International training course on forest management opens

Kumasi, Oct. 23, GNA - A three-week international training course on adaptive management in natural resources opened in Kumasi on Monday. The course, which is being organised By the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the Wageningen International (WI) of the Netherlands, aimed at offering opportunity to natural resources scientists and researchers to reflect on current work approaches and develop skills and practices to support collaborative forest management with active stakeholders participation.

It will enable them to build an awareness of their own skills and competencies for leading innovations in multi disciplinary work approaches, practice a broad range of participatory methods and adaptive management tools as well as design, plan and implement change processes with small teams to support decentralised management practices in natural resources management.

Forest and Agricultural experts and researchers in government agencies, NGOs and multi national organisations from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Netherlands Benin and Zimbabwe are attending the course.

In an address read for him at the opening ceremony, Professor Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice Chancellor of KNUST, said sustainable natural resources management required a multi-disciplinary approach to achieve it.

This, he said, called for a regular and rigorous training for core personnel to interact and exchange technical know how and share experiences to build and upgrade their skills. Prof. Adarkwa stressed the need for the universities to focus on skill development of professionals in relevant areas needed for national development.

He hoped the course would serve as an area for exchange of ideas and professional knowledge and deepen professional enquiries and broaden practical experiences and increase relevance to practice, policy and development issues.

Nana Dr. S. E Edusah, Co-ordinator of the Netherlands Programme for Training Students (NPT), said the course would serve as a prelude to short courses to be organised by the CANR from next year.