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A Digital Conference of the Multilateral College of the CBFP: College members mobilized around the Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany of the CBFP
The partners of the CBFP multilateral college discussed the roadmap of the CBFP Facilitation by the Federal Republic of Germany ; the impact of Covid-19 on their interventions in Central Africa ; and the situation of human rights and conservation in Central Africa. The following were the highlights of the meeting: (1) The partners of the multi-lateral college agreed to respond to the questionnaire of the CBFP Facilitation within the framework of the preparation of major international events: CBD and UNFCCC process; (2) A consultation/survey within the college which will be launched to produce an inventory and status , of the impact of the Covid-19 on Protected Areas and Parks – towards an Emergency Fund for Covid-19 for Congo Basin and advocacy for integration of the Environment aspect in UN Emergency Fund; (3) towards the promotion and mainstreaming of human rights in the programs and projects of the partners, especially an increased accompaniment of Central African countries in the internalization of human rights in the training.
Approximately twenty-six (26) participants representing the following organizations took part: CMS, GVTC, GEF, ITTO; UN Environment, UNDP, UNFCCC and the CBFP Facilitation Team of the Federal Republic of Germany ... man in training.
The agenda adopted during the meeting covered the following items:
Co-Leaders´ welcome remarks
Federal Republic of Germany CBFP Facilitator remarks - Synthesis of the CBFP Facilitation Road Map and process for collecting ideas and statements from CBFP´s members as well as the Agenda of CBFP
Covid 19 and Multilateral College members´ activities in Congo Basin
Nature conservation and human rights in the Congo Basin
Next steps and College Meetings
Co-Leaders´ welcome remarks, Dr Andrew Seguya, Executive Secretary of the GVTC
The opening remarks of the CBFP Multilateral College Leaders were delivered by Dr. Andrew Seguya, Executive Secretary of the GVTC. It consisted of a briefing by the Facilitator from the Federal Republic of Germany and the participants on a synthesis of the presentation of the CBFP Multilateral College Leaders at the last CBFP Governing Council held in Douala, Cameroon in December 2019. His intervention was crystallized on the action plan of the CBFP Multilateral College articulated around four axes of intervention, namely : (1) creation of new World Heritage Sites and Biosphere Reserves and management (2) Sustainable Forest and Wildlife management (3) Strengthening ECCAS member States in law enforcement, prosecution and justice.
Following his opening statement, the CBFP Facilitator from the Federal Republic of Germany - some highlights of the Facilitator's intervention
The Covid 19 situation has prevented planned travel to the region and to the US. The Road Map has been developed and approved by the COMIFAC President in Office. There is continuing support for the N’Djamena process that was launched by the previous Facilitator and the support to transhumance and transboundary anti-poaching effort, as well as the China dialogue which is more important than ever. The German facilitation is dominated by the EU Africa Summit, the EU China Summit and the CBD and UNFCCC conferences. These present important opportunities for the Congo Basin, and the Facilitator envisages the CBFP as a means of providing a clear and common voice from the Congo Basin at these global platforms. Coming together with one voice also presents the opportunity to create some discipline in coming together to create a shared declaration. The primary focus over next months is to prepare a joint declaration from the partnership. In Douala many members expressed an interest to strengthen communication within, between and from the Colleges. It is therefore the purpose of the technical questionnaire to gather structured input from the Colleges for input into the Declaration and backup information that will substantiate the points made in the Declaration. The contributions from the CBFP Colleges should be submitted by 1 July 2020, to enable the Facilitator to prepare by summer holidays.
Covid 19 and Multilateral College members´ activities in Congo Basin
Continuing the agenda of the meeting, Dr Andrew Seguya made a presentation on the impact of Covid-19 on Central African Protected Areas/Parks with an emphasis on the : « REGIONAL EVD AND COVID-19 CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR MOUNTAIN GORILLAS” coordinated by the GVTC but with a coalition of partners including the IGCP, Gorilla Doctors, and other partners - Financial support from the IGCP coalition, partners in conservation at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, and UNESCO.
Dr. Andrew Seguya noted the need for intervention through the creation of a Covid-19 Emergency Fund for Protected Areas/Parks. This Fund would cover among othersThis Fund would cover among others:
Funds to sustain essential park operations,
community engagement,
livelihood support due to loss of tourism revenue;
Personal Protective Equipment (conservation personnel, financial/supply) for park workers and conservation researchers;
Hygiene facilities for conservation personnel/park edge communities and
Furthermore, ITTO suggested that they would support the CBFP facilitation for dialogue on China. She recalled the organization of the major conference in Shanghai by ITTO last October 2019.
FAO proposed to all participant to download the following contribution of FAO:
The UN Environment also raised the idea on how to incorporate environmental dimension in the UN Multi-Partners international trust Fund (MPTF).
On the way forward: Need for a survey to better understand the need which will support the process toward an Emergency Fund. What is the need!
The GVTC will reach out to the college to conduct the survey on COVID 19 which will support the design of the Emergency Fund.
Nature conservation and Human rights in the Congo Basin
Dr Annie-Claude Nsom's presentation provided an overview of the link between nature conservation and respect for human rights in the Congo Basin. Various organisations involved in the defence of human rights, notably Survival Interational and Rainforest foundation, denounced at the international level situations of violations in DRC, Cameroon, Congo and CAR, of the rights of local and indigenous communities in the protected areas of the Congo Basin. These violations are reportedly manifested mainly through arbitrary arrests, targeted executions, torture and rape, low involvement and lack of respect for cultural rights. This situation has prompted the UN to take a position in favour of respecting the rights of these communities in environmental protection initiatives. UNESCO's initiatives to contribute to the achievement of this objective have been highlighted. These include the inclusive approach deployed in the creation and monitoring of Biosphere Reserves and heritage sites, the granting of an active and equitable role to communities in the area of resource management, the promotion of intra- and intergenerational transmission of knowledge and support for the integration of local and indigenous knowledge in the conservation and management of biodiversity promoted by the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) initiative. Finally, the participants were given the opportunity to ask for their opinions on these denunciations, the national and regional mechanisms likely to address this issue.
It emerged from the various interventions that punctuated the exchanges, the need to carry out a real and in-depth analysis of the situation on the ground, to examine the interventions of partners in relation to human rights, the strengthening of the capacities of the rangers by paying particular attention to the inclusion of human rights aspects in training curricula.
CAFI - The representative of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) made a remarkable intervention. In her address, the representative of CAFI brought to the attention of the participants some key information on the state of the initiative and presented the major actions of their interventions. For more information...
I want to thank the authors for their dedicated and high-quality work that went into the production of these studies, as well as UNIQUE consulting for their tireless and engaged support, which made all of them possible. The studies provide valuable and urgently needed insights into some of the most pressing issues in central African forest policy. But they also show up opportunities and solutions for the future of the beautiful tropical forests of the Congo Basin, which are of such immense value, as the second great green lungs of the world, to all of humanity
The GIZ Support Project to the BSB YAMOUSSA complex, in collaboration with the Lamidat of Rey Bouba, proposes to organize a sub-regional forum of direct local actors of transboundary transhumance and traditional stakeholders from the grassroots communities, with a view to exchanging, sharing experiences and reflecting on the construction of dialogue in favour of a peaceful transhumance.
In this letter to the Slovenian and French Presidencies of the EU, 42 civil society networks and organisations from countries across Africa, Asia, Europe, and South America call on the European Union (EU) to strengthen support to the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Regulation and its Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), the EU’s key legal instruments to fight illegal logging, and the associated trade.
This is a second polite reminder to let you know we are conducting an anonymous evaluation funded by the World Resources Institute (WRI) of forest monitoring information and tools, and their usefulness, with a particular focus on Global Forest Watch (GFW), and stakeholder perspectives.
The German CBFP Facilitation has commissioned a package of 6 thematic studies on pertinent issues in Congo Basin forest politics (namely REDD+ in the Congo Basin, Land Use Planning, Transhumance, Ecotourism, Sustainable value chains, China´s role in Central African forestry) as well as an overarching synthesis study. Each study consists of a full study report as well as a short policy brief. Please download the CBFP Study Package…
...In addition to this effort at the global policy level, the facilitation commissioned six thematic studies related to specific opportunities and challenges for the forests of the Congo Basin and the people who depend directly on the products, biodiversity and ecosystem services the forests provide. The six studies and a policy brief for each study were prepared between December 2020 and August 2021. They focus on the following topics...
Over the last 10 to 15 years, China has increasingly taken note of the potential environmental and forest impacts of its overseas trade, investment and other economic activities. However, timber trade between China and Africa has so far not met the requirements of international legality and sustainability standards. Furthermore, China is highly involved in investment and construction of infrastructure projects that may have caused forest conversion due to a lack of comprehensive, effective management measures and a lack of environmental impact analyses.
This study was performed with the intent of understanding the challenges to developing eco-tourism in the Congo Basin, and of identifying actions and recommendations to overcome these challenges. A background study of the existing literature, research articles, reports and national strategies (where available) was performed to ascertain the political strategies and academic understanding of ecotourism in the region.
Conclusions and outlook: Adapted local LUP processes can serve as a foundation for securing tenure, reducing social conflicts between external and local actors, or even within forest adjacent communities meeting the SDGs, implementing REDD+ and operationalizing the many commitments to zero deforestation commodity production.
This study was carried out to shed light on issues related to this activity and provide basic knowledge of various aspects relating to livestock rearing, neo-pastoralism and unsustainable transhumance. The study area covers the Sudano-Sahelian region of Africa – specifically, the area stretching from the northern fringes of the Congo Basin (Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic) and the south-eastern part of the southern Lake Chad Basin, namely the Sudano-Guinean savanna mosaics. The methodology adopted was to collect data from various sources, including from key stake-holders and literature review.
The first case study is dedicated to the spectacular policy announcement by Gabon that it would make FSC timber certification mandatory from 2022 onwards for all concessionaires willing to keep operating in the country. Such certification is relatively advanced in Gabon and this unprecedented policy stands as an intriguing and promising example in the region. The second case study relates to a prominent approach that has emerged and grown over the last decade, namely corporate zero-deforestation commitments. This is complementary to the first case study as it refers to a process initiated by the private sector itself, and we apply it to the oil palm sector in Cameroon. For the third case study, we move to the importation side of things with the most advanced policy effort to take action in consuming countries, namely the French National Strategy against Imported Deforestation (SNDI).
The report draws on a thorough review of the available literature. It is complemented by 21 semi-structured anonymous interviews with key REDD+ experts. The authors conducted the interviews between November 2020 and February 2021. Interview partners include represent-atives of Congo Basin countries, donor states, academia, NGOs and independent technical experts. Instead of going to lengths in elucidating the entire range of options for reducing deforestation and forest degradation, the study report lists concrete courses of action which might be pursued in the future.
To read: Governments meet to consider ambitious GEF replenishment; GEF CEO statement for side event at UN General Assembly; GEF supports innovative Food Securities Fund; 'You cannot see forests in isolation'…
Berlin, Germany, 07 September 2021 - Congo Basin Forests Day: Presenting the Statement, Common Position on a "Fair Deal" for the conservation of tropical forests and signing of a Memorandum.
Africa's priorities within the African Group of Negotiators on Climate Change (AGN) were set out in July 2021 just after the Bonn Climate Conference (UNFCCC inter-sessional). These priorities are as follows...
UN Climate Change News, 17 September 2021 – UN Climate Change today published a synthesis of climate action plans as communicated in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The NDC Synthesis report indicates that while there is a clear trend that greenhouse gas emissions are being reduced over time, nations must urgently redouble their climate efforts if they are to prevent global temperature increases beyond the Paris Agreement’s goal of well below 2C – ideally 1.5C – by the end of the century.
UN Climate Change News, 30 September 2021 – Africa Climate Week 2021 wrapped up this week with Virtual Thematic Sessions helping to set the scene for more ambitious regional action to tackle climate change ahead of the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow in November.
UN Climate Change News, 5 October 2021 – Faith leaders representing the world’s major religions yesterday joined scientists at the Vatican to call on the international community to raise their ambition and step up their climate action ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in November in Glasgow. Almost 40 faith leaders signed a joint Appeal, which was presented by Pope Francis to COP26 President-Designate, the Rt Hon Alok Sharma, and the Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Luigi Di Maio.
Dear Stakeholder. We are conducting an anonymous evaluation funded by the World Resources Institute (WRI) of forest monitoring information and tools, and their usefulness, with a particular focus on Global Forest Watch (GFW), and stakeholder perspectives.
Bonn, 28 September 2021 – The winners of prestigious 2021 Land for Life Award of the United Nations have been honored at an international forum for their innovation in land restoration and conservation methods that promote the well-being of communities and improve their relationship with nature.
Bonn, 29 September 2021 – Two new guidance documents have been released today: a revised and upgraded version of Good Practice Guidance for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 15.3.1 and new Good Practice Guidance for national reporting on UNCCD strategic objective 3.
The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) has published a report providing a global assessment of transboundary climate risks in agricultural commodity flows. Its authors explain that the material risk posed to food security, particularly in low-income, import-dependent countries, is such that adaptation to transboundary climate risk becomes a matter of public policy.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has released its annual Goalkeepers Report, which tracks progress on 18 SDG indicators and reflects on trends influencing the Goals. In the introduction to the 2021 Goalkeepers report, titled ‘Innovation and Inequity,’ Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates write that the past year has shown that “progress is possible but not inevitable. The effort we put in matters a great deal.” The report aims to highlight learnings from the successes and failures of the pandemic so far.
A new study conducted by scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF), and partner organizations shows that charcoal producers have little or no support to engage in the replanting of trees, which could lead to a lower rate of deforestation in the already tree-scarce areas where most charcoal is produced.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and UN partners have published a compendium of 500 actions to reduce death and diseases driven by environmental risk factors. The publication states that almost 25% of deaths worldwide could be prevented by fully implementing these actions.
The vast forests of the world’s largest tropical island are populated by exotic birds of paradise, kingfishers, parrots, raptors and pigeons – these species representing just a handful of almost 750 that have so far been identified.
Governments, companies and other organizations offered more than 200 commitments at the world’s first food systems summit aimed at addressing unequal access to food in a more sustainable, healthier and equitable way.
The latest ‘Still Only One Earth’ policy brief from IISD looks back at when “the world was struck with fear” in 1985 after scientists discovered a massive hole in the ozone that forms a protective layer over the Earth. The brief reviews the steps taken to heal the ozone layer through two intergovernmental agreements – the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer – and what else must be done. It also highlights lessons for addressing climate change.
Jointly organized by COMIFAC, CBFP, GIZ, CAFI and IUCN, as part of the Congo Basin Special Day at the World Conservation Congress, a high-level session on the Congo Basin, was held from 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m on 05/09/2021., at the SPACE CENTER, Exhibition HALL 3.
In a world emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress successfully highlighted the dual existential crises the planet faces: climate change and biodiversity collapse.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) summit ended in Marseille on Friday, September 10, 7 days after its inauguration. A number of ATIBT members participated, sometimes with a stand. It was above all a return to direct meetings between many people who had only seen each other through screens for many months!
Dubai WoodShow has been the leading trade show for the wood and woodworking machinery sectors since 2005. The show has established its position in the Middle East region as the most dynamic platform for the wood and woodworking professionals.
Deforestation continues at a worrying pace worldwide, except in temperate and boreal countries. It is caused by the race for land, underpinned by population growth and rising global demand for “deforestation-prone” products. Moreover, with climate change, mega-fires are now posing unprecedented threats to forests.
The Marseille Manifesto aims to capture a limited number of key messages that are globally and currently relevant and which relate to the Congress proceedings, including any notable and important commitments and announcements that emerged from Congress events. The focus is on the post-Covid recovery, the biodiversity crisis and climate emergency.
Jointly organized by COMIFAC, the CBFP, GIZ, CAFI and the IUCN, as part of the Congo Basin Special Day at the World Conservation Congress, a second high-level session on the preservation of the Congo Basin’s ecosystems took place on 05/09/2021 at 6:00 p.m. local time at the PAVILLON NATURE BASE SOLUTION, Exhibition HALL 3.
