Assosa Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ATVET) College has added four new modules on land use planning to its existing course on Rural Land Administration. The new subjects will give important additional training to students, who will go on to use these skills to resolve key land use issues, ensuring economic growth, environmental conservation, respect for tenure rights, and a sustainable future where all citizens have a voice and right to participate in decision making.

The design of the new modules has been led by experts mobilized by AMBERO Consulting Gesellschaft mbH as part of one of the expected outputs within the framework of the GIZ project “Participatory and Integrated Land Use Planning (PILUP)”.

The new modules will build capacity in the following important Land Use Planning subject areas:

• The Legal and Policy Framework
• Citizen Participation, Tenure Rights, and the Integrated Approach
• Technical Procedures, obtaining, processing, and using data
• Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing as Tools

The modules drafted by senior college experts were reviewed by peers, and by staff of the Bureau of Labor and Skills of the Benishangul Gumuz Region who confirmed full compliance and conformity with the national standards framework.

Mr. Christian Mesmer, Senior GIZ Project Coordinator handed over the finalized modules at an official event marking completion of the work, held on 05 June 2024 in Assosa town. Twenty representatives of local government land institutions, civil society organizations, the media, and the PILUP project team were also in attendance.

Mr. Nuredin Muktar, deputy head of the Bureau of Land and Cooperatives of the Benishangul Gumuz Region noted:

“The purpose is to build and strengthen technical capacities of experts working in the land use planning and administration sector.”

Mr. Yusuf Yasin, the dean of Assosa ATVET College remarked “Integration of the new modules makes it the center of excellence in training on land use planning at a middle level in Ethiopia.” Mr. Yasin expressed readiness to train both new students and those already employed in the sector. The dean affirmed:

“Our college will receive young new students as well as deliver on-the-job training to strengthen the capacity of those already working in land use planning and administration”

The Participatory and Integrated Land Use Planning II Project (PILUP II) delivers capacity building and best practice examples to harmonize and resolve competing land use interests in 5 “hotspot” districts of three Regions (Amhara, Oromia, and Benishangul Gumuz) where competition over land from the different sectors or users is intense. Training in PILUP at both high and medium academic levels will address the large and growing technical capacity deficit that exists in the land sector across Ethiopia.

PILUP II is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ and implemented by the German International Development Cooperation Agency GIZ. AMBERO Consulting Gesellschaft mbH, together with ist consortium partner AHT is specifically implementing activities with in two of the programmes outputs, including the improvement of training and further education opportunities for professionals in integrated land use planning at various professional levels.

Author: Mr. Hailu Wudineh Tsegaye, Awareness and Education Specialist for PILUP II