West African initiative to facilitate networking and capacity building to support the IPBES work programme

Description of Impact(s) (English Only) Connecting biodiversity and ecosystem service (BES) experts from West African universities, research institutions, and existing science-policy interfaces. Annually conducted workshops act as exchange platforms and as distribution hubs for IPBES outputs, supplemented by discussion groups to connect experts and policy makers across West Africa and beyond. A Master of Science (MSc) program on BES assessments is also being established in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, addressing participants from all 15 West African ECOWAS countries.