Ecotrust Leads First Learning Series As ACBA Launches Biodiversity Academy

The African CSOs Biodiversity Alliance (ACBA) has launched the ACBA Biodiversity Academy (ABA), a new learning platform designed to enhance knowledge sharing, capacity building, and collaboration among biodiversity professionals throughout Africa. The initiative seeks to address biodiversity loss and climate change by bringing together diverse experiences and locally driven conservation approaches from across the continent.

Yemi Katerere, Executive Director of ACBA, stated that the academy aims to create a shared learning space where African perspectives and solutions take center stage. "Across the continent, there is a wealth of knowledge, innovation and experience in biodiversity conservation," Katerere said. "The Biodiversity Academy seeks to bring these voices together, creating a space where African practitioners can learn from one another and build a shared vision for a sustainable future."

The academy will facilitate learning through various methods, including webinars, peer-to-peer exchanges, case studies, and practical training sessions. These activities are intended to improve the skills of conservation practitioners and promote successful conservation efforts in Africa.

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Across the continent, there is a wealth of knowledge, innovation and experience in biodiversity conservation. The Biodiversity Academy seeks to bring these voices together, creating a space where African practitioners can learn from one another and build a shared vision for a sustainable future.

ECOTRUST, the Environmental Conservation Trust of Uganda and a founding member of ACBA, has been selected to lead the academy's first learning series. With over 27 years of experience, ECOTRUST is recognized for its work in conservation finance and landscape restoration, integrating environmental protection with community economic benefits. Their approach, "Landscape Restoration as a Business," encourages viewing environmental restoration as both a conservation duty and an economic opportunity, promoting investments in reforestation and sustainable agriculture.

Pauline Nantongo, Executive Director of ECOTRUST, led the first webinar, detailing the evolution of their conservation finance model and its support for communities through restoration-based livelihoods. The session highlighted how conservation projects can be structured as sustainable investments yielding environmental, social, and economic returns. Nantongo emphasized that ECOTRUST treats each participating household as an individual economic unit, utilizing financial incentives from carbon and biodiversity credits to support families.

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ECOTRUST treats every participating household as an individual economic unit. The financial incentives from carbon and biodiversity credits allow families to safely shift their fin