In 2018, IUCN-Med and WCPA undertook a capacity needs assessment for PAs managers in the five North African countries (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia), with the aim to identify key needs and levers to improve capacity for management effectiveness. The results confirmed that protected area management in the region is highly centralized, and with staff numbers, skills and structures, in most cases, insufficient and inadequate for carrying out the tasks to achieve the objectives of protected areas. The results also show a strong need for a holistic, integrated approach for developing individual and institutional capacity for the management of protected areas.

The Training Needs Assessment results were presented, discussed and approved by participants from the five countries during a regional workshop held in Tunis (Tunisia) in March 2018. Five pillars have been agreed on which the capacity building strategy will be developed and implemented: (1) Enabling environment, (2) Planning for Capacity Development, (3) Institutional capacity, (4) Individual capacity development, and (5) Regional level coordination and support.

IUCN-Med and WCPA will be following up on these initial results to build an effective capacity development programme that responds to the needs of the region, and have already started contacts with some partners and donors to implement the strategy.

This action will further contribute to directions set by the Aichi target 11 with a radically different approach in developing novel capacity building programmes and working with a more diverse set of stakeholders to  effectively manage protected areas that conserve nature, enable sustainable development, and ensure flows of ecosystem services that support wider communities and economies.

You can consult the findings of this initiative in the attached documents available in English and in French under IUCN "Thematic Documents" HERE.

The training needs assessment and the capacity building strategy have been developed with the technical support of ProPark Foundation for Protected Areas. The final report has been published thanks to the financial support from MAVA Foundation.

For further information, please contact: Maher Mahjoub (IUCN North Africa Programme Coordinator) and Imen Meliane (WCPA, Regional Vice Chair North Africa, Middle East and West Asia).