The PPI OSCAN celebrates its 10th anniversary: a look back at the regional workshop in Agadir!
Published on 28 May 2024From 16 to 18 May in Agadir, Morocco, the IUCN French Committee’s Small Initiatives Programme (PPI), which focuses on West and Central Africa, took part in and contributed to a regional workshop organised to mark the 10th anniversary of the Small Initiatives Programme for North African Civil Society Organisations. (PPI OSCAN).
Managed since 2014 by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, and financed by the French Global Environment Facility, the MAVA Foundation and the Sigrid Rausing Trust, the aim of the OSCAN PPI is to strengthen the capacities of local civil society organisations in Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, and recently in Egypt, through the development of innovative and sustainable solutions for the preservation of biodiversity. By promoting an inclusive approach to nature conservation, in which local communities play an essential role in preserving ecosystems, the visions of the PPI and the OSCAN PPI converge, particularly through their support for actors on the ground aiming to encourage the emergence of an African environmental civil society. It is therefore only natural that the Agadir regional workshop should form part of the partnership dynamic between these 2 programmes, which have been working together and sharing experiences for several years, as demonstrated by the cross-capitalisation carried out in 2021.
Around thirty participants attended this regional meeting, including most of the 27 beneficiary organisations of the third phase of the OSCAN PPI, as well as the programme’s institutional and financial partners, such as the FGEF, to discuss the latest advances in the field of nature conservation in North Africa, capitalise on good practice and share feedback from CSOs. The PPI was represented by its coordinator Paul Estève, Damien Martin, who is responsible for building the capacity of PPI partners in West Africa, and Chanceline Tchibozo – Kekele, a specialist in nature economics at the African Centre for Sustainable Development (ACED), historical partner of the PPI.
The workshop also provided an opportunity to organise a specific workshop on Nature-based Solutions (NBS), led by Marion Poncet, NBS officer with the French IUCN Committee. The aim was to help participants better understand the criteria and indicators of the IUCN global standard in relation to local projects, including the one managed by ACED. Between theoretical presentations, debates and practical exercises, the workshop took place in a truly collaborative and collective atmosphere!
Thank you to the IUCN Med team and to all the partners of the PPI OSCAN for the organisation, the welcome and all the quality exchanges and good times shared.
Watch the presentation of PPI OSCAN
