Green Actors of West Africa
Encyclopedia
Green Actors of West Africa (GAWA) is a network of environmental organizations from West Africa
created in 2005. The goal of GAWA Network is to develop ways of enhancing cooperation and coordination between and among the various donors and environmental (nature conservation) actors in this sub-African region.
The geographic coverage of GAWA network members includes: Benin
, Burkina Faso
, Ghana
, Guinea
, Ivory Coast, Liberia
, Mali
, Nigeria
, Senegal
, Sierra Leone
, The Gambia
, and Togo
.
, Ghana. In a later meeting in April 2005 in Cotonou
, Benin, the decision was reached to formalize the network.
GAWA is thus a network of environmental non-governmental organization
s (NGOs) involved in environmental protection
, rehabilitation
, awareness raising, biodiversity conservation
and natural resource management
.
, NC-IUCN have enabled all country assessments, holding of regional network meetings and capacity building training programmes for their partners in the sub-region.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
created in 2005. The goal of GAWA Network is to develop ways of enhancing cooperation and coordination between and among the various donors and environmental (nature conservation) actors in this sub-African region.
The geographic coverage of GAWA network members includes: Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
, Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
, Ivory Coast, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
, Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, The Gambia
The Gambia
The Republic of The Gambia, commonly referred to as The Gambia, or Gambia , is a country in West Africa. Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, surrounded by Senegal except for a short coastline on the Atlantic Ocean in the west....
, and Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
.
History
The initial concept of Green Actors in West Africa was first discussed in September 2004 during a meeting of NC-IUCN’s West African partners in AburiAburi
Aburi is a town north east of Accra, the capital city of Ghana. It is famous for the Aburi Botanical Gardens. Aburi is home to Aburi Presbyterian Technical Secondary School, which is linked to The Sixth Form College, Farnborough in Hampshire, England. Aburi has a relatively small population and is...
, Ghana. In a later meeting in April 2005 in Cotonou
Cotonou
-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...
, Benin, the decision was reached to formalize the network.
GAWA is thus a network of environmental non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
s (NGOs) involved in environmental protection
Environmental protection
Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the environment, on individual, organizational or governmental level, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Due to the pressures of population and our technology the biophysical environment is being degraded, sometimes permanently...
, rehabilitation
Land rehabilitation
Land rehabilitation is the process of returning the land in a given area to some degree of its former state, after some process has resulted in its damage...
, awareness raising, biodiversity conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
and natural resource management
Resource management
In organizational studies, resource management is the efficient and effective deployment of an organization's resources when they are needed. Such resources may include financial resources, inventory, human skills, production resources, or information technology...
.
Main priorities for the network
During 2005-2006, members of the network decided to focus their efforts on:- AdvocacyAdvocacyAdvocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
, lobbyingLobbyingLobbying is the act of attempting to influence decisions made by officials in the government, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying is done by various people or groups, from private-sector individuals or corporations, fellow legislators or government officials, or...
and strategic information gathering in local, national and regional contexts; - Enhancing the technical and financial capacities of environmental NGOs to meet the challenges and threats to the natural environment, resulting from livelihood activities;
- Involvement of the local populations in biodiversity conservation and forest restoration;
- Inventories of endangered and flagship species as well as direct efforts to promote protection of protected areas;
- Environmental awareness and education at local, national and regional levels;
- Improved availability of current information on threatened species and habitats;
- Conflict management in biodiversity conservation initiatives
Funding
The Netherlands Committee of IUCN (NC-IUCN) through the Tropical Rainforest Programme (TRP) and Dry Areas Support funds has been very instrumental in initiating the regional network. Through direct budget support to its regional focal point, the Environmental Foundation for AfricaEnvironmental Foundation for Africa
The Environmental Foundation for Africa is a Sierra Leone non-governmental organization founded in 1992 that aims to protect and restore the environment in West Africa....
, NC-IUCN have enabled all country assessments, holding of regional network meetings and capacity building training programmes for their partners in the sub-region.