New alliances and valuable learnings between North African environmental associations witnessed at the PPI-OSCAN regional workshop
Among the 27 organisations present at this event, 16 identified an opportunity for regional cooperation, 2 associations signed a bilateral partnership agreement, and 7 enjoyed their first experience of a regional event.
The workshop was inaugurated by the welcome speeches of the Governor of Monastir, Mr Mondher Sik Ali, the Director General of the Environment and Quality of Life of Tunisia, Mr Hedi Chebili, the President of the Notre Grand Bleu association, Ahmed Ghedira, and the Director of IUCN-Med, Maher Mahjoub.
During his speech, Maher Mahjoub recalled that "since its launch in 2014, PPI-OSCAN has supported 107 organisations for the implementation of projects in a wide range of areas relating to the conservation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems". He also recalled the important role of IUCN’s government members in the countries of North Africa in facilitating and supervising associative projects.
Lessons learnt and results
The workshop, which took place from June 3 to 5, brought together organisations from the PPI-OSCAN network to share their experiences and good practices, form alliances, discuss the sustainability of their projects and reflect on the development of a network as part of the PPI-OSCAN community. In particular, it should be noted:
- The participation of 11 women-led associations, including the first Libyan association of PPI-OSCAN represented by a woman
- The signing of a bilateral agreement between the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Birds and Wildlife (AMPOVIS) and the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Raptors (AMPR), to pool resources and implement concrete actions to conserve birds of prey in Morocco
- For 7 organisations it was their first time participating in a regional event
- The majority of the organisations present are led by young people under the age of 35
- For 9 organisations, the PPI-OSCAN 3 is the first funding received for the implementation of their project
- 16 organisations have identified an opportunity for regional cooperation in their field activities to address common challenges
- The launch of 2 online courses developed by IUCN-Med to support civil society organisations in their communication and fundraising
In addition to the discussion and networking sessions, a visit to the Kuriat Islands led by the association Notre Grand Bleu, showed the 50 participants a successful example of co-management of a marine protected area and protection of sea turtles.
On the eve of World Environment Day, participating organisations are returning home with new tools to carry out their projects for wetland conservation, sustainable management of oases and agricultural ecosystems, protection of endangered species and protected areas, restoration of degraded ecosystems and harnessing the benefits of conservation to generate sustainable income.
This workshop was organised by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, in partnership with the Tunisian Ministry of the Environment and the association Notre Grand Bleu, with the financial support of the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM), the MAVA Foundation and the Sigrid Rausing Trust Foundation.
To find out more about the PPI-OSCAN : 5.Projets – MUBADARAT (mubadarat-uicn.org)
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