The cohort includes fellows from nine countries in Africa and Central Asia: Ghana, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Malawi, Mongolia, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, and Uganda.

At the graduation ceremony, the Permanent Secretary of State, Mr Martin Eyjólfsson, addressed the guests as did the GRÓ LRT Acting Director, Ms Berglind Orradóttir. Two of the graduating fellows also spoke: Ms Mercy Nyambura Ngure from the department of Land Reclamation in the Ministry of Water, Sanitation and Irrigation in Kenya, and Mr Doston Tuvalov from Samarkand State University in Uzbekistan.

Mr Tuvalov highlighted the transformative learning experience, stating: “Throughout our time here, we have witnessed firsthand how land degradation can have immense and far-reaching impacts on the environment, economy and human lives. The Icelandic experience has shown us that with comprehensive knowledge and skills, we can mitigate these challenges and have positive effects. I am confident that we now possess the necessary knowledge and expertise to address land degradation at local, regional and global levels”. Ms Ngure echoed these sentiments, emphasizing the significance of the training for their future work: “As we go back home, we will face challenges, but even at our lowest moments, remember the resilience of the birch trees. Despite the harsh environmental conditions, they have persevered over the years. So yes, we can, and we will, restore our ecosystems” she remarked.

GRÓ Director General, Ms Nína Björk Jónsdóttir, awarded the fellows with the certificates, together with the Rector of the Agricultural University of Iceland, Dr Ragnheiður I Þórarinsdóttir, who also addressed the guests and closed the graduating ceremony.

Twenty-one of the graduating fellows came from GRÓ LRT’s partner institutions in Africa and Central Asia, while two fellows participated as representatives of UNESCO MAB’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves, coming from the Bia Biosphere Reserve in Ghana and the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria. Their participation is part of a GRÓ LRT and UNESCO-MAB cooperation, where GRÓ International Centre for Capacity Development sponsors annually GRÓ LRT fellowship for two young professionals working for institutions and organisations that are a part of UNESCO MAB’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

The 2024 graduating cohort is the third group of fellows eligible for ECTS credits. This means that in addition to the GRÓ LRT Certificate of Completion, the fellows can receive a Postgraduate Diploma in Ecosystem Restoration and Sustainable Land Management (30 ECTS) from the Faculty of Environmental and Forest Sciences at the Agricultural University of Iceland.

Since the beginning of the Land Restoration Training Programme in 2007, 221 specialists, in the fields of ecosystem restoration and sustainable land management, have graduated from the annual six-month training programme, 53% of them have been men and 47% women, from 15 partner countries.

• The GRÓ Website