Landscape management planning and training for the environment in Southern Sudan (LAMPTESS)

The main aim is to support the forestry administration of the Government of Sourthern Sudan (GOSS), two universities (Juba and Upper Nile) and selected rural communities in developing sustainable land-use practices for increased food production and increased benefits from trees and forests, as well as the related training and extension activities. The project included the establishment of a demonstration farm on the Upper Nile University Renk campus.

Duties of Jörn Laxén as team leader included the following: development, coordination, facilitation and supervision of human resources of the work of five international and several local experts, Quality Assurance of all reports and results produced by the team. he also conducted social/environmental assessments personally.

The project has had two financing phases (Inception and Pilot Phases) due to financing regulations of the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and its ICI programme under which the presemnt project was implemented. In the Inception Phase, six VITRI experts were involved under Laxén's leadership, and the team produced start-ups for a socio-economic baseline study, EIA assessment, institutional building assessments, MEA policy assessments, GIS mapping, and agroforestry development work. In thiss phase the principal partner was the GOSS Department of Forestry and sub-partners were the University of Upper Nile and the Univevrsity of Juba.

The next Pilot Phase had still GOSS DF as the first partner and the two universities as new full partners. The Pilot Phase aimed at producing concrete plans including demonstration farm operation, central nursery plan, extension plan, training programmes, four financing proposals, new project document, micro-grant scheme plans, a landscape management plan for Renk County and institutional building activities. Duties of Jörn Laxén as Team Leader (with totally 7 p/m work in Southern Sudan during both phases) included: coordination of human resources work in the project team (institutional building, demo-farm/agro-forestry, extension planning, MEA policies, GIS mapping/landscape management planning), planning of collaborative staff training between GOSS DF and University of Juba.

After a delay of almost 1.5 years, the project was granted new funding (under Implementation Phase 1) for the period 15 May 2011 - 31 December 2012, now within the framework of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs HEI-ICI programme. The main partners in the new Republic of South Sudan are Upper Nile University and the University of Juba, with close ties still maintained with the GOSS forestry administration in Juba. - Olavi Luukkanen continues as the project leader and Jörn Laxén as Coordinator/Team Leader in the new phase of this project.