On Tuesday, March 21, 2023, the technical department of the East Block held a meeting in the heart of nature, in the calm and quiet premises of The Regional Post-Graduate Training School on Integrated Management of Tropical Forests and Lands (ERAIFT) in the DRC.
This inaugural meeting of the technical departments of the three geographical blocks of the CBFP (East, West, Central) had among other objectives to finalise the preparations of the 2nd International Conference of Ministers in charge of Forests/Protected Areas/Environment, Livestock, Agriculture, Peace/Security, on cross-border transhumance Nexus: transhumance, protected areas, natural resources, security and development from July 10 to 12, 2023 in Cameroon, for the East block.
Several illustrious personalities were in attended this important meeting, namely: His Excellency Mr. François-Xavier de Donnea, Minister of State of the Kingdom of Belgium, the Honourable Dr. Christian Ruck, CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany and Goodwill Ambassador of the COMIFAC Declaration, Mr. Yves Milan Ngangay, Director General of ICCN and representatives of the Democratic Republic of Congo (host country), concerned countries of the East Bloc, partners/Co-leaders of the Bloc and other actors of the East Bloc for the follow up of the implementation of the N'Djaména Declaration among others: Antwerp Zoo Foundation, AWF, African Park, FAO, FERN, DRC/ICCN, OFAC, German CBFP Facilitation, South Sudan, EU, UNESCO, USFWS, WCS, etc.
The meeting moderated by Ms. Bertille Mayen, GIZ Senior Technical Adviser, started with a brief introduction of the participants, followed by the welcome address by the Leader of the East Block, Prof. Michel Baudouin, AFN Special Envoy, and CBFP Facilitator Hon. Dr. Christian Ruck.
Dr. After the formal greetings, Dr. Christian Ruck mentioned the organisation of the 2nd International Conference of Ministers on transhumance, which will enable the progress made in the implementation of the N'Djaména Declaration to be evaluated and appropriate measures to meet the challenges related to cross-border transhumance movements between the Sahel and North Equatorial Africa regions to be taken.
The CBFP facilitator gave an update on the logistics for the July conference and emphasised the need to improve the concept note which is already available and to finalize the country investment plans to enable him to fine-tune his advocacy to the CBFP's financial partners.
According to the programme, after the protocol session marked by various welcome speeches, the technical department opened its session with keynote speeches, at around 11:30 a.m.
His Excellency François-Xavier de Donnea, Minister of State of the Kingdom of Belgium was the first to take the floor. In his speech, the Minister of State of the Kingdom of Belgium presented a brief overview of the state of play, challenges and prospects of the N'Djamena Declaration with an emphasis on the cross-border agreements, DRC / South Sudan / CAR.
This brilliant presentation was followed by an update from RIOFAC on the N'Djamena Declaration. In this regard, it should be noted that the maps are updated following a double approach methodology:
- The landscape approach, which aims to establish a framework, identify stakeholders and proceed with participatory mapping, on the field.
- The systemic approach, which consists of spatial analysis followed by harmonization and verification
OFAC reaffirmed its availability to provide mapping data on time following the feedback from the different partners involved in the process.
The meeting continued with an assessment of the implementation of the N'Djamena Declaration.
The participants were able to learn about the progress of the draft agreements between ECCAS and IGAD; between Sudan and South Sudan; between the DRC and CAR and the draft political and diplomatic roadmap of the East Bloc.
Participants also attended the presentation of the status of the Country Investment Plans/Action Plans: DRC, South Sudan.
Just after the traditional question and answer session, the Honourable Dr. Christian Ruck, CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany and Goodwill Ambassador of the COMIFAC Declaration, congratulated the participants for their commitment and the quintessence of the work. He urged the parties concerned to complete the pending documents in order to achieve the common objective of making the 2nd International Conference of Ministers on Cross-border Transhumance a success.
The meeting ended with the closing remarks by the representative of the Democratic Republic of Congo who shall be in Cameroon from July 10 to 12, 2023.
Please see the pictures of the technical department of the East block below:
