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FAO is set to launch a new e-learning course, designed to raise awareness of the impacts, and causes of forest degradation in drylands areas, and increase knowledge on the management of climate-resilient dryland food production systems through Sustainable Forest management (SFM).

The e-learning course, set to be launched in December 2022, is based on knowledge from a recent FAO publication, Building climate-resilient dryland forests and agrosilvopastoral production systems: An approach for context-dependent economic, social, and environmentally sustainable transformations. It turns knowledge-based content from this publication into a four-part course with feasible competency-based lessons, aiming to transform the way practitioners manage their dryland forests and retain the benefits of other interventions by encouraging the transfer of soft skills and boosting multidisciplinary competencies. Participants who successfully complete the course will be awarded a certificate.

The course is currently being put together by FAO partners, including the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the West Asia-North Africa (WANA) institute, the World Overview of Conservation Approaches and Technologies (WOCAT), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Université Mohammed-V de Rabat, Global Land Forum, US Forest Service and Universitat Bern. They  will accompany the efforts of the dryland experts and instructional designers to ensure the e-learning program is useful and informative for anyone interested in boosting the sustainability and resilience of drylands, including practitioners, policymakers, and drylands champions. Partners and FAO will meet several times over the next couple of months to discuss the project’s progress. The course was approved at the second session of the FAO Committee on Forestry Working Group on Dryland Forest and Agrosylvopastoral Systems (COFO WG), held in Tanzania in 2021. The COFO WG immediately garnered the support of theForest, Rangeland, and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO) of the Ministry of Jihad Agriculture of the Republic of Iran and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to design the eLearning course as of their mutual project: Sustainable Forest Management Rehabilitation of Forest landscapes and degraded land, with particular attention to saline soils and areas prone to wind erosion.

 Sharing knowledge

FAO’s e-learning Academy was created to contribute to the sustainable economic and social advancement of member countries. To achieve this, they focus on creating learning opportunities that transfer competencies, develop expertise, and promote innovation. To this effect, the COFO WG partnered with the FAO e-learning Academy to aid create and eventually host the eLearning course on their website as a global public good for use by anyone and everyone of interest or in the target group.

Drylands are the source of livelihoods for over two million people. In times with worsening impacts of climate change, it is important to build the capacities of champions to manage the fragility of dryland production systems – the new e-learning course will play a vital role in doing just that.

Photo credit: © FAO/Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Related links:

• About COFO WG
• About FAO Academy