On April 17 and 18, 2024, ERAIFT organized two days of discussions and reflections entitled “English Speaking Days for Nature, Biodiversity and Climate” at the Wallonia Centre in Brussels in Kinshasa. The objective of these meetings was to discuss current environmental challenges and to highlight the multilingual nature of ERAIFT’s training offerings in order to increase its national and international visibility.
This event brought together, both online and in person, the UNESCO country representative in the Democratic Republic of Congo, scientists, bankers, especially Rawbank, journalists, members of civil society, representatives of the Congolese administration, and members of RADDI, ERAIFT’s alumina association.
More than 20 topics were discussed in depth. These topics are divided into five major themes: green economy and management; local communities; PA Manager: A Career with a Future?; Value Chain Analysis; Large Landscapes: Forests, Wetlands, and Savannahs.
Topics included: Positive Nature Initiative, Banking and the Green Economy, Circular Economy, Geographic Information Systems, Philanthropy and Social Investment, Protected Area Management, Economic Value of Protected Areas, Mangroves, Peri-urban Protected Areas, Civil Society Involvement, Climate Change, Ecotourism, Okapi Trust Fund, Bushmeat, Local Communities, ULisboa Scientific Cooperation, Clean Cookstoves, Basic Education, Carbon Desk.
Rawbank, SDGs & MAB, Biodiversity, CAFI and Payments for Environmental Services, Perennial Crops, Peatlands. The discussions often gave rise to enthusiastic and creative exchanges, all in an English-speaking atmosphere.
After 25 years of existence, this initiative marks a major step forward for ERAIFT, which is gradually committed to opening up to the English-speaking world in order to further improve its training offerings for future managers of protected areas and tropical forest ecosystems.
ERAIFT sincerely thanks Rawbank, the Wallonia-Brussels Centre, and ETEC Environnement for their support of this forum. It also wishes to express its gratitude to the European Union, AGRINATURA, UNESCO, and all other partners for their various contributions to the advancement of the school and the quality assurance of its training offerings.
