DATE / TIME:

February 9, 2015    07:30 - February 13, 2015    17:00

Location:

Accra

The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), is organising a one week targeted training workshop for Francophones on 09-13 February, 2015, in Accra, Ghana. The time is 8:30am -17pm,  each day .

The workshop, which falls  under the Institute’s green economy project entitled  “Unleashing the potential of African Rural Economies through Green Growth“ aims at enhancing the understanding of the participants on the roles and responsibilities of businesses in the conservation and use of biodiversity and ecosystem services to ensure a successful transition towards green economy in Africa. The project is being supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC).

Economies have benefited from what nature has to offer, gains that have been achieved at the cost of diminishing biodiversity and degrading ecosystems. Degradation of ecosystems and their ability to deliver ecosystem services has implications for human well-being and economic development, especially for business activities.

In the transition towards green economy – which aims at meeting the dual goals of high human development and low ecological impact, there is the  need for incorporating biodiversity and ecosystem services in business policies and practices. This means more knowledge and understanding is needed to clarify and support the roles and responsibilities of businesses in the conservation and use of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

The training workshop therefore aims at equipping  African researchers, businesses, environmentalists and economists with the necessary tools to be able to identify potential risks of their business activities on the environment and develop effective management strategies to mitigate them.