From 2004 to 2011 the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and KAAD have jointly funded a scholarship programme which ran alongside BIOTA East Africa, a research network on biodiversity, conservation and livelihoods. 39 scholarships for master's and doctoral programmes could be awarded through this particular programme - through cooperation with universities and research institutes in Germany and organizations/institutions in Kenya and Uganda.

At the close of BIOTA East Africa, KAAD held a conference in August 2011 – next to a central place for almost all the BIOTA research projects: Kakamega Forest in Western Kenya. The event was organized in cooperation with the "KAAD Association of Scholars from East Africa (Kasea)", which connected it with the annual seminar for the members.

Close to the rain forest, the Bishop Diocese Stam Conference Centre is situated. Run by the Diocese of Kakamega, the centre was an ideal place for the more than 90 participants.

In addition to the BIOTA-scholars, many more KAAD scholars and alumni came to Kakamega, arriving from seven different African countries. The conference paid tribute to the fact that resource management has become a fundamental issue in Africa which directly affects the lives of millions of people. Success and failure of development efforts depend on this critical matter.

The theme of the conference was

"Protection and Management of Natural Resources in Africa - Biodiversity, The Magnificence of God's creation"

The majority of participants hailed from Kenya, therefore resource protection in this country – specifically the example of the rain forest of Kakamega – were initially in the center of attention (lectures by central figures of the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Green Belt Movement).

Thereafter the focus was widened to look at the neighbouring countries of Uganda and Tanzania and their situation concerning nature conservation and management. Among the KAAD-alumni present was a large number of professionals from the field who teach at universities in their countries, or work in relevant agencies and organizations (e.g. regional planners, agricultural economists and foresters).

Attention was widened beyond East Africa as well when alumni from Ghana, Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Ethiopia reported about the current situation in their home countries.

Obviously, the research projects of the BIOTA-scholars played a special role in the conference and served as a concrete example of both the protection and the use of natural resources in Africa. On behalf of the entire research network BIOTA-East Africa, Prof. Gertrud Schaab (Karlsruhe university of Applied Sciences) gave a presentation and the nearby rain forest was finally the goal of an excursion for all participants.