The West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI) has been selected by the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF) to implement a project tagged, ‘Strengthening CSOs’ capacities for effective stakeholder engagement in biodiversity conservation project’.
The move for this project was made when it was observed that the degradation of West Africa’s biodiversity hotspot was due to subsistence and commercial agricultural expansions, urban, industry and infrastructure expansions, industrial and artisanal mining, climate change, pollution amongst others.
WASCI was selected to implement this project with the aim of strengthening the institutional and operational capacities of 17 civil society organisations from Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Sierra Leone. It was stated that, through the project, these organisations will be equipped to effectively engage and advocate for the development and implementation of national frameworks, policies, and regulations for climate change mitigation and adaptation, that would meet national needs for development and environmental sustainability.
It was noted that the project will offer a series of capacity strengthening activities to participating organisations in four phases: training, mentoring and coaching, support to apply for small grant proposals, and documentation of change stories and lesson learnt.
It was also noted that the project will lead to improved organisational productivity and strengthen the results-based management skills of the participating organisations and also enhance their capacity to develop and institutionalise appropriate financial management tools and policies.
The Executive Director of JVE Ivory Coast, Larissa Yapo, representing one of the six organisations selected from the country, said, ‘JVE [Ivory coast] welcomes with great pleasure and enthusiasm this training that will support the strategic restructuring of our organisation. After more than ten years of existence, our organisation faces a challenge, but with WACSI we wish to cross this bridge of the reinvention of our actions for the well-being of the environment in [Ivory Coast]’.
The Executive Director of GREENLIFE West Africa, from Sierra Leone, Darius Barrolle, added, ‘We hope to strengthen our fundraising, financial and human resource management skills, and build an effective organisation to respond to both national and regional needs for better environmental, human and natural resources management’.
Source: West Africa Civil Society Institute
Photo source: Global Environment Facility
