1. NICHE‐ETH‐023
AT A GLANCE
Title: Sustainable Tourism based On Natural
resource management with Gender Balance tOwards
Women (STRONGBOW)
Instrument: Netherlands Initiative for Capacity
development in Higher Education (NICHE)
Total Cost: € 3,785,607
NICHE Contribution: € 3,187,410
Duration: 48 months
Start Date: 1/1/2011
Consortium: 9 partners from 4 countries
Project Coordinators: CIS‐ VU University
Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Horn of Africa
Regional Environment Centre and Network
(Ethiopia)
Project Web Site: http:// www.hoarec.org
Key Words: natural resource management, (eco‐
)tourism, capacity development, higher education,
curricula development, demand‐driven research
THE CHALLENGE
Ethiopia is known for its diverse natural resources and
rich biodiversity offering potentials for ecotourism
development. However, its resources are seriously
threatened by rapid population growth, agricultural
expansion and poor natrural resource management.
Despite positive measures taken by the Ethiopian
government, the actions are are still insufficient and
lack synergy and complementarity. Moreover,
education and research institutions are not dealing
adequately with the real problems and potentials in the
field. As a result, actions to reverse forest and
biodiversity losses failed to produce desired effects,
ecotourism is poorly developed, whereas the lack of
coordination and consultation among different sectors
has led, at times, to stakeholder conflicts.
PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The STRONGBOW project has been specifically designed
to contribute to capacity building in Ethiopian Higher
Education Institutes within the fields of natural resource
management, tourism and ecotourism. It covers six
components for each of a main objective has been
defined:
 Formulate and develop multi‐disciplinary
training and research plans for Ethiopian
universities
 Enhance staff quality and quantity at Ethiopian
universities in the fiield of natrual resource
management and (eco‐)tourism
 Improve curriculum and training approaches at
Ethiopian universities
 Improve research skills at Ethiopian universities
by introducing interdisciplinary demand‐driven
action research
 Help establish sustainable financing
mechanisms at Ethiopian universities
 Enhance institutional networking and
coordinating capacities at Ethiopian universities
and associated institutes
STRONGBOW

2. NICHE‐ETH‐023
METHODOLOGY
The STRONGBOE project has been constructed to fully
take into account the four cross‐cutting themes
supported by the NICHE programme: (a) focus on
gender; (b) response to labour market; (c) use of local
expertise; and (d) organisational learning. The basic
approach of “exposure, networking and sharing”
embodies the concept of the Ethiopian beneficiaries
being linked, in a reciprocal way, to institutions in
Europe and within the region (South Africa), in order to
build capacity through learning from proven, positive
experience. The project strategy has been designed
entirely around the principle of sustainability: staff
training (including 10 PhDs and 100 MScs); gender
balancing; continuous professional development;
ownership in terms of management and organisation;
establishing demand‐driven research and linkages with
stakeholders; investments in the key area of (eco)
tourism, based on sound natural resource
management; catering to labour market needs and the
involvement of the private sector.
EXPECTED RESULTS
The overall expected impacts can be summarised under
four clusters as follows:
 University training and research programs will
be upgraded through multi‐disciplinary, gender‐
sensitive and market oriented plans. Curricula
will be reviewd and adjusted alongthis line.
 University staff will be trained (10 PhDs, 100
MSc) and their research and instructional skills
improved, paying specific attention to gender.
 Universities will have their business plans
developed, policies on income generation
activities endorsed and various income
generation activities set up based on demand‐
driven external service provision .
 An operational network platform will be
established steered by an advisory board, with
representatives of the private sector, non‐
governmental and governmental organizations
as acting members.
PROJECT PARTNERS (DUTCH CONSORTIUM)
Centre for International Cooperation (CIS) VU University Amsterdam NL (The Netherlands)
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL) BE (Belgium)
Central University of Technology (CUT) ZA (South Africa)
PROJECT PARTNERS (ETHIOPIAN CONSORTIUM)
Horn of Africa Regional Environment Centre and Network (Ho‐AREC) ET (Ethiopia)
Addis Ababa University (AAU) ET (Ethiopia)
Jimma University (JU) ET (Ethiopia)
Hawassa University (HU) ET (Ethiopia)
Mizan‐Tepi University (MTU) ET (Ethiopia)
Arba Minch University (AMU) ET (Ethiopia)