CBFP’s side event on cross-border transhumance mobilises and makes waves at the 14th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) in Geneva

Wednesday, January 24, 2024. Geneva. The Franco-Gabonese Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) organised a side event on cross-border transhumance at the14th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD).   At the era of climate change, access to water, agriculture, the fight against desertification, biodiversity, forest preservation and cross-border migration, transhumance is the cross-sectoral prime theme.  This explains the central theme of the event:  “Meeting Between the Sahel and northern equatorial Africa - The challenges of the nexus: cross-border transhumance, survival of protected areas, natural resources, and human lives, development, security and peace.”

This high-level side event of the CBFP Franco-Gabonese Facilitation aimed at informing the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) on the 2019 N'Djamena Declaration on cross-border transhumance.  This major declaration stems from an unprecedented collaboration between the Sahel and the northern equatorial Africa; the ministers of environment, defence, security defining the strategy to be implemented in the sub-region to regulate transhumance, sustainably manage resources and contain cross-border armed groups involved in poaching and attacking the population.

 

About fifty representatives remotely took part in this event, including countries concerned; ECOWAS, technical and financial partners.

 

The event was moderated by Barrister Bertille Mayen, CBFP transhumance expert.

As programmed, the opening session was marked by speeches of Ambassador Christophe Guilhou of the CBFP French co-Facilitation; ECOWAS Commission by Dr Honoré TABUNA, Commissioner for Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development.

 

Keynote speeches on the N'Djamena Declaration: Its Importance, Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects were presented by  H.E.M. Francois-Xavier de Donnea,

Kingdom of Belgium, former CBFP ex-facilitator and Mr DIOP Abdel Rahmane, Chief of Mission, IOM Cameroon.

 

- Feeds from the field panel gave participants insights from the implementation of the Ndjamena Declaration, first results of studies, strategies, mapping, programming, projects, cross-border agreements among different organisations.

  • Mapping the nexus: cross-border transhumance, survival of protected areas, natural resources, and human lives, development, security and peace and (Florence Palla, RIOFAC)
  • Results of Studies, Strategies (Paul Scholte, GIZ; Matt Luizza, USFWS; Timea Szarkova, Concordis International)
  • Case Studies, Practical Strategies, Countries' Investment Plans and Cross-border agreements (Geographic Block Leaders: Emmanuel Namkoisse, WCS, Luca Ferrini, GIZ)
  • Regional Cooperation on peaceful transhumance - Regional Economic Communities (RECs):  ECCAS, IGAD, ECOWAS:  Moussa Demsa Baschirou, ECCAS; Japheth Kasimbu, IGAD

 

During the closing session, Mr Christophe Ducastel made a summary of the event, presented recommendations and prospects.

Highlights of the side event:

  • Climate change is worsening droughts in major gazing areas in Saharan regions, increasing financial investment in herds leading to an increase in size and number of transhumant flocks, the persistence of terrorist hotbeds and armed conflicts in many areas of the region, the significant population growth in Saharan countries. These phenomena and transhumance dynamics between the Sahel and the Congo Basin are a threat to socio-economic, peace, security together with forests and biodiversity preservation prospects in the areas where they are not properly regulated.
  • Presentation of the relationship and close connection between mobility, cross-border transhumance, climate change, biodiversity and forest degradation, peace,security and development together with mechanisms to reverse current trends tending to increase in the ECOWAS-COMIFAC region since January 2019.
  • Awareness-raising by field actors on the urgency of transhumance issues between the Sahel and Northern Equatorial Africa for its inclusion in forums/national, regional and international conferences.
  • National and international mobilisation call for the implementation of Country Investment Plans to better organise, secure and channel North-South transhumance flow presented and adopted in Yaoundé last July. These transhumance flows should rely on innovative models to avoid handling topics in groups as we are currently doing via the development of the One Health approach.
  • It is imperative that states concerned agree to take transhumance regulating and securing measures: the need to further discussions leading to the signing of cross-border agreements especially in the region and among countries especially within the framework of cross-border agreements among others in the West between Nigeria and Cameroon, in the Centre between Nigeria and CAR and in the East, on the one hand, between Southern-Sudan and the DRC and, on the other hand, between DRC and CAR; and agreements between IGAD and ECOWAS.
  • Finally, based on results obtained, field implementation requires a joint management of transhumance.

 

Discussions have been postponed to the 20th Meeting of the CBPF Parties to hold from the 3 to 6 July 2024.

 

Please download below :

Speeches - Opening sessions

 

Présentations techniques

Dr Florence Palla, Projet RIOFAC

Dr Paul Scholte

Mme Timea Szarkova, Concordis International

Mr Emmanuel Namkoisse, WCS

Mr Luca Ferrini, GIZ

 

Documents presenting the event

 

Find out more: :All about the CBFP transhumance

See photos of the High Level Parallel Event

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