On Thursday 25 September 2024, ERAIFT was honored by the visit of His Excellency, the Deputy Minister for Customary Affairs, Mwami Ndeze Katurebe Jean-Baptiste. After a warm welcome in the office of ERAIFT's director, Professor Baudouin Michel, Mwami Ndeze Katurebe was invited to meet the teaching staff, assistants and students currently on the school site during a plenary session in ERAIFT's main hall.

In a brief presentation of ERAIFT, H.E. Deputy Minister Mwami Ndeze outlined the history of the school, its main teaching principles and its current and future projects. A group of some fifteen students from five countries, including Gabon, Cameroon, Senegal, Benin and the Democratic Republic of Congo, also attended the event, and enjoyed a fruitful exchange of views with Mwami Ndeze Katurebe.

Following this exchange, the VM for Customary Affairs was invited to visit the school's facilities, including classrooms, the geomatics laboratory and student accommodation. The morning ended with the planting of the tree of the Vice-Minister for Customary Affairs in the ERAIFT mini forest, the signing of the guest book, a family photo and a tasting of local produce.

This important visit is part of the central involvement of traditional customary authorities in the integrated management of forests and forest areas. Discussions were also held with the governing authority on the subject of fundraising and the diversification of financial resources, which are essential to the smooth running of the school, and the importance of resuming the process of activating decentralized territorial entities (ETD).

This morning of contact initiated by ERAIFT is one of the activities of the project to build the capacity of biodiversity practitioners, scientists and political decision-makers for the sustainable management of protected areas and forest ecosystems in Africa. This project, which is being implemented in the Congo Basin sub-region and West Africa, is funded by the European Union and ERAIFT is a category 2 center under the auspices of UNESCO.

ERAIFT would like to extend its warmest thanks to the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and all its partners, who make it possible for these important meetings to generate innovative, sustainable and relevant projects.