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The Brussels based ambassador of Niger to Iceland, Mr Adani Illo, paid the UNU-LRT programme a visit earlier this month. Mr Illo was introduced to the six-month training programme as well as to the fellows of this year´s programme. Among this year´s fellows are two men from Niger Republic which also discussed shortly with the ambassador the benefits of the programme to their institutions in Niger.

The UN Association in Iceland hosted a seminar in cooperation with the UNU programmes in Iceland, Institute of International Affairs, and Ministry for Foreign Affairs at the University of Iceland this week. The theme of the seminar was on performance management in the development sector, focusing on the UNU programmes in Iceland. Fellows from all four UNU Iceland based programmes gave a talk about their experiences and expectations of the training. Presenting on behalf of the UNU-LRT programme was Ms Irene Jemilatu Yenuyet Yaro from Ghana. She described the challenges she faces as a Programme Officer at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Eastern Region in Ghana with the mining sector.

UNU-LRT was honoured to welcome a distinguished guest last week when the ambassador of Ethiopia to the Nordic countries, Ms Woinshet Tadesse, paid a visit to the programme. The ambassador and Mr Daneal Tenkir Arga, Counsellor II at the Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia based in Stockholm, were introduced to the activities and facilities of UNU-LRT. Furthermore, a continued fruitful collaboration between UNU-LRT and local Ethiopian institutions, working on land restoration and sustainable land management, was discussed and recommended.

About three weeks ago, the annual UNU-LRT six-month training programme started with 12 fellows, seven men and five women. The fellows this year come from six different countries in Central-Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. The countries are: Ethiopia (2 fellows), Ghana (3), Mongolia (2), Niger (2), Uganda (2) and Uzbekistan (1).

The Programme Director of UNU-LRT, Dr Hafdis Hanna Aegisdottir, was the key-note speaker at a panel discussion organized by the Permanent Mission of Iceland and the Group of Friends on Decertification, Land Degradation and Drought, in partnership with UNCCD, FAO and IAEA, in New York on 28 February.

Mr Salifu Wahabu, a former fellow of UNU-LRT from 2013, defended his Master´s thesis earlier this month in his home country. The title of his thesis was: “Impact of Charcoal Production on Soil Properties and Vegetation in the Central Gonja District of the Northern Region, Ghana”. He has now graduated with an M.Phil. in Environmental Science from the University of Ghana, Legon in Accra.