COMIFAC - Central African Forest Commission

The legal framework for the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) was established in 1999 with the Yaoundé Declaration, outlined at the Summit meeting of the Heads of State of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Central African Republic. The Declaration recognizes the protection of Congo Basin ecosystems as an integral part of the development process and reaffirms the signatories' commitment to work together to promote the sustainable use of Congo Basin forest ecosystems.

The Conference of Ministers of Forestry of Central Africa (COMIFAC), later established as the "Central African Forest Commission", was mandated to coordinate and monitor activities aimed at implementing the Declaration in the region.

The COMIFAC Convergence Plan, adopted by the Central African Heads of State in 2005, sets out a joint regional intervention strategy for the subregion’s countries and their international development partners.

The Convergence Plan was developed and adopted during the Brazzaville Summit. It was revised and adopted in July 2014, during an extraordinary COMIFAC Ministers’ Council. The Convergence Plan outlines planned actions for sustainable forest management and conservation in Central Africa at the regional, national and transboundary levels. The strategies include harmonizing forest and tax policies, developing alternative forestry activities, and reducing poverty through sustainable forestry-driven livelihoods. CBFP members were allocated responsibility for leading and contributing to each theme at various levels.

Please download the revised version of the COMIFAC Convergence Plan

The revised and adopted version of July 2014 for the period 2015-2025, is broken down into six (6) priority intervention axes:

Axis 1 Harmonization of forest and environmental policies;
Axis 2 Sustainable management and exploitation of forest resources;
Axis 3 Conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity;
Axis 4 Combating climate change and desertification;
Axis 5 Socio-economic development and multi-stakeholder participation;
Axis 6 Sustainable financing.

The Convergence Plan also comprises three (3) cross-cutting axes:

T1 Training and capacity building;
T2 Research and Development
T3 Communication, awareness, information and education.

Find out more on the COMIFAC website