Kenya becomes the newest partner country of GRÓ LRT

From right: Mr Allan Abwoga, specialist and project manager in the Department of Land Reclamation (Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation), Ms Mary Nyasimi, project manager at UNESCO, Mr Christian Berretta, specialist at UNESCO, Ms Esther Musavi, deputy director at the Department of Land Reclamation (Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation), Ms Berglind Orradottir, GRÓ LRT deputy director, Mr Alexandros Makarigakis, director at UNESCO Nairobi, Dr Johann Thorsson, specialst at SCSI, and three interns at UNESCO Nairobi.

GRÓ LRT's Deputy Director, Berglind Orradottir, and Dr Johann Thorsson, a Senior Scientist at the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland, and a member of the GRÓ LRT’s academic committee, embarked on a fact-finding mission to Kenya in September. The primary objective of this visit was to establish connections with government agencies and research institutes actively involved in land restoration and sustainable land management. Their aim was to explore potential avenues for collaboration between these organizations and GRÓ LRT.

Throughout their visit, Ms Orradottir and Dr Thorsson had the privilege of visiting various institutions, including the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation. Here, they engaged with representatives from multiple departments within the ministry. As a result of these productive encounters, six institutions in Kenya were invited to nominate prospective candidates for GRÓ LRT's six-month training in Iceland. These entities were chosen due to their close alignment with the mission of GRÓ LRT and included:

1. The Department of Land Reclamation at the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation
2. Centre for Training and Integrated Research in ASAL Development
3. Directorate of Resource Surveys and Remote Sensing (Executive Office of the President, Chief of Staff, and Head of the Public Service)
4. Kenya Forestry Research Institute (Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry)
5. National Drought Management Authority (Ministry of East African Community, ASALs, and Regional Development)
6. State Department for Livestock at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries Development

Candidates nominated by these six entities were interviewed for the six-month training in Iceland by the Deputy Director. Successful candidates will be eligible to apply for fellowships in the coming years to participate in the GRÓ LRT training programme, thus further strengthening the ties between GRÓ LRT and Kenya.

Additionally, Ms. Orradottir and Dr. Thorsson paid a visit to the offices of UNESCO Nairobi, the Multisectoral Regional Office for Eastern Africa. Alexandros Makarigakis, Director and Representative (a.i.), along with his colleagues at UNESCO Nairobi, played an essential role in initiating contact between GRÓ LRT and the Department of Land Reclamation at the Ministry of Water, Sanitation, and Irrigation last year. This contact led to the current visit by GRÓ LRT. The relationship between GRÓ LRT and UNESCO Nairobi was also facilitated through the GRÓ International Centre for Capacity Development, Sustainable Use of Natural Resources, and Societal Change, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre based in Reykjavík, Iceland.

GRÓ LRT eagerly anticipates its collaboration with these new partner institutions in Kenya, marking an exciting milestone in its mission to champion land restoration and sustainable land management.

^{Dr Johann Thorsson and Ms Berglind Orradottir with
Mr Ephantus Kimotho, Principal Secretary, State Department for Irrigation, Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation.}