July 11, 2024 (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia): The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA SRO-EA) conducted a three-day training on the UNECA’s Blue Economy Valuation Toolkit (BEVTK) for researchers in its member states to build their capacity and improve skills needed to effectively assess the economic, social and ecological contribution of Blue Economy (BE) using the Blue Economy Valuation Toolkit (BEVTK).
At the opening session of the workshop, Dr. Eshete Dejen, Program Manager for the Sustainable Environment Unit in the Agriculture and Environment Division of IGAD, on behalf of the Director of IGAD Agriculture and Environment, Mr. Daher Elmi, said that IGAD is facilitating capacity trainings to its member states as BE is new and emerging concept. The purpose of this to equipping researchers to apply the BEVTK in their research activities to estimate the BE contribution for development in their respective countries. The participants were University Professors in Universities and lead Researchers who are doing their research in the BE areas.
During the training, researchers from IGAD member states explored a detailed presentation on using the BEVTK to evaluate the Blue Economy’s contribution to social development and worked on identifying key ecosystem functional groups and their services, crucial for valuing the Blue Economy’s role in regional development. The UNECA delegate also appreciated IGAD for promoting the toolkit and creating institutional synergy.
The workshop was officially opened by Captain Getnet, a senior official in the Ethiopian Maritime Authority who highlighted that Ethiopia is commit fully to the development of its blue economy resources. He thanked IGAD and UNECA for choosing Ethiopia to host this training.
The specific objectives of the training were:
- Equip researchers in the IGAD MSs with practical skills to undertake in-depth socio-economic and ecosystem assessments that will support informed decision-making.
- Undertake practical exercises in the use of the BEVTK to provide an accurate snapshot of the potential of the Blue Economy.
- Promote the Blue Economy and BEVTK to be incorporated in the curricula.
- Encourage more graduate students to do their thesis research in Blue Economy accounting using the BEVTK
The Regional Training on the UNECA Blue Economy Valuation Toolkit (BEVTK) concluded successfully, leaving researchers equipped with a comprehensive understanding of the toolkit’s impact on analyzing the Blue Economy’s contributions to society. Below are the key takeaways from the three-day training:
- Research Enthusiasm: Participants expressed strong interest in using the BEVTK for their research in Blue Economy accounting, highlighting the toolkit’s user-friendly nature.
- Enhanced Precision: The research outputs generated by participants will serve as valuable inputs to the toolkit, thereby enhancing its estimation precision.
- Policy Formulation: The toolkit stands out as a crucial instrument for evidence-based policy formulation.
- Academic Integration: University professors who underwent the BEVTK application training will play a pivotal role in promoting the Blue Economy by integrating the toolkit into their course curricula.
The meeting was organized with financial support from the Government of Sweden, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) Project titled “Enhancing Blue Economy in the IGAD Coastal Member States for Biodiversity Conservations and Livelihood Diversification.”
