forest, water, wildlife, wetlands and fisheries).

The language of instruction is ENGLISH. ICAWM is designed for middle level managers, actively involved in either inland or coastal wetland management. The applicants should preferably be graduates in natural resource management with at least two years experience in the field. This is a six-weeks (42-days) residential course, which costs USD 3,000. This does not include travel costs to and from the Institute and daily subsistence allowance. This year's course is scheduled for 13th October to 23rd November 2004.

For further information please contact:

The Principal
Kenya Wildlife Service Training Institute
P.O. BOX 842, Naivasha, KENYA
Tel +254 050 2020577/2020267/2021329
Fax +254 050 2021328
Email: kwsti@kenyaweb.com
Website: www.kws.org

The closing date for applications is 1 August 2004.

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Secretariat, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ). Posted 14 July 2004, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.