Baku, Azerbaijan, Tuesday 12 November 2024 : Ambassador Mrs Salina Grenet-Catalano, CBFP’s French Co-Facilitator co-chaired a high-level discussion with Mr Hervé Maïdou, Executive Secretary of the COMIFAC on resource mobilisation for Congo basin forests.
Sub-region representatives and different CBFP colleges were invited to share their take on the conception and implementation of the Congo Basin Pledge (2021-2025) and their hope of a future financial commitment for the region. The event was hosted by the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF) to whom the co-facilitation expresses its heartfelt gratitude.
Also present were Mrs Juliette Biao for the UNFF ; Mr Gervais Itsoua Madzous for the ECCAS; Mrs Jenny Bates for the College of Donors and CAFI; Mrs Heike Henn for the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development; Mrs Françoise Van de Ven, President of the ATIBT for the Private Sector College; Mr Louis-Roger Essola Etoa for the Civil Society College; Dr Christian Ruck in his capacity as former co-facilitator; and Dr Minette Nago (LSE) for the Scientific College.
As she opened the round table session, Salina Grenet-Catalano recalled France's strong commitment to the forests of the Congo Basin, through its co-facilitation of the CBFP, its involvement in CAFI, its support for Country Packages and its bilateral action.
The panel welcomed the declaration by the 12 donors of the CBFP Donor College, launched at COP26 in Glasgow, with a joint financial commitment of €1.5 billion for 2021-2025 (‘Congo Basin Pledge’). Jenny Bates, Director General of Economics, Climate and Global Issues at the CDFO (UK) and co-chair of the College of Donors, announced the publication on the CBFP website of the 2023 report on the Congo Basin Pledge and the overrun of financial commitment, with more than USD 1.7 billion collected.
Participants stressed the importance of considering lessons learned from the Congo Basin Pledge 2021-2025.
The round table confirmed the desire of the CBFP co-facilitation to coordinate the various regional and international stakeholders so that forests of the Congo Basin present a coalition at COP30. Through its colleges and its relations with all regional institutions and donors, the Partnership will facilitate discussions on a future financial commitment for 2025-2030.
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