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The European Commission has adopted the new EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and an associated Action Plan (annex) - a comprehensive, ambitious, long-term plan for protecting nature and reversing the degradation of ecosystems.
The Rainforest Foundation UK, Minority Rights Group International and Forest Peoples Programme have today written to the European Commission expressing concerns over its plans for a new flagship biodiversity programme in Africa. The NGOs warn it could entrench an outmoded and unsustainable conservation model that has led to serious human rights abuses and dispossession of some of the world’s most vulnerable people while doing little for continent’s ecosystems.
On 24th September, 2020, Biodiversity Beyond 2020: Building a Shared Future for All Life on Earth Ministerial Roundtable was co-hosted virtually in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
Driven by a genuine desire for change, he piloted an initiative to support the empowerment of Batwa communities who live near the Bururi Forest Reserve. For this determinant action he has just won the National Geographic / Buffett Award 2018 "Leadership for the protection of the environment".
This brief aims to unpack these issues and highlights how the external dimension of the Farm to Fork Strategy could be expanded to drive an effective and a much-needed global just transition towards inclusive and sustainable agri-food systems. We call on the EU to strengthen its approach towards global issues as the Strategy is discussed and approved by the European Parliament and the Council, as well as in the subsequent implementation of the Strategy.
You can hear the bai before you arrive: an orchestra of low rumbles and trumpets reverberating through the dense trees. The clearing, known as Dzanga Bai, is crowded. Forest elephants, smaller in stature than their cousins roaming Africa’s savannas, wander in and out.
In the age of COVID-19, there are many new routines for all of us. Quarantines and social distancing do not come naturally to most human beings, nor do they always look the same across the various cities, communities, or countries in which we live. Thousands of miles away in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Indigenous Ba’Aka tribe of Dzanga-Sangha is taking social distancing to the next level.
On Wednesday 23 September 2020, Norway's Ministry of Climate and Environment entered into a contract worth up to NOK 400 million (approx. USD 43) with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) and its partners Airbus and Planet, to provide universal access to high-resolution satellite monitoring of the tropics in order to support efforts to stop the destruction of the world’s rainforests.
Read : Speech by the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck at the opening of the Extraordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of COMIFAC; Cameroon cancels logging plan that threatened rare apes – reuters
Bonn, 21 September 2020 – The number of commitments to reach net zero emissions from local governments and businesses has roughly doubled in less than a year, as many prioritize climate action in their recovery from Covid-19
Decree No. 84/2020 of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea dated on the 15th of september indicates that "operators in the timber sector have continued to systematically cut prohibited species and to export logs" despite Decree 7/2017 which regulated the logging of certain species.
As a reminder, the EUTR states the need to obtain information concerning “the description, including the trade name and the type of products as well as the common name of the forest tree species and where appropriate, its full scientific name…”However, what do the names mean: commercial, common or even scientific? What do these regulations mean by "where applicable"?
Read: EMAC is moving towards an export ban on logs; Equatorial Guinea issues a presidential decree banning logging; ATIBT participated in ACSFI - FAO meeting; EUTR requirement: ATIBT recalls and explains the importance of timber names and their meanings…
Over the last fifty years, the sharp increase in world trade and consumption, as well as the strong growth of the human population and a gigantic urbanization movement have metamorphosed our world. These developments have led to unprecedented degradation of nature and overexploitation of natural resources. A handful of countries are home to the last remaining wilderness areas. Natural areas are being transformed faster than ever before.
Read: BIOPAMA signs a financing contract with the Observatory in West Africa; World Natural Heritage Report in Africa. The new IUCN report "World Natural Heritage in Africa - Progress and Prospects" is available in English and french...
August 20, 2020 - At the invitation of His Excellency Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife of Cameroon, current President of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, on behalf of all CBFP member partners, delivered a speech during the protocol segment of the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers in charge of Forests and/or Environment of the COMIFAC member countries.
18 September 2020 - By Videoconference - The CEMAC meeting of Ministers in charge of Forestry, Industry and Environment of Central Africa adopts several decisions with a major impact on the development of the forestry and timber sector in Central Africa.
To read: Carlos Manuel Rodriguez takes over as head of the GEF; ICCF briefing on deforestation, wildlife, and pandemic risks; Mapping nature for a global biodiversity framework; World Water Week at Home…
This study therefore evaluated the contribution of NTFP valorisation to the livelihood assets of local people around the northern periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR), East Cameroon. To achieve this objective, data collected from 215 households in 32 villages were analyzed using factor analysis, Mann–Whitney U tests, and structural equation modelling.
(Business in Cameroon) - On September 4, 2020, the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo, signed two decrees temporarily suspending the operations of about twenty wood processing units in the Littoral region.
Here are some key elements on the update of the EUTR (European Timber Regulation) through the action of the European Union and EU member States to ensure its proper application, as well as an overview of the new Chinese forest law.
The Office on the Commemoration of the UN’s 75th Anniversary issued an update on the results of a global consultation on people’s fears and hopes for the future, on which respondents are “remarkably unified” across the world. Since January 2020, over one million respondents have participated, covering all UN Member States and Observer States.
Cameroon withdraws the decree of 14 July 2020 "classifying a 68,385 hectare portion of forest as State property, constituted as a forest management unit called FMU 07 006, located in the Nkam and Sanaga Maritime Divisions, Littoral Region".
Guillaume Manjolo recalled that Germany already supported the DRC in the years 1972 and 1982, in the construction of the Inga 1 site. Germany is coming back this time with an important dimension of strategy for the development of the energy sector in the DRC.
At the invitation of His Excellency Ali BONGO ONDIMBA, President of the Gabonese Republic, current President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the XVllth Ordinary Session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government was held on 30 July, 2020 by videoconference
At the invitation of Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Cameroon Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, current President of the Council of Ministers in charge of Forestry and/or Environment of COMIFAC member countries was held on 20 August 2020 by videoconference.
To read: EU and UK launch consultations on policies to reduce deforestation in supply chains; A win for Ebo forest, an unsettling broader picture in Cameroon; Mercosur disarray exposes EU Trade policy weakness...
This week saw the launch of the 5th edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5), the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It is a periodic report that summarises the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention.
To read: British actor Peter Egan became the first ambassador of the Limbe Wildlife Centre; MINFOF-ZSL-LWC joint operation to rescue 8 endangered African grey parrots in South; Mandrill: Opened access to the densely grassed strip left fallow...
The experience of the BSB Yamoussa Binational Complex with the use of the Integrated Management Effectiveness tool. An integrated vision of the BSB Yamoussa Binational Complex, consisting of the parks of Bouba Ndjidda, in Cameroon, and Sena Oura, in Chad, fol-lowed by a critical analysis of the state of the sites, allowed effi nition of tai-lor-made interventions.
Following its Communication on Stepping up EU Action to Protect and Restore the World’s Forests in 2019, the European Commission has finally opened a questionnaire-based consultation on policies needed to reduce deforestation and forest degradation associated with EU consumption of forest-risk commodities.
This online course organized by IFED in partnership with Queen's University of Canada will be delivered by high level lecturers. Professionals with positive experiences on REDD++ management and PES will also share their experiences you learners. Please also see hereafter the poster which summarizes the articulations of this training that scheduled from 05 to 09 October 2020.
Top 10 Lenders & Underwriters (2016-2020 April): See the 10 banks and investors with the highest financial exposure in loans and underwriting to forest-risk sector companies in Southeast Asia, Central and West Africa and Brazil. These findings are based on research carried out by forestsandfinance.org using this methodology to identify corporate loans, credit and underwriting facilities provided to the selected companies.
DAKAR (Reuters) - Cameroon has backtracked on a decision to allow industrial logging in one of the region’s least exploited rainforests, home to rare gorillas, tool-wielding chimpanzees and giant frogs.
I have been following with keen interest the ongoing debate on Ebo Forest. It represents the struggle of a country trying to balance developmental aspirations with ecological and cultural identity.
The Global Center on Adaptation today announced the launch of its regional office in Côte d’Ivoire. Hosted by the African Development Bank at its headquarters in the Ivorian capital Abidjan, GCA Africa will work with partners across the continent to scale and accelerate adaptation action that protects African communities from the impacts of climate change.
In view of the sanitary situation associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, France and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) have decided to postpone the IUCN World Conservation Congress, which was to be held in January 2021 in Marseille. New dates for the event will be announced in due course.
FOREST EDUCATION here is related to FORESTS, TREES OUTSIDE FORESTS, AND OTHER WOODED LAND (i.e., natural forests, forest plantations, woodlands, agroforestry systems and urban forests). It includes education delivered through programmes of forestry and forest sciences as well as programmes of broader scope, (e.g., natural resource management, environmental sciences).
The Strategy -Halting the dramatic loss of biodiversity requires a bold new approach for protected areas in terms of scope, structure, accountability and financing. As an instrument to serve this strategy we introduce the Legacy Landscapes Fund.
Following a negotiation process which was begun at the G7 Biarritz summit, then at the United Nations General Assembly, and spearheaded by our country, France and its partners, countries in the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin and South-East Asia, and European donor countries agreed on the text of a Charter establishing the Alliance for Rainforests.
One hundred twenty-eight environmental and human rights NGOs and experts today warn that a United Nations drive to increase global protected areas such as national parks could lead to severe human rights violations and cause irreversible social harm for some of the world’s poorest people.
To read: ATIBT welcomes RIFFEAC !; Deforestation is a political choice, but not a goal; PARTNERSHIP MFLS FOREZIENNE AND ISELI; ATIBT is relaying two EU public consultations including one on the EUTR. You can answer until November 26, 2020…
Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses to terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it provides1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity3; however, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge4.
Wildlife populations have fallen by more than two-thirds in less than 50 years, according to a major report by the conservation group WWF. The report says this "catastrophic decline" shows no sign of slowing.
To read: ITTO Fellowship Programme is open for applications; Nominations open for 2021 Wangari Maathai award; Air your views on future of forest education—deadline extended to participate in global survey…
´The science is clear, and the world’s top economic authorities agree: To safeguard human civilization as we know it, we must fundamentally change the way our societies and economies operate´.
To read: A new report from EcoAgriculture Partners reviews models of integrated landscape finance; Leaders of 1000 Landscapes Hold Strategy Workshop; Using Integrated Landscape Management to Scale Agroforestry: Examples from Ecuador.
Already in the late 1970s, EcoAgriculture Partners´ Sara Scherr and Louise Buck experienced the promise that agroforestry holds: improving livelihood security for smallholders, especially women and children. As they were working with the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry’ (ICRAF) in Kenya, they were studying and promoting agroforestry as an approach to farming that integrates production and conservation functions.
To read: WFC 2021 in Seoul : Building a green, healthy and resilient future with forests; Gabon : Inauguration of the new Precious Woods CEB factory by Minister Lee White; Important update - Study Overview of the private sector in the Republic of Congo…
There is less than a month to go before the UN General Assembly High-Level week which will, for the first time in history, be largely online. The UN Global Compact is inviting our entire network to attend Uniting Business LIVE, an online gathering of global business and sustainability leaders on the sidelines of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly from 21–23 September.
To read : Implementation of FLEGT REDD CERTIFICATION project activities in the DRC; Continuation of TRACER-DR project Communication in Gabon with FRMI and BRAINFOREST; ATIBT publishes its study on the impact of COVID-19 on the forest sector in the Republic of Congo…