12 December 2011
Former fellow from Ethiopia studies for a PhD degree
Tigist Araya Gessesse from Ethiopia participated in the six-month training course of the
Land Restoration Training Programme in 2009. She has an MSc degree in Tropical Land Resources Management and has worked as lecturer at Mekelle University in Northern Ethiopia from 2006.
Two months ago, Tigist started a PhD study at the Center for Development Research /Zentrum fur Entwicklungsforschung (ZEF) at the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources
Management, University of Bonn in Germany. Her research topic is: Dynamics of different soil organic carbon fractions under various land use and management options in Ethiopia. This topic is related
to Tigist‘s individual project work that she worked on in Iceland titled Assessment of the impact of different regevegation methods on soil
carbon stocks in Iceland
The UNU-LRT team wishes Tigist
all the best for her PhD studies.
8 December 2011
UNU-LRT on Facebook
The United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme (UNU-LRT) is now on Facebook! On Facebook, we will keep you up to date with what is going on at UNU-LRT, news about new and
former fellows, what is happening in land restoration in Iceland and international stories on environmental issues we think are worth sharing. Please visit the UNU-LRT Facebook page and "like" it to follow our work.
25 November 2011
Documentary about the UNU-GTP on YouTube
In June, the UNU-GTP and the UNU Media Centre signed a Memorandum of Agreement on a 10 minute documentary on geothermal training in Iceland. Two personnel from the Media Centre came to Iceland in
July to record various activities. In addition to portraying geothermal in Iceland and the activities of the UNU-GTP, the documentary focuses to some extent on the activities of Anna Mwangi, a
geophysics Fellow from Kenya.
22 November 2011
Short Course on Geothermal Exploration and Development in El Salvador
The UNU-GTP and the Organization of American States (OAS) held a short course on geothermal exploration and development in Santa Tecla, El Salvador, November 7-12, in
cooperation with LaGeo S.A. de C.V. The course is a part of the Geothermal Training Programme‘s series of tailor-made short courses that answers a growing need for geothermal
capacity building beyond the financial means of the programme. The short course was brought about at the intitiative of the OAS in order to support geothermal development in
Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and the financing also came from the OAS. Participants came from Colombia (3), Ecuador (3), Peru (3), Chile (1), Costa Rica (1), and El Salvador
(3).
17 November 2011
Short Course VI on Exploration for Geothermal Resources
Short Course VI on Exploration for Geothermal Resources is currently underway at Lake Naivasha in Kenya. The course is hosted by the UNU-GTP, Geothermal Development
Company, Kenya (GDC), and Kenya Electricity and Generating Company, Ltd. (KenGen). The course, which started on October 27 and will last until November 18, is a continuation of the
short course series on geothermal exploration that falls within the framework of UNU-GTP Millennium Short Courses that have been conducted annually in Kenya since 2005. The course
is attended by 57 participants from 14 African countries and 1 from Yemen, which shares many geological features with the Rift Valley region.
15 November 2011
New book on the story of land reclamation in Iceland
A new book HEALING THE
LAND: The story of land reclamation and soil conservation in Iceland written by Professor Roger Crofts was published last week by the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland (SCSI). It
describes the fascinating story of land restoration and soil stabilization in Iceland over the last one hundred years. The publication of the book was celebrated last Friday in a meeting on the
international importance of land reclamation and soil conservation activities. There the author introduced his work and emphasised on the importance of spreading the successful story of
reclamation and soil conservation work in Iceland to the global audience.