The EEA and CIRAD, the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development under the joint authority of the Ministry of Research and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France held a kick off meeting for the service contract on “Environmental accounting and hands on data for indicator production on integrated approach”. CIRAD is an EIONET nominated partner by the French Ministry of Ecology. 

The contract supports capacity building and knowledge sharing by the CIRAD experts in developing environmental accounting in the Eastern Partnership countries. 

CIRAD has proven capacities in delivering technical assistance and capacity building activities on environmental accounting. As part of a consortium with the Quebec University in Montreal (UQAM), CIRAD organises educational and vocational programmes and trainings on ecosystem natural capital accounting and, in 2016, it ran a summer school under the UN CBD patronage. 

This contract includes the upcoming regional vocational training, preparation of national data sets and helpdesk support. The vocational training will cover land module. Theory and practice will be reinforced through hands-on exercises with national data. The vocational training on land in 2017 used mock-up or sample data. 

The vocational training in September 2019 will use the national datasets to raise awareness on accounts feasibility with current technology and make land accounts practical for the national context. 

The regional vocational training will take place from 2-6 September 2019 at the CIRAD premises in Montpellier, France. The course will be delivered in English. 

The experts from the six Eastern partnership countries will be funded by the ENI SEIS II project. 

Information and program will follow at the later stage.