The Board of Trustees (BoT) of Water and Land Resource Centre (WRC ) visited the WLRC project sites from February 5-6, 2023 and held its annual meeting on February 7, 2023 in Avanti Blue Nile Hotel, Bahir Dar.
In the meeting, the BoT attended and deliberated on the Centre’s Annual (July 2021 –June 2022) and six-month (July 2022 – July 2023) Reports which were presented by Dr. Gete Zeleke, Executive Director of the Centre and Member Secretary of the BoT. Members of the BoT applauded WLRC and its leadership for the outstanding achievements in both practical as well as scientific fronts. Drawing on both the reports and their field visits, they expressed that the implementation of the integrated landscape management and livelihood improvement initiatives in the Kunzila kebeles practically demonstrates real rural transformation on the roll. Also the landscape transformations made in the Learning Watersheds and the scientific monitoring of potential long-term changes received important recognition by the BOT. The BOT also indicated some areas for further improvement and increased attention, particularly in the area of communication and dissemination of key findings and upscaling of the impressive landscape management approach implemented in Kunzial and the learning watersheds.
Finally, the BOT commended and encouraged the WLRC leadership, its staff, partners and stakeholders to continue their outstanding performances and also emphasized the need to strengthen joint planning and joint action with all concerned stakeholders at all levels.
The BOT is composed of State Ministers of the Ministries of Water Resources, Agriculture, Finance, and Innovation and Technology; Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission; Addis Ababa University Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer, a Senior Scientist from the University; Director of Centre for Environment and Development (CDE) of the University of Bern, Switzerland; and the Executive Director of Water and Land Resource Centre.