4^th Plenary Meeting of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) 

N’Djamena, Chad, 19 to 22 September 2012

Thematic Day

“Integrated Management of Natural Resources in Central African Landscapes:

Rural, Urban and their Convergence”

N’Djamena, 19 September 2012

CALL FOR PARTICIPATION TO THE THEME

“Urban and Peri-Urban Forestry in Central Africa”

Dear Colleagues,

In the framework of the 4^th CBFP Plenary Meeting, to be held in N’Djamena from the 19^th to the 22^nd of September 2012, the first day of 19^th September will be dedicated to two issues: Urban and Peri-urban Forestry, and Desertification.

The aim of this communication is to invite you to participate in the discussions on urban and peri-urban forestry and organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Given the fact that this theme will be specifically addressed for the first time, the main objectives are to interact and formulate recommendations, in the framework of the CBFP, related to the optimization of trees and forests for the cities of the Congo Basin. The three sessions will focus on the following points:

♦ Urbanization issues: Challenges for the optimization of trees and forests in the cities of the Congo Basin

♦ Multi-sector expertise acquired in Central Africa: What encourages citizens, elected representatives and governments to develop green and resilient cities? Outcomes and constraints.

♦ Together in action: Opportunities, priority actions and recommendations for green and forest cities in Central Africa.

In order to organize this day, you are kindly invited to contribute by the following:

♦ Suggest participants of the 4^th CBFP Plenary Meeting who might be interested in taking part to one of the three sessions as panelists and briefly (in five minutes) present relevant information related to the three above mentioned topics.

♦ Propose a poster, which will be displayed during the 4^th plenary meeting. The specifications are the same as those provided by the organizers of the 4^th Plenary Meeting (Deadline: 1^st September 2012)

♦ Present an abstract of initiatives/projects/mechanism, related to the profile of a city and the lessons learnt with the resulting recommendations. (Maximum 300 words). [Note: The compilation of this information can be pursued after the meeting in order to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and networking].  (Deadline: 1^st September 2012). Please download the TEMPLATE - ABSTRACT: CALL FOR PARTICIPATION TO THE THEME “Urban and Peri-Urban Forestry in Central Africa (Ndjamena, Chad, September 19th, 2012)

We will send you reference documents for this thematic day in due time before the event. They will include, inter alia:

-  Briefing note on urban and peri-urban forestry;

- The publication entitled “Towards the guidelines for policies and decision-makers for the promotion of urban and peri-urban forestry – regional version for the Maghreb and French-speaking Africa”.

Please, let us know by 30 July 2012 if you have any suggestions concerning the above requests, namely: (i) the suggestion of panellists; (ii) the preparation of a poster, and (iii) the preparation of a summary.

For more information, please contact Michelle Gauthier (michelle.gauthier@fao.org) and Bertille Fages (Bertille.fages@fao.org)

Michelle Gauthier
Forestry Officer (Agroforestry and Land Use; Urban Forestry)
Forest Assessment, Management and Conservation Division

Forestry Department
FAO, Rome, Italy

Tel.: ++ (39) 06-5705-3692

Mobile: ++ (39) 347-007-6396

Skype: michellelinwan