A three day regional workshop on Guidelines for Ecosystem Approach, Co-management and Livelihoods of Coastal Communities in MPAs was held at PERSGA Headquarters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia during the period June 8th - 11th 2015. The workshop joined about 20 specialists from Djibouti, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The main objectives of the workshop included:
- introducing national specialists and community trainers to the guidelines, training modules, topics, approaches and protocols.
- Providing the participants with required theoretical background and additional resources and materials that assist with implementation of training programs at national levels.
- Discussing the draft manual through consulting the participants views and remarks, and emphasizing gaps to be considered in preparation of the final draft of the manual
- Provide background on the relevant international/ regional conventions and protocols, policies and initiatives, case studies and options for regional and international collaborations/ linkages.
- Discuss the way forward for finalizing the draft manual and the work plan for implementing training programs at regional, national and local community levels; and monitoring progress with the capacity building process in the region
As an outcome of workshop review and discussions, revised structure of the training modules and contents of the manual were agreed on. The regional consultant has revised the manual accordingly, and has recently submitted a comprehensive final draft, which will be reviewed to finalize the manual, to be used as main reference in national training , which will assist technical staff and trainers undertaking capacity building workshops targeting local user groups and stakeholders at project sites in the future.
