CIFOR is supported by many governments around the world. This support is not always in the form of donor dollars. Often it comes in the form of people.
A number of governments assist young professionals to work with CIFOR, other research centers and NGOs in developing countries.
CIFOR currently hosts eight Junior Professional Officers (JPO) from the Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Sweden, and one Australian Youth Ambassador for Development (AYAD). These programs allow young professionals to share and build their skills, contribute to development, and create the personal links that are so important to good relations between countries.
Young Australian professional, Alison Ford, is working with CIFOR’s Information Services Group, assisting with international media liaison, strategy and publications such as CIFOR News. Every year the Australian government sends hundreds of young people to various countries in the Asia Pacific region. As Alison explains, “this gives me the chance to share my professional experience while strengthening the link between CIFOR and an important donor, the Australian government." Alison especially enjoys working alongside local staff. “Aside from being incredibly welcoming, everyone is so professional and ready to teach me,” she says. “ It’s exciting to be working with Indonesians dedicated to improving the country’s forestry, and I hope my small contribution helps in their efforts,” she says.
Like Alison, Dutch JPO Marieke Sandker, is excited about her placement. “I really value this chance to work with CIFOR. The organization has a pleasant and stimulating working environment,” she says, “and I really believe in its mission of reducing poverty through sensible forest practices.’
Marieke will be based at the Central Africa regional office in Yaounde, Cameroon, where she will work for three years with the Forest and Livelihoods program.
“I will be working in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund , merging conservation and livelihood development,” Marieke says. “This is a really important issue right now so I feel my research will have an impact.” Marieke believes the JPO program is a good opportunity to forge links between people of different nationalities. “I look forward to sharing my skills as well as learning from my counterparts.”
What better way to strengthen ties with developing countries than by sharing the most precious resource of all – people.
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CIFOR-ICRAF: Partners in progress
The past ten years have seen ever-growing and ever-strengthening collaboration between the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF) and CIFOR. This partnership seems certain to increase and strengthen in future years and ensure greater geographic and programmatic research impact. This will benefit not just the two centers but, more importantly, other agencies, national institutions and stakeholders.
These are just some of the conclusions drawn from a recently completed study by an ICRAF-CIFOR Task Force looking at collaboration between the two centers. The report provides an in-depth analysis of each center’s opportunities and challenges. The findings reveal an advanced level of achievement for what has been a very young alliance when compared with collaborative actions undertaken by other CGIAR centers.
The task force found that ICRAF and CIFOR have been effectively collaborating for ten years and have pioneered several key alliance initiatives, such as shared Board appointments. The two centers are also working on closer coordination in their various outreach and communication activities.
Some of the strategic areas underpinning ICRAF and CIFOR’s research partnership include:
- Sharing resources
- Joint projects
- Sharing information
- Joint staff appointments
Such alliances help each center strengthen their own activities, while helping each to overcome common challenges. The centers have successfully worked together on over 20 projects, such as Alternatives to Slash and Burn Programmes (ASB) and Underlying Causes of Forest Fires.
ICRAF and CIFOR have produced 25 co-publications and worked closely together in disseminating information such as policy briefs on issues dealing with fire and the Clean Development Mechanism. The collaboration has also yielded about ten co-funded, ongoing projects, such as Congo Livelihood Improvement and Food Security (CLIFS), CAPRi, Biodiversity Matrix Matters, Landscape Management for Improved Livelihoods in Guinea, and a joint community forestry initiative in Liberia. The report also includes evidence of indirect impact following joint training exercises, workshops, and seminars. This is particularly true in Indonesia, where ICRAF’s Regional South-East Asia office is co-located with CIFOR Headquarters. PB |