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Libreville (Gabonese Republic) - 7 July 2022 - The 10th CBFP Governing Council Meeting was held on held on 7 July 2022 and chaired by Hon. Dr. Christian Ruck, CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, co-chaired by His Excellency Mr. Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife of Cameroon, current Chairman of COMIFAC and hosted by His Excellency Prof. Lee White, represented by His Excellency Michel Stéphane Bonda, Minister Delegate of the Ministry of Water and Sanitation of Cameroon. Lee White, represented by His Excellency Michel Stéphane Bonda, Minister Delegate of the Ministry of Water, Forestry, Sea and Environment in charge of the Climate Plan and Land Use Plan, Gabon. Minister of Water, Forestry, Sea and Environment of Gabon. The meeting was enhanced by the effective participation of politicians, ministers of forestry / environment of Central African countries and High Representatives of ECCAS, COMIFAC, OCFSA and GVTC.
About 150 participants, representing the seven colleges of CBFP and about forty participants, also actively attended the meeting:
CBFP Regional College: ECCAS, COMIFAC and Ministers accompanied by the COMIFAC National Coordinators of COMIFAC member countries;
CBFP civil society college: CEFDHAC-CPR and ROSCEVAC accompanied by the REPAR representative;
CBFP International NGOs College: AWF, WCS accompanied by
CBFP Private Sector College: ATIBT and Volcanoes Safaris
CBFP Donors' College: US – UK
CBFP Scientific and Academic College: Uni Laval – RIFFEAC
CBFP Multilateral College: UNESCO and GVTC
Following the introduction by the CBFP Co-Facilitator and the minute's silence held in memory of the former Executive Secretary of COMIFAC, Mr. Raymond Domba Ngoye, who passed away recently, the draft agenda was adopted by the Governing Council. The CBFP Facilitator, Hon. Dr. Ruck, and the Executive Secretary of COMIFAC, Mr. Hervé Maidou, respectively delivered keynote speeches underlining the importance of this 10th CBFP Governing Council meeting within the framework of the 19th meeting of the parties in Libreville.
Hon. Dr. Ruck gave a summary of the CBFP Facilitation Report of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Governing Council and outlined the prospects for the CBFP in the future. In this respect, he stressed the importance of fully integrating protected areas into the management of Central African forest landscapes in synergy with other economic and social activities. The next roadmap should insist on strengthening the coordination of the multiple actors involved in the Congo Basin Forest sector and make it a priority, as well as enhancing efforts to better regulate the transhumance sub-sector with regard to the implementation of the Ndjamena Agreement. A second meeting, Ndjamena 2, should be held soon. The third key point of the roadmap is to strengthen the dialogue with China, pointing out that the majority of Central African tropical wood is sold on the Asian markets. He announced that the College of Donors will be co-chaired by the UK, and confirms that donors will increase their involvement in the new funding mechanisms following the commitments announced in Glasgow. In conclusion, the Facilitator congratulated France for agreeing to take over the next CBFP Facilitation.
On behalf of Mr. Philippe Lacoste, Director of Sustainable Development at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, his representative Ms de Boisfleury underlined France's interest in taking over the facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. The major projects undertaken by the German facilitation will be continued by the French facilitation.
The floor was given to the various CBFP college presidents to share their respective statements and recommendations:
ROSEFAC and CEFDHAC, on behalf of the Civil Society College, call for greater involvement of civil society in all the actions undertaken to improve forest management, both at the level of national bodies and local actions and in future international conferences.
AWF, on behalf of the international NGO college, after acknowledging the efforts of the facilitator, stressed the importance of systematically recalling the proposals of the previous Board meeting and reviewing their implementation. He underlined the importance, during meetings of the parties, of consultations between the different colleges and of having a space to exchange between the different streams in order to be able to cross and compare points of view. He confirmed AWF's commitment to continue with the CBFP and announced that the college would henceforth be led by WWF and WCS.
ATIBT, on behalf of the private sector college, representing actors from the forestry, agro-industry, mining, SME/SMI and craft sectors, stressed the importance of focusing on concrete approaches. For the next meeting, it is proposed a) to work on a landscape approach with all their key stakeholders, and b) to work on the issue of carbon as a key issue for the future. The private sector suggested that, beyond the forestry and conservation sectors, the CBFP consultation could be opened up more widely to stakeholders in the extractive and agricultural sectors.
Professor Khasa of the University of Laval, on behalf of the College of Researchers and Training Institutions, summarised the activities and development of the networks involved in forestry and environmental training in Central Africa over the past thirty years. He stressed the importance of mobilising substantial financial resources, particularly for the training of new doctoral students, but also for developing new training and applied research offers.
The representative of the USA, on behalf of the college of Financial Partners, recalled that meetings between donors had accelerated in 2022, following the Glasgow Declaration. The United Kingdom is now co-leader of this college. The issue at stake is working on the various possible approaches for the provision of financial resources announced in Glasgow and preparing the announcements expected at the forthcoming COP 27 in Egypt.
In conclusion, the facilitator thanked all the members of the Board for their commitment. Meetings of Parties are complex exercises, with a multitude of events concentrated and often simultaneous in a single week. It is impossible to participate in everything, but everyone can participate and contribute to the discussions on the issues that are most important to them.
The current President of COMIFAC thanked Dr. Ruck for all his efforts in the German facilitation and handed him a souvenir from Cameroon.
The key message from the President of COMIFAC, following today's closed session of the Ministers, is the announcement of their commitment to honour their financing commitments to COMIFAC and even to increase the level of their contributions. It is indeed important that the Central African States strengthen their commitment for better governance of the Congo Basin forests, in order to consolidate the commitment of Central African partners to finance forest conservation and development in Central Africa.
ECCAS Commissioner Tabuna also recalled that beyond forest conservation, all development issues must remain the focus of both national and international actors in Central Africa.
On behalf of the host country of MOP19, the Minister Delegate of MINEF Gabon concluded that after 20 years of partnership within the Congo Basin, the time has come to really implement actions. This is also the time to consider and value the Central African forest, which is a gift to the planet. Meanwhile, the COMIFAC/CEEAC countries are confronted with enormous development needs that call for a holistic approach at the level of landscapes. The COMIFAC countries are confident that with the French facilitation, which will soon follow the German facilitation, they can move forward and take new steps together. The Minister Delegate concluded by thanking the German Facilitation and all forest management actors in Central Africa.
Korup United, the Voluntary Association of ex-personnel of the Korup Project (1998-2003), is organizing a two-day Symposium October 31 - November 01, 2024, on Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Lower Guinea Congolian Forest Ecosystem. This event also commemorates the 38th Anniversary of the creation of the Korup National Park in October 1986 by Presidential Decree as the first rainforest IUCN Category II National Park in Cameroon.
Mrs Salina GRENET-CATALANO was appointed on July 5, 2024, by decrees of the Prime Minister and the Minister in charge of Europe and Foreign Affairs, the Director of Global Affairs of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. It is in this light that she takes over Mr Christophe GUILHOU and becomes French’s new Co-facilitator for the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP).
PANGEA investigates variation between and within Earth’s two largest tropical forests in the Americas and Central Africa while integrating datasets and research from existing and complementary activities across the tropics. PANGEA’s research questions focus on five thematic areas, Biogeochemical Cycles; Biodiversity; Climate Interactions and Feedbacks; Social-Ecological Systems; and Disturbance Dynamics.
The Science Panel for the Congo Basin (SPCB) was launched on 3rd December 2023, at COP28 in Dubai. The SPCB is an independent platform for scientists from the region to synthesize the existing knowledge including Indigenous peoples and autochthonous knowledge, on the functioning of, and threats to, the Congo Basin and its ecosystems.
The DYNAFAC collective was created to develop common skills and technical and scientific complementarities. Its goal: to develop activities that will ultimately improve development plans and ensure better management of production forests in Central Africa.
The Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI) is an independent scientist-led platform that promotes long-term investment in science in the Congo Basin with a mission to transform our understanding of the world’s second largest extent of tropical forest, build scientific capacity in the region, and use this knowledge to support sustainable development.
In his book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,” Bill Gates singled out CGIAR centers, which have been at the forefront of supporting the world to feed itself through research including developing improved higher-yielding varieties of important staples such as maize and rice, as doing work that is “indispensable in creating new climate-smart crops and livestock for the world’s poor farmers.”
The PANGEA Scoping Campaign had a strong presence at the 20th Meeting of the Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership from May 31 – June 5, 2024 in Kinshasa, DRC. The conference exchanges between civil servants, scientists, and philanthropic organizations in the Congo Basin provided a special opportunity to address the need for strengthening collaborative partnerships in the region and pan-tropically.
The CBFP and the coordination of the Western Bloc are pleased to invite you to a face-to-face exchange session, to be held on Friday 4 October from 8:00 to 10:00 at the Hôtel de l'Amitié, in N'Djamena, on the occasion of the conference on pastoralism and protected areas. The event will provide an opportunity to reflect on how the CBFP can continue to lead discussions on the most topical issues in the sub-region.
The Conference aims at: Presenting the state of knowledge on the causes and consequences of tensions between agropastoral activities and protected areas within the Sahelian and Sudano-Guinean ecosystems; Reviewing the modes of governance and technical innovations making it possible to better manage the interface zones between agropastoral areas and protected areas, in order to promote the sustainable development of agropastoral territories...
After a series of broken silence procedures in the lead-up to the Summit, the Summit of the Future (SOF) opened under a cloud of uncertainty when the Russian Federation made a last-minute proposal for an amendment to the outcome document. However, following a quick voting round, delegates adopted the Summit’s negotiated outcome, the Pact for the Future, and its two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration of Future Generations. The rest of the day then proceeded largely as planned, with general statements by high-level representatives taking place in parallel with two interactive dialogues on the Summit’s themes.
The Summit of the Future opened with some drama when the Russian Federation tabled its objection to several paragraphs in the outcome documents: the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and Declaration on Future Generations. In the end, after months of negotiations, the Pact was adopted. UN General Assembly (UNGA) President Philémon Yang thanked the Co-Facilitators for steering a complex negotiating process and described the just-adopted Pact as a reflection of “our pledge” to lay the foundation for a sustainable, inclusive, and peaceful global order.
The Central African Biodiversity Working Group adopts common views for COP-16 at the CBD and related meetings at the end of their 38 meeting held from September 9 to 13, 2024 in Brazzaville. The Central African Biodiversity Working Group held its thirty-eighth meeting (GTBAC-38) from September 9 to 13, 2024 in Brazzaville, the Republic of Congo. These meetings organised by the Executive Secretariat of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) with technical and financial support from the GIZ Regional Support Project to COMIFAC, brought together members of the GTBAC.
President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Philemon Yang has made available an updated programme of the Summit of the Future (SoF), along with a logistics note, an announcement of the co-chairs for the interactive dialogues to take place during the Summit, and lists of speakers for the interactive dialogues. The SoF is taking place in New York, US, from 22-23 September 2024.
New York, 10 September 2024 – Philémon Yang, former Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon, took office today as President of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly at a time when the urgent need to strengthen multilateralism respond to new and emerging challenges is increasingly acute. The theme of President Yang’s mandate is “Unity in diversity, for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for everyone, everywhere”. His priorities range from boosting gender equality, advancing multilingualism to combatting terrorism. Under his leadership, efforts will focus on fostering more effective collaboration and finding effective solutions to global challenges.
On 10 September 2024, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) closed its 78th session. Addressing the Assembly for the last time as its President, Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) underscored the important role of the multilateral system in overcoming complex challenges. Philemon Yang (Cameroon), President-elect of the 79th session of the UNGA, subsequently took an oath of office, pledging to perform his duties “in all loyalty, discretion and conscience.” This was followed by the opening of the Assembly’s 79th session.
07 September, Abidjan - African Environment Ministers meeting in Abidjan have called for the establishment of a legally binding protocol on drought management under the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), with a special focus on Africa. The call for action comes amid growing concerns over the detrimental impact of land degradation, drought and desertification on the continent’s socio-economic stability, food security, and environmental sustainability.
A search was carried out using Google Scholar and Scopus (for the period 2000-2023) and official reports (from the inscription of the site until 2024) submitted by countries on the state of conservation of natural UNESCO World Heritage sites in Africa. The scientific literature does not sufficiently address the determinants of armed conflicts affecting African Natural World Heritage sites or the connections between the quality of governance of Protected Areas and the emergence and/ or resolution of armed conflicts. Understanding the origins and foundations of these armed conflicts requires an in-depth analysis of several determinants linked to the existence of these protected areas and an assessment of the effectiveness of the governance systems, which is rarely available.
Abidjan, 3–6 September 2024 : Leveraging financing and partnerships for combating drought, land degradation and desertification in Africa The note available to dowload explores the critical role of financing and partnerships in addressing the interrelated challenges of drought, land degradation, and desertification in Africa.
Bonn / Laramie, 4 September 2024 - Today, a groundbreaking online map was launched showing the migration paths of land animals around the world. An international team of over 80 scientists has collaborated to create the first-ever interactive migration map of hooved mammals such as antelopes, guanacos and zebras, that routinely travel large distances at different times in the year. Such animals are collectively called “ungulates".
The African Forest Forum (AFF) in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional office for Africa, is organizing a three-week Community of Practice (CoP) on “Climate Change in African Forestry and Wildlife Sectors”. The CoP will be held from9 - 27 September 2024, from 12:00 noon - 3.00 pm Nairobi time/ 9:00 am -12.00 noon GMT., via Howspace – a virtual ‘African Forestry Community’ platform – for knowledge sharing and learning.
To prepare the next post-Malabo plan, the ECCAS Regional Economic Community (REC), in partnership with AU, and the Feed the Future Policy LINK Program organized regional stakeholder consultations for the Central Africa region. The participants at the consultation were: the CAADP focal points and government representatives of different countries, as well as private sector and non-state actor representatives from the seven ECCAS Member States. Please download the report...
The tenth special session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) regional consultations will be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from 30 August to 6 September 2024, under the theme “Raising Africa’s Ambition to Reduce Land Degradation, Desertification, and Drought.” The theme underscores the critical need to address the current state of land degradation in the region and restore this vital resource.
Rome – A new roadmap guiding the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on forests was endorsed on Wednesday by members at the 27th Session of the Committee on Forestry (COFO 27) in Rome. The FAO Forestry Roadmap - From Vision to Action 2024-2031 sets out how FAO will work to enhance the role forests play in meeting forestry-related goals and targets and in addressing global challenges in coming years.
In recent years, the international community and countries in central Africa have developed various initiatives and programmes to halt biodiversity and natural resource degradation, and to address challenges to sustainable development in forest ecosystems.
At the 26th IUFRO World Congress in Stockholm from 23-29 June 2024, the booth hosted by the Scientific and Academic College of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) provided an opportunity for Crispin Ilunga-Mulala Mushagalusa, a PhD student at the University of Liège (Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech), to present his research as part of the UFA - Reforest project (Reforestation in the Forest Management Units of Cameroon).
This study addresses the need to explore the attitude and perception of local residents toward wildlife and conservation. Questionnaires, surveys and field observations were used in data collection. A total of 400 people was conveniently selected in 16 villages from October to December 2015. Data analysis relied mainly on factor analysis and structural equation modelling in SPSS 21 and Smart-PLS software.
The objective of this side event on 4 June 2024 was move away from rapid conflict mitigation and prevention towards to holistic and integrated coexistence programs between human and forest elephants in rainforest of the Congo Basin.
The theme for International Youth Day 2024 (12 August) is “From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development.” This theme highlights the key connection between digitalization and accelerating the progress of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), emphasizing the crucial contributions of young people in this transformative process.
On 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided, in its resolution 49/214, that the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People shall be observed on 9 August every year. The date marks the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations. The International Day observance will take place online on Friday, 9 August 2024. This year’s theme is: Protecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Voluntary Isolation and Initial Contact.
CBFP, which is one of the oldest Type 2 partnerships in the United Nations system, registered in the ECOSOC and UN DESA partnerships, and strengthened in SDG 17, is calling on its partners to make the conclusions of the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development their own... the call is crystallised in advocacy for Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership with diverse stakeholders for sustainable developmen. In Fact, Partnerships are the glue for SDG implementation and is been essential to making the Agenda a reality.
This hybrid event aims to set the stage for the 2025 IYC, which will be officially launched during the ICA Global Cooperative Conference, scheduled for November 25-29, 2024, in New Delhi, India. The New York event will serve as a platform to deepen the theme of IYC2025, unveil the media package, discuss the UN resolutions outlining the modalities for the IYC launch.
Side event organized by the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme on the 04/06 from 8h30 to 9h30 am. United Nations member states are committed to reducing hunger, improving health, and conserving natural resources through the Sustainable Development Goals. Additionally, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework aims to conserve 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, promoting sustainable wildlife management and equitable benefits. However, in Central Africa, the unsustainable wild meat trade threatens food security and biodiversity, making these goals challenging to achieve.
The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme presented its innovative Legal Hub at the recent 20th Meeting of Parties (MoP20) of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. This event was held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from 3 to 5 June, 2024. A specific side-event titled "A Tool to Connect Different Sources of Law" showcased the Legal Hub’s critical role in enhancing the legal frameworks governing wildlife management across multiple countries, including the sub-region.
In this 20th meeting, the consortium comprising the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), RIKOLTO, and the Catholic University of Bukavu (UCB) actively participated in the sessions held from June 3 to 5, 2024, at the Pullman Hotel in Kinshasa. During a panel focused on agroforestry and agribusiness, the consortium presented solutions for sustainable and effective land management around the Itombwe Reserve and the Kahuzi-Biega National Park through two main themes...
