Mois : octobre 2023

From October 13th to 19th, Ramdan Dramani, a team member of the FC-SSA Project, attended the 25th meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at the UNEP Headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya, as part of his training in Multilateral Environmental Agreement Negotiation under the Charles R. Wall Policy Programme of the African Wildlife Foundation. During this event, he engaged in advocacy efforts by interacting with policy makers, conservationists, CBD focal points, NGO, as well as delegates from indigenous people and local communities about FC-SSA Project. Additionally, he utilized this opportunity to disseminate project description flyers and presented some of them to the attendees.

In August 2023, as part of Activity 2 of the Fungal Conservation in Sub-Sahara Africa (FC-SSA), Darwin Main Project 30-020, a team led by Mr. GNANANDO Saidou, Field Collaborator and Executive Director of the NGO REDERC, conducted a mission in targeted areas. The objective of this was to reforest degraded sites in five different forests using Afzelia Africana plants. The selection of beneficiary forests, including Papatia Botanical Garden, sacred forests of Sinaisiré, and community forests of Tassigourou, Tamadé, and Kobourou, was based on factors like degradation level, forest size, and density of ectomycorrhizal trees, determined from previous inventory missions. During this mission, 600 Afzelia Africana plants were planted, with allocation detailed in a table. The teams, comprising 6 to 8 members each, adhered to a gender equality approach, ensuring 3 to 4 women in each team. Team composition was determined based on the number of plants to be planted in each specific forest, aligning with our commitment to gender balance and effective reforestation efforts.

NGO REDERC Executive Director’s Visit : Implementation of the FC-SSA Project activitiesOn October 6, 2023, Mr. GNANANDO Saibou, Executive Director of the NGO REDERC, visited the Research Unit in Tropical Mycology and Soil Plant-Mushroom Interactions (MyTIPS) at the University of Parakou. This visit was part of the implementation of third quarter activities of the Fungal Conservation in Sub-Saharan Africa: Sustainability and livelihood involvement (FC-SSA) Project. Under the direction of Prof Yorou, who heads the FC-SSA Project, this meeting facilitated the establishment of a plan outlining the activities intended for this quarter. The point relating to the introduction of Moringa oleifera tree planting was also discussed and, on this point, Mr. GNANANDO expressed his full support for this initiative aimed at improving the sources of income of project beneficiaries. Mr. GNANANDO, field collaborator of the FC-SSA project, also visited the MyTIPS laboratory and observed the ongoing research activities. The University of Parakou is the lead institution of the FC-SSA project.