Blogs

In March, 2018, Vital Signs in collaboration with Strong Roots Congo organized a stakeholder workshop in Bukavu, DRC. The workshop brought together various stakeholders to understand baseline data needs for sustainable agriculture, livelihoods and biodiversity conservation .This work is funded by The David and Lucile Packard Foundation. The data assessment once completed, will be used to inform programs and the government on sustainable farmer livelihood interventions in DRC as part of the Packard.

In March 2018, the Vital Signs team working with Conservation International-Liberia and the Global Program Support conducted a forest monitoring trainining session for the Frontline conservationists (FCs) of East Nimba Nature Reserve(ENNR). This was in support of the CI-Liberia landscape level approach to conservation in the ENNR which not only addresses biodiversity issues but also the complexities of the interactions among local economies, agriculture and ecosystem services.

In March, 2018 the 2nd cohort UPTAKE fellowship ended with the fellows’ showcase at the UPTAKE HQ in Chicago. The showcase involved presentations from eight data science fellows. Vital Signs was represented by the Vital Signs’ Africa Field Director; Dr. Peter Alele.

In February 12th to 16th, Conservation International, Coastal Ocean Research and Development(CORDIO) working with the Kenya’s National Environmental Management Authority, Kenya Marine and Fisheries Resource Institute, and Tanzania’s Fisheries Education and Training Agency held two workshops in the context of the Indian Ocean Commission funded project “Asse

On December 20th, 2017, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Secretariat approved the implementation of the medium sized project entitled “Strengthening National Capacity in Kenya to Meet the Transparency Requirements of the Paris Agreement and Supporting the Coordination of National, Regional and Global Transparency-related Activities in Kenya.”

  By Dr.Peter Alele as part of the Beyond.Uptake Fellowship

Soil fertility refers to the ability of a soil to sustain agricultural plant growth, to provide plant habitat and result in sustained and consistent yields of high quality. One indicator of soil fertility is C:N ratio –the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio.

In October 2017, Vital Signs together with the Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies and National Aeronautics and Space Administration held a capacity building workshop for the Global Environment Facility(GEF) Land Degradation Monitoring toolbox in Morogoro, Tanzania.

The Vital signs team in Uganda led by the Africa Innovations Institute hosted the President of Conservation International (CI) Jennifer Morris last week. The President met with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Uganda National Council on Science and Technology, and Makerere University College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. They discussed the state of play of data-driven decision making in Uganda and how Vital Signs data could be used to support the policy and decision making process.

Vital Signs held its third Community of Practice meeting in Nairobi from September 12th to 14th. The meeting brought together Vital signs partners from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania to learn and share best practices and lessons from the Vital Signs Monitoring work at the national level.