News

The GRÓ Land Restoration Training Programme celebrated the graduation of 23 fellows from its six-month training on 27 August at the Keldnaholt campus of the Agricultural University of Iceland. This is the 17th graduating cohort of GRÓ LRT and the first time the programme has graduated fellows from Kenya, a new GRÓ LRT partner country. The cohort includes fellows from nine countries in Africa and Central Asia: Ghana, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, and Uganda.

As this year’s six-month training programme comes to a close, the GRÓ LRT fellows are busy with finalizing their individual projects. Today and yesterday, they have presented the results of their individual final projects in open seminars at the Keldnaholt campus of the Agricultural University of Iceland. Over the last several months, the fellows have worked on their projects under the expert guidance of specialists from various institutes and organizations in Iceland.

The GRÓ LRT fellows embarked on an insightful one-day excursion to the Þórsmörk Nature Reserve, where they explored the critical role of ecosystem restoration in enhancing resilience and mitigating disaster risks.

The GRÓ LRT fellows had the privilege of visiting the President of Iceland, Mr. Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, at the presidential residence Bessastaðir, this week.

Last week, the GRÓ LRT fellows went on an excursion to the Hekluskógar restoration project area in South Iceland. The focus of this trip was on land degradation, ecosystem collapse and the wet deserts in Iceland, while also studying restoration strategies and methods to restore vast areas of severely degraded land.

The GRÓ LRT fellows went on a one-day trip to the Snæfellsnes Peninsula. The focus of the trip was to look into the relationship between humans and their natural environment; delving into integration of conservation and wise use of natural resources while meeting the needs of local communities.