IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The Sub-Global Assessment Network

07 May 2012 | News story

Do you need help using ecosystem assessments? Join CEC member Omar Mohammed and Claire Brown in a May 2012 launch of a pilot "regional hub" for a community of practitioners.
 

The Sub-Global Assessment (SGA) Network is a community of practitioners which aims to build capacity for individuals and organisations to be able to undertake and use ecosystem assessments at different scales (regional, national, sub-national and local). The activities of the network includes training workshops, the promotion of lessons learnt and best practice, increasing access to different tools, and providing a forum for practitioners to discuss different topics including both technical and governance/process issues in regards to assessments.

Recognising the specific capacity needs to different regions, the SGA Network is piloting the concept of regional hubs. The Regional hubs will also serve to further enhance the ‘needs-based’ approach of the SGA Network, that is capacity building and training needs generally would share similar needs and demands within a single Region or Sub-Region, due to socio-political, economic, environmental and cultural considerations. The regional hub approach allows for directed and Region-strategic capacity and training interventions to be designed and implemented which would best meet the needs of the target audience.

This first pilot will be rolled out in May 2012 for the Latin America and Caribbean Region. It is coordinated by The Cropper Foundation. Planned activities for 2012 include:

• establishment of a coordination group whose members are drawn from SGAs and ecosystem assessment practitioners within the region;
• development of a dedicated internet portal for the region inclusive of social media;
• establishment of a communication and outreach programme among practitioners and the wider region;
• delivery of a capacity and training needs survey to existing SGAs and practitioners;
• design and implementation of a regional training workshop centred around the main capacity and training demands of the region;
• production of a report on lessons learnt in the piloting of the regional hub.

Individuals and organisations wishing to get involved should contact Keisha Garcia or Omar Mohammed at The Cropper Foundation.

Organisations in other regions who would also like to explore the possibilities of starting a regional hub should contact the SGA Secretariat at assessment@unep-wcmc.org

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), initiated in 2001, assessed the impact of ecosystem change on human well-being, with the intention of providing a scientific basis for the conservation and the sustainable use of these natural systems to promote human well-being. The MA (www.maweb.org) irrevocably determined that anthropogenic actions have had such an impact on natural ecosystems that their continued support of human well-being of future generations (and even the present) could no longer be taken for granted. On the flip side coherent and appropriate actions, if taken, could reverse the depletion of natural systems over the next 50 years. 

CONTACT

Keisha Garcia, The Cropper Foundation, kgarcia@thecropperfoundation.org
Omar Mohammed, The Cropper Foundation, omohammed@thecropperfoundation.org
Claire Brown, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, claire.brown@unep-wcmc.org