Five training institutes from the SADC-region have come together in a innovative effort to combine their expertise and develop and pilot an 'Integrated Fire Management (IFM)' - training programme for the SADC-region. The institutes are 

• College of African Wildlife Management (CAWM), Mweka, Tanzania
• Forestry Training Institute (FTI), Olmotonyi, Tanzania
• Southern African Willdife College (SAWC), Hoedspruit, South Africa
• MESA SADC - THEMA, Gaborone, Botswana
• Working on Fire (WoF), Nelspruit, South Africa

The project idea is based on the understanding that fire management needs to be integrated in terms of its management approach, such as that the different disciplines/stakeholders/authoritiies collaborate in an integrated fashion, in order to be effective. 

The programme, as it stands now, is made up of four modules. Two modules already exist and are being offered. These are the technical fire management course that is offered by WoF, and the GIS-course that is offered by MESA SADC - THEMA. 

Two new modules are developed collaboratively by the institutes: 1) Integrated Fire Management, and 2) Community-based Fire Management. Both modules will be piloted between 23 February and 06 March 2015 at CAWM, Mweka, Tanzania.

11 individuals from 7 TFCAs participated in a 30-day long technical fire management training in Dewetsdorp, South Africa in October 2014.

Beyond the development and piloting of the training, an important objective of the project is also to support Tanzania's departments to evolve into centre for IFM-training. Several components are in-built into the programme to facilitate this process and build capacity amongst the Tanzanian partners.

The project is funded by the German Government through the German International Cooperation (GIZ) to the amount of 200,000 Euro.