Environmental Governance Capacity Building Program (PEGG)

During a month-long mission to Guinea to establish the framework for an environmental governance and capacity building program with the Ministry of Environment, US Forest Service International Programs (USFS/IP) in partnership with USAID/Guinea consulted over 100 individuals including Ministers and their staff, non-governmental organizations, private sector stakeholders, community leaders, and international donors. As a result of these meetings, an 18-month work plan is being developed to address the project’s main objective: Facilitate the Guinean Ministry of Environment’s capacity to apply laws, regulations, codes, and policies that strengthen natural resources management (NRM) and biodiversity conservation.

The project’s intermediate results are:

1. Environmental governance for biodiversity conservation, NRM, agriculture and livestock improved.
2. Better management practices in NRM, agriculture, livestock and the environment expanded.
3. Legal capacity for judicial system to enforce environmental, NRM, and agricultural laws enhanced.
4. Human resource capacity of Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Livestock, in key areas of natural resource inventory, environmental analysis and monitoring and evaluation is strengthened.

To achieve these intermediate results, the project will:

1. Identify and scale-up success stories of community-based knowledge and implementation of national and international conventions, laws, codes, regulations, and policies related to natural resource and biodiversity conservation and NRM better management practices, e.g. forest co-management;
2. Develop forestry and protected area management training modules for military personnel designated to become forestry and protected area guards, while providing guidance and support on the paramilitarization process of the Forestry and Protected Area Management departments;
3. Build human resources management capacity for Ministry of Environment personnel in order to promote performance and accountability through a training program; and,
4. Work with Faisons Ensemble to implement community-based field demonstration sites for NRM that will serve as a model to be used by a Biodiversity Offset Trust Fund to promote conservation and impact-oriented sustainable management systems.

PEGG Partners

GALF - Guinée Application de la Loi Faunique

PALF - Project for the Application of Law for Fauna Republic of Congo

STEWARD - Sustainable and Thriving Environments for West African Regional Development Program