News

Recently an article titled Combating land degradation in the High North was published on the UNU website (unu.edu).  The article describes briefly some of UNU-LRT activities and the topics dealt with in the annual six-month training course run by UNU-LRT.  This summer’s one week field trip is described in detail but the field trip is an important part of the six-month training course.  Perspectives and experiences from two fellows of this year’s training are also given.  The article can be found here http://unu.edu/articles/global-change-sustainable-development/combating-land-degradation-in-the-high-north

On 29 September eight fellows graduated from the UNU-LRT six-month training programme.  The graduated fellows are from Ethiopia (1), Ghana (2), Mongolia (2), Niger (1) and Uganda (2), three women and five men.   At the graduation ceremony the Minister for the Environment, Mrs. Svandís Svavarsdóttir, addressed the fellows and handed out the certificates.   The 2011 fellows graduated from two specialized lines:  Land Degradation Assessment/Land Restoration, and Sustainable Land Management.

On 19 September the fellows in this year’s six-month training course presented their individual project work in an open seminar at the Agricultural University of Iceland.  The project work includes writing a comprehensive report and giving an oral presentation.  The fellows choose a subject for the project that is of their interest and is related to degradation and restoration challenges in their home countries. 

The Society of Ecological Restoration held its fourth world conference on ecological restoration in Merida, Mexico from 21 to 25 August last month.  UNU-LRT was presented at the conference in an oral presentation in a session on ecological restoration education, and in a poster in the poster session.  Four scientists, who teach and supervise in UNU-LRT annual six-month training course, also attended the conference and gave oral presentations on their research and projects.  These scientists come from the Agricultural University of Iceland and the Soil Conservation Service of Iceland. 

Individual project work is an important part of the six-month training at UNU-LRT and is the main focus in the latter half of the training.  This year the fellows projects are very diverse, some are strictly scientific and include field- and lab work, mapping and use of GIS, as well as data handling and statistical analysis.  Others are closer to the field of social sciences and include surveys and examination of participatory approaches in land management, and evaluation of legal frameworks and policies related with grazing lands.

Last week, the 2011 UNU-LRT fellows participated in the annual one-week fieldtrip around Iceland. The fieldtrip is a vital part of the UNU-LRT six-month course and takes place after the course work has finished and before the fellows start to concentrate mainly on the individual project work. In the fieldtrip last week, the fellows were exposed to land degradation problems in Iceland and were introduced to different land use practices, research, Icelandic culture, and conservation work. Moreover, farmers were visited and the fellows met district consultants of the Soil Conservation Service.