The Horn of Africa Regional Environment Network (HoA-REN) was formed in 2006 with the aim of uniting academia and practitioners to promote environmental conservation and natural resource management across the Horn of Africa.

Why does the Horn of  Africa need HoA-REN?

network1The Horn of Africa has faced startling levels of environmental degradation, as a result of two factors; global climatic changes and human activities affecting natural resources and land use. Rainfall over the last half century has become more erratic, temperatures are rising, and drought events have become more frequent. At the same time large areas across the region have seen land degraded through deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, and loss of biodiversity and vegetation.

The effects of this degradation have been devastating in some areas, leading to food shortages, water and energy crises, resource based conflicts, and increased poverty. There is little doubt that unmitigated environmental deterioration poses a significant risk to human security in the Horn of Africa.

It was timely to collaborate and strengthen the capacity of the community to respond to this crises through creating a common platform where knowledge and experiences shared and capacity enhanced towards improving environmental management at all levels.

It was upon this foundation that the Network was established. The founding members were some of the East Africa’s most respected learning institutions: Addis Ababa University (AAU), University of Khartoum, University of Nairobi, Kenyatta University, University of Djibouti, University of Hargeisa,

Similarly the founding members from civil societies include: Forum for Environment (Ethiopia), Sudanese Environmental Conservation Society (Sudan), Djibouti Nature (Djibouti), South Rift Association of Land Owners (Kenya), Eco-Focus (Somaliland) HoA-REN also partners with government bodies, businesses and international organisations working on environmental issues in the region to achieve optimal impact on the ground.

Currently, the network consists of 50 members, of which Ethiopia has the largest share of about 40%, and it is constantly growing with many environmental organisations from the Horn of Africa region showing an interest in joining.

HoA-REN fulfils its mission by strengthening the human and institutional capacity of member organisations and other environmental actors, particularly in the environmental management field and in environmental support sectors, through joint implementation of action research and demonstration activities on the ground, training and experience sharing.

HoA-REN also promotes closer cooperation, especially cross-border cooperation, between network member organisations.

Unite with us to-

Promote Environmental Conservation

Network for Sustainable Development

              Facilitate for better Environmental Governance

In the Horn of Africa

HoA-REC&N Contact
Main Contact: Ms. Asmeret Kidanemariam
Email: asmeretk@hoarec.org
Tel: (+251) (0)91 119 0463