AFAS ended the year of 2023 with much inspiration from our stakeholder workshops in Abidjan and Nairobi!
The AFAS team gathered for the second edition of stakeholder workshops on November 28 at the Hôtel Famille Mondiale in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire and on December 14 at the Mövenpick Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshops had the theme “Achieving Profitable Nature-based Solutions for Climate Change Adaptation and Biodiversity Conservation.” They aimed to bring together stakeholders from science, policy, and practice to explore avenues for making Nature-based Solutions (NbS) not only profitable but also financially sustainable.
Consolidating the AFAS Network
One of the main goals of the events was to strengthen the AFAS-network dedicated to NbS. Participants, including policymakers, businesses, NGOs, and scientists, engaged in fruitful discussions on the profitability of NbS and on what needs to be done to improve their uptake.
Connecting Minds for a Sustainable Future
The workshops served as a crucial nexus for connecting AFAS-students with stakeholders for tailored master education, research projects, internships and mentoring, benefiting both the student and the host organization, making science work for policy and practice. The workshops also contributed to cutting-edge research and innovative ideas through industry linkages in the SPPI interface. Finally, the workshops facilitated fruitful exchange between participants from West and East Africa, who shared knowledge on the application of profitable NbS for climate change adaptation and biodiversity conservation within African savannas.
