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All publications from the years 2008 to 2019 can be found here on our old website
This paper explores three ways that the international community can help create those incentives. First, the international community should prioritize helping countries to capture “socially beneficial” mitigation opportunities that are in their interest, even before climate impacts are considered.
With the COVID-19 crisis raging across the world, 2020 will be the first time in a quarter century that the world’s governments will not meet to coordinate climate action. The postponement of the annual Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is widely seen as a lost opportunity in the effort to advance the global response to the climate crisis.
To read: Members of the CBFP Scientific and Academic College mobilize around the German CBFP Facilitator Dr. Christian Ruck; EBO FOREST : Press briefing - Opening Statement by the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife; (German) Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), 2020-2021: First CBFP Donor College Meeting under German Facilitation…
The Prime Minister, Head of Government, by Decree N°2020/3216 of 14 July 2020, authorised the gazetting of a 68,385 hectare portion of the State's Private Estate as a Forest Management Unit known as FMU 07 006. This decision puts a final stop to the debate on this issue which has generated a vast misinformation campaign.
Libreville (Gabon), July 15, 2020 - Experts from member states of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) are in virtual conclave since this morning to decide on the possibility of jumpstarting phase II of the Support PACEBCo from the ashes of PACEBco I.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful reminder of the inextricable link between humans, wildlife and the environment. Most epidemics of zoonoses have their origins in a breakdown in this relationship, resulting from unsustainable exploitation of nature (1).
The Framework Agreement signed Monday between these two partners has as main objective the sustainable management of the Congo Basin forest ecosystems.
Berlin, 14 July 2020. Africa Nature Investors Foundation (ANI) joined the membership of the Congo Basin Forests Partnership (CBFP). As part of the accession process, Africa Nature Investors Foundation (ANI) submitted the required documents...
On 04 June 2020, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) organized a first meeting of the CBFP Donor College. The meeting was held virtually.
Yaoundé, 23 July 2020 – Greenpeace Africa and local communities denounce a decision by the Government of Cameroon to open up 68,385 hectares of pristine rainforest to logging. The fate of a 65,007 ha zone of Ebo, also threatened with logging, remains unclear and must also be spared from chainsaws.
In particular, most communities clear forests for agriculture and related subsistence activities – such as charcoal making and artisanal logging – to make a living. These are today among the top drivers of forest disturbance.
21 July 2020, Rome - FAO launched today the most comprehensive forestry assessment to date in an innovative and easy-to-use digital format. Available for public viewing, the Global Forest Resources Assessment report (FRA 2020) and its first-ever online interactive dissemination platform...
Since taking office in January 2019, President Jair Bolsonaro has waged a relentless campaign against Brazil’s environmental laws and the rights of its Indigenous Peoples.
Despite the environmental cost of using firewood and charcoal for meal preparation and to meet other energy needs, more than 60 percent of families in sub-Saharan Africa have no alternative to wood, making it a significant contributor to forest degradation throughout the region.
WASHINGTON, D.C. JULY 8, 2020: In the most comprehensive report to date on the economic implications of protecting nature, over 100 economists and scientists find that the global economy would benefit from the establishment of far more protected areas on land and at sea than exist today.
Demarcating 30 percent of the planet’s lands and oceans in protected areas by 2030 could be instrumental in tackling the biodiversity, climate and zoonotic crises, according to a new independent report – as well as supporting the global economy.
SUMMARY Despite the Covid-19 pandemic and the national restrictions in place to protect health, significant progress has been made on many ongoing Park projects, including at the craft market, the restaurant at the base of the Park base, and on staff housing in Bomassa and Makao.
On 1 July, China’s newly amended forest law came into effect, marking the first revision of the law in over twenty years. The law comes with a number of significant improvements, aiming to better protect China’s forest resources, promote sustainable development and contribute to the national policy of...
July 2020 - The Belgian Trade for Development Centre (TDC) has launched a call for proposals for African Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and producer organisations active in sustainable production and trade. Applications must be submitted by 10th September 2020.
IUCN and WCPA are organizing a four-part webinar series aims to strengthen and continue connections amongst protected area practitioners and those involved in the evaluation of management effectiveness for protected areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic is a major challenge to humankind, and is the most serious global public health emergency since the end of World War II. To defeat COVID-19 through greater solidarity and cooperation, and to highlight an even stronger China-Africa community with a shared future, we, Chinese and African leaders, convened an Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 via video link on 17 June 2020.
In order to enhance the value of its resource, the Gabonese Republic has decided to classify wood processing according to three levels. It should be noted that the levels of wood processing are different from one country to another. The ATIBT association had opted for 3 level.
The Water Mobilisation Project to Enhance Food Security in Maradi, Tahoua and Zinder Regions (PMERSA-MTZ), implemented between 2011 and 2018 in Niger, has sustainably increased agricultural production and productivity and increased food security for nearly nine million residents of this Sahelian country, according to a report by the African Development Bank.
An African Development Bank project to enhance market infrastructure, value addition and rural finance (MIVARF) in Tanzania produced highly satisfactory results, according to a report released by the project team. The project, rolled out in the country between 2012 and 2017 increased the incomes of rural producers and traders threefold.
The African Risk Capacity Insurance Company presented a cheque for $2,126,803 to the Republic of Madagascar to cover anticipated livelihood losses for 600,000 vulnerable Malagasy people due to drought-related crop failures in the recent farming season.
The report shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions.
In Cuba, ecosystem-based adaptation is a cost-effective way to preserve and restore natural habitats and protect coastal communities. “We ourselves were destroying this world, but now we have a project of environmental education, we work with all the schools and are linked to the population.
The world’s tourism sector could lose at least $1.2 trillion, or 1.5% of the global gross domestic product (GDP), having been placed at a standstill for nearly four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, UNCTAD said in a report published on 1 July.
Biodiversity underpins 14 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, a recent study showed that only 20% of the countries analysed mention biodiversity as a national priority for sustainable development in their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) of their progress towards the SDGs.
9 July 2020, Rome - EcorNaturaSí and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat, hosted by FAO, today joined forces to better the lives of people living in rural areas and fragile ecosystems, such as mountains, forests and islands, and develop more inclusive food and agriculture systems.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread around the globe, forests and forest communities are feeling the pressure. Forests are already a source of food, income, fuel and shelter for hundreds of millions of people around the world.
15 July 2020 FAO, the International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) and the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) today launched a comprehensive survey on forest education across the world.
Held on the sidelines of the 2020 High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF), this virtual event highlighted the Satoyama Initiative.
The High-level Political Forum (HLPF) concluded without adopting the expected ministerial declaration. Mona Juul, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), thanked the co-facilitators of the consultations on the ministerial declaration, saying that while an ambitious declaration was emerging...
Tina Birmpili, Executive Secretary, Ozone Secretariat, welcomed delegates during this "strange and difficult time for all of us" as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on countries across the globe.
I think that we’re seeing a lot of renewed motivation to focus on coastal and marine conservation and restoration due to recent reports, most notably the IPCC ocean and cryosphere report released in 2019 that shows the climate change impacts on these ecosystems and how they continue to decline.
Cousin Island Special Reserve was the island famously bought for conservation by BirdLife International in 1968, and it is now managed by Nature Seychelles. I visited the island at the beginning of the year to inspect catastrophic coastal erosion that had occurred...
Currently, 55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas. This is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Rapidly growing populations and increasing urbanization are already influencing the move to a consumer-driven lifestyle...
Every single pandemic has a link to wildlife. They are all linked to human, anthropogenic, environmental changes. They emerge through the connections we make to nature. These will happen unless we change our relationship with nature.”
The overall scope of the assessment is to assess the status and trends with regard to biodiversity and ecosystem services, the impact of biodiversity and ecosystem services on human well-being and the effectiveness of responses, including the Strategic Plan and its Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
The co-chairs of the IPBES assessment of the sustainable use of wild species argue forcefully that sustainable use of biodiversity is vital to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Why is 2020 a ‘super year’ for biodiversity? This year, the 196 Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will negotiate a new global framework to safeguard all life on Earth. And there’s more...
During the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity will adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework as a stepping stone towards the 2050 Vision of “"Living in harmony with nature".
During the High-Level Segment of the fourteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Governments of China and Egypt, together with the Secretariat of the CBD, launched the Sharm El-Sheikh to Kunming Action Agenda for Nature and People.
15 July 2020 – New dates have been announced for three key UN meetings, including the UN Biodiversity Conference, crucial to the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
In this excerpt from Nature's article titled, "The biodiversity leader who is fighting for nature amid a pandemic", Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, discusses the need for countries to build back better, given the challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
World Zoonoses Day commemorates the work of French biologist Louis Pasteur; on 6 July 1885, Pasteur successfully administered the first vaccine against rabies, a zoonotic disease. This year, a new assessment offers ten recommendations on how to prevent and respond to future pandemics.
A study released on 2 June 2020 by the journal Conservation Biology has revealed a correlation between increased Chinese investments in Central and South America and a surge in jaguar smuggling to China.
The National Coalition for the Fight Against Illegal Logging (CNCEIB) which recently established and formalized cooperation ties with the Industrial Timber Federation (FIB), published a press release on 13 May 2020, denouncing the presence of a thousand illegal timber logs docked at Kinkole ports during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the workshop on the prospects for implementing CEFDHAC reform, which took place in Douala from 21 to 22 May 2008 and following the Kigali CEFDHAC meeting, it became clear that there was a need to organize general assemblies for the youth, women...
Arlette Soudan Nonault, Minister of Tourism and Environment, reiterated the appeal on 25 June, during the 16th Board Meeting of the Central African Forest Initiative.
The Cameroon government has sent out an appeal for national unity around biodiversity. Deforestation and poaching have not yet reached alarming levels in the country which harbors the Congo Basin’s second largest forest expanse. However, nature is being damaged due to natural or human causes.
The ocean, covering over 70% of the Earth’s surface, produces over half of the world’s oxygen, regulates climate, and provides valuable habitat to a variety of marine and coastal species. It also supports the global economy and local livelihoods, and provides a means for transportation and trade.
The montane-savannah ecosystems of Tchabal Mbabo are globally recognised for their conservation importance due to their richness in birds, reptiles, amphibians and large mammals...
To read: WFID Website Launched; CCICED Special Policy Study on Greening China’s Soft Commodity Value Chains; Open Timber Portal Update; A message on TerraMatch from the WRI Global Restoration Initiative; In case you missed it: Forest Legality Week 2020….
The Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of the Congo Basin, met within the CBFP Civil Society College, represented by their Chairs and Regional Coordinators, are committed to speaking with one voice to promote the image of the Congo Basin at the national, regional and international levels. They support the Facilitation's roadmap and will spare no effort to contribute to its implementation.
The Bonn Challenge responds to the urgent issue of land degradation that currently affects over 3 billion people globally, and, by conservative estimates, close to 30% of arable land.
Washington, D.C. (July 1, 2020) — The Adaptation Fund expanded its potential reach to identify and develop further tangible adaptation projects in vulnerable countries with the Board’s approval of a new implementing partner in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in late June through a remote intersessional decision.
The European Ombudsman has opened an inquiry into the EU Commission’s trade agreement with the ‘Mercosur’ group of South American countries. This follows a complaint from several NGOs alleging that the Commission ignored its legal obligation to ensure the trade deal would not lead to social, economic, environmental degradation and human rights violations.
The Incubator Fund for Clean Cooking in DRC aims to support companies to access knowledge, technologies and finance that can help them become increasingly profitable, reliable, viable and capable of providing innovative solutions to reduce wood energy consumption and boost local socio-economic development in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Deadline for submission of your application: 31 July 2020 at 17:00 GMT+1 (Kinshasa, DRC time).
REN21’s ‘Renewables 2020 Global Status Report‘ indicates that, while there has been significant growth over the last five years in renewable energy, it needs to expand beyond the power sector to the heating, cooling, and transport sectors.
Towards the end of December last year the Chinese city of Wuhan Reported the first case of a novel virus, now known as COVID-19 (C19). Over the last 3 months, the virus has spread exponentially to all parts of the world.
Palm oil is used in thousands of everyday products around the world, but what do we know of the palm that produces it? Commonly known as the oil palm, Elaeis guineensis and its many component parts have been used by humans since at least 3000BC. Originating in West and Central Africa, around 44 countries around the world now use the plant to produce palm oil.
Updated goals and targets have been published by the Convention on Biological Diversity, but campaigners are concerned they do not go far enough. Campaigners following UN negotiations towards a global deal to protect nature are concerned that updated proposals contain the same flaws as the failed Aichi biodiversity targets they seek to replace.
How can China, the world’s second largest importer of palm oil, build a sustainable supply chain for this controversial product? Jiang Yifan takes a look. There is perhaps no other raw material as ubiquitous as palm oil, yet so little discussed in a market as big as China
Four major developments will shape China’s environmental governance system as the country emerges from lockdown. China faces a turbulent economic and geopolitical landscape, with most of the world still battling Covid-19, relations with the US at a new low, and the global economy hard hit.
I have a fear of flying. Even big planes make me nervous, let alone a light aircraft like the one I had to take to reach Bayanga in the southernmost tip of the Central African Republic at the end of February 2020. But for this extraordinary trip I braved my fears.
At the beginning of the month, we sent out a team to the Ndoki sector of the Park and the Community Hunting Zone to correct some errors committedby survey teams during the installation of camera traps and to re-walk one transectsa second time toregister direct observations of wildlife.
Research is ongoing to determine which type of animal may have acted as an intermediate host for the virus that causes COVID-197, but the recommendations provided in this document for the prevention of future zoonotic spillovers apply regardless of which species is confirmed as the intermediate host.
The report contains an overview of the literature linking declines in the integrity of ecosystems to the risk of emerging infectious disease outbreaks that originate in wildlife, and also touches briefly on other impacts on human health. Four key findings are identified...
We have restarted the planningand preparation ofmissionsfor the 6 wildlife inventory teams. With the elephant dung and great ape nest degradation study completed, we are now planning thedegradation study for ungulate dung pellets that will begin in July. The cameras traps continue to provide us amazing videos. Find out more...
Faced with the scale of deforestation and the loss of biodiversity, companies are both responsible and are victims. They are responsible by increasing the production of agricultural commodities to serve consumption. Many manufactured products have a negative impact on deforestation or the degradation of natural ecosystems.
The draft scoping report for the transformative change assessment (thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 vision for biodiversity) is open for external review: 3 July 2020 – 28 August 2020 (8 weeks).
The City of Montréal has developed six briefing sheets on an equal number of concrete biodiversity initiatives : ecosystems management in large parks, conservation of wildlife trees, renewed and improved wildlife observatories, urban wildlife passages, environmental action days and coexistence with coyotes.
In view of the unprecedented situation, the holding of these two events was innovative. Indeed, to adapt to health regulations, they were held via Webinar.
The ATIBT’s forest-industry commission met on Thursday 18 June in a small group to establish a common strategy to prepare the renewal of the management plans. The participants of the meeting were field managers from companies based in Gabon, Cameroon and Congo...
The impact of pandemic control measures have hit West African timber producers across the region hard , coming as it has at a time when demand in the traditional markets, especially in Europe, were already under pressure from lower consumptions, changes to other materials and over production of some species.
This report takes a step back and considers the root causes of the emergence and spread of the novel coronavirus and other ‘zoonoses’ diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans.
Healthy ecosystems can reduce the negative impacts of climate change. For instance, coastal habitats like mangroves provide natural flood defences, well-protected lakes retain water sources during droughts, and healthy forests reduce the risk of devastating wildfires.
The latest edition of the OECD’s annual Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation report shows that the support policies implemented by the 54 countries studied – all OECD and EU countries, plus 12 key emerging economies – provided on average USD 536 billion (EUR 469 billion) per year of direct support to farmers from 2017 to 2019.
The second and final day of the first ever virtual meeting of the GEF Council ended with emotion and gratitude, as outgoing CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii passed the torch to her successor, Carlos Manuel Rodríguez.
2020 is a critical year for raising NDC ambitions and was supposed to culminate at COP 26 this November. However, the Covid-19 pandemic is devastating human lives and economies worldwide and has also led to postponement of COP 26 to November 2021.
Participants attending the virtual consultations on Innovating Climate Change Adaptation through Agroecology discussed and further developed a paper with key messages on agroecology as a systemic approach to adaptation for food security and rural livelihoods.
A session on “Soils as Keystone for Food Security and Ecosystem Restoration” was held online as part of the Global Landscapes Forum Bonn Digital Conference 2020. The conference was held virtually due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.
The World Bank has published a report analyzing options to enhance the transformative and catalytic impact of public climate finance by addressing systemic barriers to low-carbon and climate-resilient investments.
Executive Secretary Mr. Ibrahim Thiaw appointed Ms. Louise Baker, a national of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, as the Managing Director of the Global Mechanism of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD).
A high-level panel moderated by UNCCD Executive Secretary Ibrahim Thiaw held on the Desertification and Drought Day observed every year on 17 June, discussed this issue, in the context of a post-COVID-19 recovery and government actions to build back better.
Bonn, Germany – The UNCCD COP Bureau held a virtual meeting on Friday 26 June, confirming the commitment of the Parties to advocate for environmental action and drive transformative change for people and the planet.
A high-level panel marked Desertification and Drought Day 2020 with a discussion focused on the Day’s theme, ‘Food. Feed. Fibre,” and the question, “Is it time for a new social contract for nature?” Ministers and agency heads offered recommendations for addressing vulnerabilities for land management that have been exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and options for building back better.
25 June 2020 – FAO North America and EcoAgriculture Partners hosted a virtual Landscape Roundtable on the African Landscape Action Plan (ALAP): Phase 3, which lays out a strategy for achieving sustainable development in Africa through integrated landscape management (ILM).
A new report by RFUK ‘Mapping the future: towards meaningful participation of forest peoples in land use planning in DRC and Cameroon’ finds that any land use planning that does not properly consider local communities will inevitably result in poor social, economic and environmental outcomes.
New York - COVID-19 and its unprecedented effects on human development are a wake-up call to the potential consequences for people’s wellbeing from the relentless pressure we are placing on nature and the planet.
The 2019 Human Development Report’s deep dive into the changing faces of inequality sharpened our thinking and action, including on social protection. With nine out of our ten largest programmes in fragile or crisis-affected countries and a new Crisis Bureau in place, our humanitarian and peacebuilding partnerships deepened.
The Summit will contribute to the Decade of Action to deliver the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It will seek to raise awareness of global food systems challenges, build a global conversation on the way in which food in produced, processed, and consumed, and generate commitment to change our food systems to provide safe, nutritious food for all within planetary boundaries.
In response to the economic stimulus packages launched in 2020, the campaign advocates for public spending that minimizes impacts on nature, accounts for climate risks, improves social cohesion, and stimulates green innovation.
The ‘Principles for Recovery’ provide a framework for decision making on infrastructure spending for post-COVID-19 recovery and stimulus packages. The Principles call for decisions on infrastructure spending for post-COVID-19 recovery to start with strategic planning...
UN Member States and officials are considering changes to the format of the UN General Debate for the 75th UN General Assembly session and the surrounding high-level meetings in September 2020.
This publication is a useful reference of GCF's portfolio, providing an overview of GCF's projects and programmes, geographic distribution, and breakdowns of GCF funding.
This policy brief, written jointly by the International Carbon Action Partnership and the Florence School of Regulation, presents multiple policy options to keep carbon prices in check and achieve zero emissions in time.
Policy briefs from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) explain how pre-pandemic progress on the SDGs may be reducing the impacts of COVID-19, and how forests can make a unique contribution to recovery.