Integrated Coastal Management Training Development

Regional ICM Training of Trainers Course participants gather ... © MFF

MFF recognizes Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) to be an important approach for achieving its central goal of building resilience in coastal ecosystems and communities, and that building the capacity of coastal management practitioners at local, national and regional levels is instrumental in achieving this goal.

In response to this MFF collaborated with the Asian Institute of Technology in 2007 to develop a regional postgraduate ICM certificate course. The overarching goal of the course is to provide higher academic training and education to coastal management practitioners in the MFF countries. Over the years the course has been completed by over 140 mid-career professionals from government, non-government and academic organizations in Asia, providing them with the opportunity to learn from integrated coastal management programs and experiences from around the world, and with a focus on understanding and addressing coastal management issues in the Asia Region. As part of the MFF sustainability strategy the ICM Regional ICM course will now be offered by national universities in five of MFF countries (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) each of whom have adopted the course into their own teaching programmes to meet their own needs.

The ICM Training Development Knowledge Network was formed to strengthen connections between, and the knowledge of, academic staff and trainers in these five countries as well as other institutions and organisations across the region.