7 July 2014
UNU-LRT Fellows visit West and North of Iceland
Last week the UNU-LRT fellows were taken on a 4-day field trip to the West and North of Iceland. The purpose of the trip was to expose them to some of the restoration work done in the region and the challenges faced in respect to land degradation and implementation of restoration projects. The Icelandic weather played a significant role during the trip as it was raining heavily at times but that made the black wet deserts in the highlands of Iceland all the more evident.
20 June 2014
Visit to the Icelandic Institute of Natural History
The UNU-LRT fellows visited the Icelandic Institute of Natural History recently in the Institute’s impressive new facilities in Gardabaer. The Director of the Ecology Department, Dr Borgþór Magnússon, and his staff welcomed the fellows and introduced the cartography work at the institution and research on rangeland condition, effect of climate change on vegetation and the distribution of the introduced Nootka lupine in Iceland.
3 June 2014
The Executive Secretary of the UNCCD visits UNU-LRT
The Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), Ms Monique Barbut, was in Iceland this week. During her stay she had a meeting with fellows, staff members and the Studies Committee of UNU-LRT. This was an honour for the programme, especially because it is rooted in the Convention and works towards the same objectives: to combat land degradation and desertification.
2 June 2014
Home countries seminar
The annual seminar on the status of geothermal energy research, development and application in the home countries of the UNU Fellows will be held on Thursday 5 June 2014 at Orkustofnun in Víðgelmir.
The seminar starts at 09:00 and is open to all intertested parties.
30 May 2014
Workshop for Geothermal Development Donors in Iceland
The UNU-GTP held a Workshop for Geothermal Development Donors in Iceland on May 27-28. The workshop was financed by the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) and was organized as a follow-up to a Donors Collaboration Meeting jointly hosted by the African Union and ICEIDA. The meeting and the workshop were attended by 48 participants representing 8 African countries and 14 donor institutions, as well as Icelandic entitites.
The workshop, which was held at the Blue Lagoon and Reykjavik Energy headquarters, provided a general overview of various aspects of geothermal exploration and development and included an excursion to geothermal fields and utilization facilities in the Reykjanes peninsula.
27 May 2014
Ambassador from Niger visits UNU-LRT
The Brussels based ambassador of Niger to Iceland, Mr Adani Illo, paid the UNU-LRT programme a visit earlier this month. Mr Illo was introduced to the six-month training programme as well as to the fellows of this year´s programme. Among this year´s fellows are two men from Niger Republic which also discussed shortly with the ambassador the benefits of the programme to their institutions in Niger.