The N'Djaména Declaration on Transhumance - Last Coordination Meeting of the Western Geographical Block of the CBFP

15.03.2023

On tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 11:00 am CET (Berlin, Brussels, Kinshasa Time) the partners, leaders and co-leaders of the Western Block held their last coordination meeting online, on the follow-up of the implementation of the Declaration on Transhumance across borders, on MS Teams.

The objective of the meeting was to prepare the holding of the Technical Segment of the West Block, scheduled for the beginning of April 2023 in N'Djaména, whose major results will be presented during the Second International Conference of Ministers in charge of Security, Livestock/Agriculture and Forestry/Protected Areas/Environment, on transboundary transhumance: Nexus - transhumance, protected areas, natural resources, security and development, expected to be held at the beginning of July 2023 in Cameroon.

The meeting was attended by about thirty participants, including the representative of the leader of the western block (GIZ. BSB Yamoussa), the co-leaders and country experts of the western block. At the beginning of the meeting, moderated by Dr. Dany Pokem of CBFP, the participants introduced themselves. Mr. Hans Klein, BSB Yamoussa Project Manager and leader of the West Block, represented by Ms. Bertille Mayen (BSB Resource Person), gave an overview of the objectives of the meeting and the program.

Afterwards, the CBFP facilitator from the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, reminded the audience of the culmination of the N'djamena declaration, which is to undertake concrete actions for the concerted management of issues related to transhumance, poaching, PAs management and other cross-border criminal activities ; so as to present concrete results at the second International Conference of Ministers in charge of Security, Livestock/Agriculture and Forests/Protected Areas/Environment on transboundary transhumance expected to take place in Cameroon in the first half of July.

In preparation for this major conference on transhumance, the CBFP facilitator conducted a mission to Cameroon and Gabon. During his stay in Cameroon, where he met with development partners, officials and heads of ministerial departments, Dr. Ruck appreciated the ownership of the Cameroonian government and its desire to make this conference a great success. Discussions are underway to agree on the dates and venue of this 2nd conference.

Moreover, during the One Forest Summit, the Facilitator met in Libreville with the ministers in charge of the environment and protected areas of Chad, CAR, Guinea and Rwanda, who committed to support the organization of the 2nd international conference on transboundary transhumance.

The CBFP facilitator reminded the members of the Western block, of the need to finalize the country action plans and investment plans. These documents will enable Dr. Ruck to lobby CBFP financial partners during his mission and convince them not only to participate in the conference, but also to commit to specific themes.

The meeting also addressed the issue of cross-border agreements, the progress of action and country investment plans. It turns out that the Cameroon-Nigeria agreement process is being finalized. The two countries are working together on this subject.

Regarding the investment plans and country action plans, countries like Cameroon, CAR, Sudan and Niger are on track. The process in Nigeria has been slightly delayed by the elections, but efforts are being made to facilitate it.

Regarding concerns about the availability of maps for the geographic blocks prior the conference, the RI-OFAC Project Coordinator stated that: the maps will be available in time for the July conference only if OFAC is able to collect the data by theme. A document will be sent soon enough to the partners for the collection of these data. She reminded the members of the blocks that the maps will only be ready in time if the data is received and processed in time.

It was recommended to involve stakeholders outside the blocks and to also collect data from them, for more accurate data that can serve as a reliable basis for decision-making.

The following dates were selected for the meeting: July 10, 11 and 12, 2023.

ECCAS appreciated the work in progress and said it was willing to contribute to the success of this 2nd conference on transhumance.

The meeting ended with the closing remarks of the CBFP facilitator, the Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, congratulated the leaders and co-leaders of the Western bloc for their work. He once again recalled the need to finalize the action and country investment plans for decision-making to reduce in a concerted manner the problems related to transhumance, poaching, PAs management and other cross-border criminal activities.

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History of the West Block

Documentation of the West Block - follow-up on the implementation of the N'Djamena Declaration

Please download the Results of the work of the West Block

The West Block for the follow-up of the implementation of the N'Djaména Declaration around the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck

The Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany for the CBFP, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, chaired a hybrid face-to-face and videoconference meeting of the West Block on the implementation of the N'Djamena Declaration, well before the JPAC meeting.

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The N'Djaména Declaration on Transhumance - Last Coordination Meeting of the Western Geographical Block of the CBFP

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