The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Centre of Excellence in Security Management (TECESM) has concluded arrangements for its first international conference, scheduled to hold between 11–13 May 2027, with the theme ‘Forests, Insecurity and Sustainable Development’
Penpushing reports that the conference will take place at Global Classroom, General CG Musa Security Management Hub, TECESM, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, while Professor Isaac Olawale Albert is research/technical team lead
The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) Centre of Excellence in Security Management (TECESM), University of Ibadan, is organizing the conference in furtherance of its mandate to advance research, policy and practice in security management.
Penpushing further report that the centre in view of this, is inviting scholars, researchers, policymakers, security practitioners, public officials, community leaders, civil society organisations, private-sector actors and development partners to submit abstracts ahead of the conference
The conference will provide an interdisciplinary platform for examining the evolving relationships among forests, insecurity and sustainable development in Nigeria and comparable contexts.
Penpushing also reports that by bringing scholarship into dialogue with policy and operational experience, the conference seeks to generate practical pathways towards forest landscapes that are safer, better governed, ecologically resilient and more productive for surrounding communities and the nation.
The background and rationale indicated that Nigeria’s forests are vital national assets, and they sustain biodiversity, regulate climate and water systems, support food security and rural livelihoods, preserve cultural heritage, and offer opportunities for a sustainable green economy.
Penpushing reports that their protection and responsible management are therefore central to Nigeria’s development aspirations and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG’s).
The background equally showed that parts of the country’s extensive forest estate have become spaces where state presence and regulatory oversight are limited, noting that kidnappers and armed groups exploit remote terrain as hideouts and holding areas for abductees. Illegal miners, loggers, wildlife traffickers and other actors extract resources through illicit supply chains associated with corruption, violence, money laundering and cross-border crime.
Penpushing further reports that forest-edge communities experience insecurity, displacement, livelihood losses and environmental degradation, while security agencies face difficult terrain, intelligence gaps and major logistical constraints.
The Director, TETFund Centre of Excellence in Security Management, Professor Benjamin Adeniran Aluko said these challenges cannot be resolved through enforcement alone, explaining that, effective responses must integrate security management, forest governance, community partnership, technology, justice, conservation, livelihood development and regional cooperation.
Penpushing also reports that the conference therefore invites rigorous contributions that diagnose the problem, evaluate existing responses and advance solutions that are lawful, evidence-based, conflict-sensitive and locally legitimate.
The conference aims to deepen understanding of forest-related insecurity and build a shared agenda for secure and sustainable forest governance, specifically, it seeks to examine the drivers, organisation and impacts of criminal activity in forest landscapes and assess the effectiveness, legality and sustainability of current security and regulatory responses.
Penpushing reports that it will also explore how communities, technology and reliable data can strengthen prevention, early warning and accountability, identify livelihood, conservation and investment approaches that reduce incentives for illicit activity.
The Director said objectives will equally promote coordination among government, security agencies, researchers, communities, industry and development partners, develop actionable policy recommendations and priorities for research, capacity-building and implementation.
Penpushing further reports that the programme will feature keynote addresses, plenary panels, parallel paper sessions, practitioner roundtables, policy dialogues and selected technology or innovation demonstrations.
The organisers, however, called for proposals with individual papers presenting original research, policy analysis or practice-based learning, organise panels comprising three or four related papers under a common theme, practice and innovation presentations demonstrating a relevant intervention, tool, operational model or community initiative.
Penpushing also reports that guidelines stated that applicants should submit an abstract of not more than 250 words, adding that each abstract should clearly present the problem, research question or practical challenge, the approach, methodology or evidence base, the principal argument, findings or expected contribution and the significance for policy, practice, research or affected communities.
The statement stated that each submission must also include: paper title, selected subtheme, three to five keywords, name of author or authors, institutional affiliation, country, email address, telephone number, a biographical note of not more than 100 words for each author.
Penpushing reports that panel proposals should include a panel title, a 150-word overview, the name and contact details of the panel convenor, and a separate abstract of not more than 250 words for each proposed paper, while all submissions must be original, written in English and not under consideration for presentation at another event during the conference period.
‘All abstracts will undergo review. Selection will be based on relevance to the conference theme, originality, analytical quality, methodological clarity, practical or policy significance, attention to ethics and safeguards, and potential to enrich interdisciplinary and international discussion’.
Penpushing further reports that notification will be sent to the corresponding author, acceptance of an abstract will be conditional upon registration by the stated deadline, adding that notification of acceptance is January, 25, 2027.
The Director explained that information on registration fees, accommodation, travel support, visa guidance and the final programme will be communicated to accepted participants and published through the official conference channels.
Penpushing also reports that the conference is expected to produce a communiqué and a multistakeholder action agenda for secure and sustainable forest governance, stressing that subject to quality, peer review and editorial requirements, selected papers may be considered for publication in an edited volume or a special issue of a relevant academic journal, and policy briefs may be developed from contributions.
‘The call is open to academics, postgraduate researchers, policymakers, legislators, members of the judiciary, security and intelligence professionals, forestry and environmental authorities, mining regulators, legal practitioners, traditional and community leaders, civil society and humanitarian organisations, private-sector operators, technology providers, journalists, youth and women’s groups, and international development partners’.
‘Researchers and practitioners are invited to contribute to a forward-looking conversation on reclaiming Nigeria’s forests as secure, sustainably governed and development-enhancing landscapes’, Aluko said
FOOTNOTE: You want to share story with us? You want to advertise with us? You need publicity for product, or service, or event? Contact us on WhatsApp +2348073463653 or email penpushing@yahoo.com
