Principles
The principles for choosing specific training and capacity-building formats and contents are:
- Strengthening and partially building a network of African ABS experts drawn from all relevant sectors as an agenda-setter for ABS implementation and policy development, and to improve regional cooperation.
- Complementarities and cooperation with other donors and international organisations active on relevant issues in the region (UNDP, UNEP, UNCTAD-BioTrade, WIPO, UNITAR, FAO, IPGRI, AU, SADC, COMIFAC; IUCN, WWF, etc.).
- Providing additional leverage in key issues, for example through the implementation of strategically important workshops and training events in collaboration with the most suitable organisation active in the specific region and to hire in crucial technical expertise on specific issues, like for example lawyers with experience in ABS and Traditional Knowledge issues or CEPA specialists to increase awareness in the general public and among policy decision makers.
All of these interventions contribute to know-how generation and exchange in key issues and towards national and regional ABS relevant policy formulation enabling African countries to improve implementation of the Bonn Guidelines and to formulate concise and specific negotiating positions for the ongoing negotiations of the international ABS regime.
In order to achieve a maximum of acceptance and impact of the activities to be undertaken the initiative will aim to follow participatory approaches wherever possible. Hence further in-depth steps of the initiative could be selected at the multi-stakeholder-workshops e.g. based on the identification of current functioning approaches and problems as well as on the discussion of future potentials and hindrances.
