The Anglophone Africa Subregional Workshop on the Review of and Capacity Building for the Implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (the Workshop), under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), convened from 13-16 August 2007, in Cape Town, South Africa. One in a series initiated in response to the request of the eighth meeting of the CBD Conference of the Parties (COP-8), the Workshop sought to review and strengthen capacity for the implementation of the Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), and was attended by 75 participants, including government representatives from 20 countries, representatives of five non-governmental organizations and nine indigenous community representatives.

The Workshop was organized by the CBD, with financial support from the European Commission, Worldwide Fund for Nature, The Nature Conservancy, and in collaboration with the Government of South Africa, the World Commission on Protected Areas of the IUCN-World Conservation Union, Conservation International, BirdLife International, and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

The aim of the Workshop was to review the progress on implementation of the PoWPA in the countries in Anglophone Africa and to agree on recommendations to the CBD's second meeting of the Ad Hoc Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) on Protected Areas. Issues analyzed addressed: protected area system master planning technical themes including ecological gap analysis, management effectiveness assessment and capacity action planning, and sustainable financing; as well as national and regional next steps; and recommendations from the Workshop. It took the format of plenary presentations, interactive exercises, and individual and country group discussions, facilitated by resource people from the supporting organizations.

On Monday and Tuesday, participants heard presentations and case studies on ecological gap analysis, management effectiveness assessment and capacity action planning, and sustainable finance. They also convened in country groups to discuss and complete country reports on four key questions in relation to each of these themes: the status of activities; challenges and opportunities; next steps; and support needs. On Wednesday, participants considered national and regional next steps, finalized country reports and began formulating recommendations for the second OEWG on Protected Areas. In the concluding session on Thursday, participants heard a presentation and recommendations from indigenous peoples, local communities and traditional fisher folk, and finalized the Workshop recommendations. Closing remarks confirmed that participants found the Workshop to have been a valuable and practical exercise, with outcomes including detailed recommendations for international and national action, information on progress on the PoWPA within countries and regions, and a concrete collaborative outcome in the form of a regional clinic in Madagascar. More information