The Department of Parks and Wildlife Management in collaboration with the World Wild Fund of Nature (WWF) have start a three day seminar from 4th to 6th of May with the intent to bring together representatives of the seven protected areas including the resident local communities, local NGOs and other natural resources management expects from WWF International.

The seminar is aimed at building a network of experts for national level assessment of protected area management effectiveness and help build capacity of the working group as to their roles in monitoring protected area management effectiveness using WWF management methodology called Rapid Assessment and Prioritization of Protected Area Management (RAPPAM).

Deputizing for the Minister of Forestry and Environment, Modou Kuto Cham was his Permanent Secretary Nyada Baldeh. He reminded all the participants gathered at the seminar that our well beings is depended directly on bio-diversity found in protected areas and their environments. He explained that nature’s genetics, species and ecosystem diversity are a source of food and ecosystem services, such as fresh water and clean air, assuring the well being of human beings around the world.

He informed the gathering that Government is working towards making management of protected areas to be effective by designing a new policy aimed at involving the private sector in conservative management of protected areas. He said that the launching of WWF assessment tool is indeed timely.

In his key note remarks, Dr Arouna Soumareh Director of Conservative (WWF) in Dakar posited that RAPPAM methodology offers policy makers a tool for achieving the goal of a rapid assessment of the overall management effectiveness of protected area managers, policy makers and other stake holders to participate fully in evaluating the protected areas, analyzing the result and identifying the subsequent step needed to ensure a fully functioning system of protected areas.