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Fern and 15 EU NGOs working on climate, environment, social justice and sustainable development issues have come together to welcome EU support for partner countries. The NGO statement in support of local communities, vulnerable groups and those on the frontlines of the pandemic in partner countries asks the EU global response to reinforce the Green Deal, and calls for solidarity, transparency, inclusiveness and equity at all stages of the response. Importantly, NGO partners in target regions stand ready to help.
Since the pandemic broke out, European leaders have agreed the Global EU response to COVID-19, recovery, and stimulus packages to mitigate the social, economic and health impacts of the crisis in partner countries. A growing number of stakeholders, including EU environment ministers and the European Parliament are asking that the initiative be complemented by stronger measures on climate and the environment.
The links between environmental destruction, human encroachment into habitat and viral diseases has been recognised for years. Increasingly, the world’s land is being used for agriculture, mining and infrastructure, with tropical forests bearing the brunt of the dramatic changes, suffering high rates of agricultural conversion. Any EU support for recovery in partner countries must therefore integrate climate, biodiversity objectives and Sustainable Development Goals.
As EU NGOs have indicated, local communities and civil society groups should be closely involved in monitoring progress to ensure that commitments become concrete action, to avoid duplication and to improve accountability.
Fern’s partners are ready to offer their help: by giving practical advice, opening their address books, relaying information to far-flung communities and ensuring those playing a crucial role maintaining households throughout the crisis are fully involved.
Foundation for Community Initiatives (FCI) and SDI Liberia providing Covid-19 care packages to rural forest communities
Partner NGOs already have networks that could be put in motion to contribute to the COVID response. For instance, across the four forest regions of the Central African Republic, a heavily aid-dependent and post-conflict country, Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement Durable (CIEDD) is coordinating members of a civil society platform (Gestion Durable des Ressources Naturelles et de l’Environnement: GDRNE) to build on existing ties with Indigenous and local communities not only to exchange information on ongoing consultations for the Voluntary Partnership Agreement, REDD+ and Nationally Determined Contributions but also to inform them of the pandemic and help them prepare. In Liberia, the Foundation for Community Initiatives and Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) are now working with some 50 communities in Sinoe, Grand Bassa, Grand Gedeh, Margibi, Gbarpulo, Nimba, Lofa and Rivercess Counties to create awareness and help with COVID-19 response. In Cameroon, the Centre pour l’Environnement et le Développement (CED) has approached 20 rural communities in Southern Dja and in the Ocean. Such efforts exist in other regions also.
These efforts go hand in hand with ensuring continued responsible management of natural resources and preventing unsustainably and illegally sourced forest commodities. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, forest-monitoring organisations Observatoire de la Gouvernance Forestière (OGF) and Réseau des observateurs indépendants des ressources naturelles (RENOI) are set to carry out COVID awareness-raising in at-risk forest areas, and will also assess COVID’s impact on forest management and governance commitments under the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). Across the Congo Basin, fears that a proper lack of oversight may put forests and forest peoples in danger are looming despite emerging initiatives.
In almost equal measure, discussions and actions around racism in 2020 have been extremely painful, and extremely hopeful. The following scenarios came from a wider discussion around race and privilege that began in February at the Pathways 2020 Human Dimensions Conference held in Nairobi.
This first edition focusses on Indonesia and Vietnam and the articles were written in collaboration with our local partners. In many cases, they report that they are more able to contribute to policy discussions and that at least some authorities are paying closer attention.
The first call for proposals for Small Technical Grants for Assessment (STGA) is now open until 29 January 2021. It is an open ended-call and proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis in order of their receipt.
The development process of the PAFC CB forest certification standard sparked enthusiasm among forest management stakeholders who provided more than 300 comments.
New report shows the long-term benefits of restoring forests outweigh the costs. The long-term benefits of restoring forests outweigh the costs, and this is a key factor in driving the implementation of forest landscape restoration (FLR) in many countries, a new WWF and IUFRO study finds.
Payments for environmental services (PES) are at the heart of Côte d’Ivoire’s REDD+ and forest policies, which aim to restore and conserve the country’s forest cover up to 20% of the country’s land area. The EU REDD Facility has analysed the experience and lessons learnt from two innovative pilot projects, which tested several PES models aimed at restoring forest cover in cocoa landscapes. I have the pleasure of sharing with you the results of this analysis.
The publication comes on the heels of the European Parliament’s report An EU legal framework to halt and reverse EU-driven global deforestation, adopted on 22 October. Such a regulation will only be effective if accompanied by action to tackle the drivers of forest loss and human rights violations on the ground. Getting the incentives right suggests that the EU negotiate partnership agreements with major producers of forest risk commodities.
Smallholder farmers across Côte d’Ivoire rely heavily on cocoa production, but rarely manage to generate a living income from cocoa alone. Balancing the well-being of farmers and the conservation and restoration of forests along with cocoa production is a pressing challenge.
The BIOPAMA programme will launch a series of new calls for proposals, with the first one to be issued in the following days! The indicative schedule of the calls is: End of November 2020: Call for proposals for Small Technical Grants for Assessment for improved protected area management and governance...
Read: CBFP Facilitator, Honorable Dr Christian Ruck, makes successful entrance into Congo Basin’s diplomatic and political scene; CBFP Facilitator, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck, in audiences with high-ranking political leaders in Cameroon; 16 October 2020 – Implementation of N’Djamena Declaration in West Bloc gets major boost following visit of CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck…
September and October were marked by intense rainfalls and flooding of the Limbe river which dangerously weakened the protective wall at the Limbe Zoological Garden/ Limbe Wildlife Centre. We are extremely worried that it will collapse and put animals and infrastructures at risk.
Yaoundé, Cameroon, 29 October 2020 - In order to encourage informed decision-making for sustainable forest management, conservation and responsible use of biodiversity in Central Africa, the Observatory of Central African Forests (OFAC), a technical unit of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), has set up a new analysis platform with key indicators of regional, national and local policy trends and their impacts on forest ecosystems.
To read: Regulation on the social contract clause agreement forest concession in DRC; New partners for the brand Fair&Precious; Interholco, member of ATIBT publishes sustainability report….
Kinshasa, 12 October 2020 - A meeting of technical and financial partners based in Kinshasa was held at the Pullman Hotel in Kinshasa with close to twenty participants, including: Donors, Technical and financial partners, The private sector, Research institutions.
The meeting of the West Bloc Coordination Platform will hold on 26 January 2021. Such was the conclusion of the meeting of partners and countries of the West Bloc Coordination Platform for monitoring the implementation of the N’Djaména Declaration.
From 19 to 22 October 2020 - Yaoundé - The Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian Ruck is visiting Cameroon as part of his first sub-regional tour.
The CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian Ruck, paid a working visit to the DRC from 07 to 14 October 2020 and to Cameroon from 15 to 22 October 2020.
In contrast to other regions of the world, Africa could soon become the continent of deforestation, with DRC losing more than 1 million ha of tree cover per year. In Central Africa, small-scale agriculture is the main driver of deforestation.
Gabon is pursuing a low-carbon development strategy that optimizes economic goals while preserving forests and their ecosystems. The country has therefore committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within 2025 through sustainable land-use. Tackling forest degradation, often a result of illegal logging, is essential to reducing Gabon's carbon emissions, as such degradation accounts for 50-80% of the country's total emissions.
GENEVA, 7 October 2020 – Revising the operating procedures of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) is an endeavour that started earlier this year and has just received valuable recommendations from a new report by Transparency International (TI). Acknowledging the work achieved on transparency and integrity while identifying areas for improvement, the report released today by TI provides useful input into the process.
Thursday, 22 October 2020: Dr Christian Ruck, the CBFP Facilitator and Mr. Raymond Mbitikon the CBFP Co-Facilitator, undertook a working mission to the premises of the Reinforcement and Institutionalization Project of the Central African Forests Observatory.
22 October 2020, Yaoundé: The CBFP Facilitation team headed by the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Honourable Dr Christian Ruck visited the COMIFAC executive secretariat in Yaoundé, for a discussion and work meeting.
Tuesday, 20 October 2020: The CBFP Facilitator of the Republic of Germany, the Honorable Dr Christian RUCK and the Permanent Secretary of OCFSA, Dr Ibrahim LINJOUOM, met for a working session at the offices of the German Regional Cooperation in Cameroon.
Monday, 19 October 2020, Hotel La Falaise, Yaoundé - the CBFP Facilitation team led by the Honorable Dr. Christian RUCK, the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany held discussions with civil society.
All ATIBT members, regardless of their status, are reminded that they can become partners of the brand simply as members of the Association.Created in November 2017 at the initiative of the International Tropical Timber Technical Association (ATIBT), and with the support of AFD and KfW, Fair&Precious is a collective and collaborative brand.
Within the framework of the FLEGT-Certification program of ATIBT, the UFIGA requested and directed the realization of a review of the situation of the VPA FLEGT process in Gabon in order to contribute to an effective resumption of negotiations of the VPA FLEGT process.
This white paper aims to provide Northern and Southern Development partners and decision- makers with a better understanding of: a) why spillover of disease from wildlife to humans occurs, and why these zoonotic disease outbreaks can spread and become epidemics and pandemics such as COVID-19; b) what they can do to prevent, detect and respond to future spillover events, with a special focus on priority interventions at the human–wildlife–livestock interfaces.
This policy brief provides decision-makers with a set of actionable recommendations1 that can be implemented to prevent future epidemics caused by the spillover of diseases from wildlife and wild meat.
In 2020, INTERHOLCO has a word for it: ALLIANCE. It is a theme that runs right through in its Sustainability Report. With a rainbow, stretching over the forest it manages in the Republic of Congo.
CIB is thrilled to be recommended by the auditor for renewal of the FSC certification for 2021. Our four concessions, Pokola, Kabo, Loundoungou and Mimbeli-Ibenga are 100% FSC certified. This year’s audit was not free of challenges that the pandemic brought with it.
This training, organized by IFED in partnership with Queen's University (Ontario, Canada), will be facilitated by trainers and high-level professionals with proven (many years) experience in the field of training and management of protected areas. Registation deadline: October 26, 2020.
The Summit focused on the theme “Urgent Action on Biodiversity for Sustainable Development,” to highlight the urgency of action at the highest levels in support of a post-2020 GBF that contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) and places the global community on a path towards realizing the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity, “Living in harmony with nature.”
In many parts of the world, autumn is the time to gather the harvest and count our blessings. This year’s trials and tribulations have taught us that while we can count on blessings bestowed by other humans to overcome the COVID-19 crisis, we are wholly dependent on blessings bestowed by nature to survive and flourish.
Illegal trafficking and unsustainable trade in wildlife are causing unprecedented declines in some species. They can also potentially lead to the spread of zoonoses, such as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. While the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has been in force since 1975, there are growing calls to build a stand-alone international instrument to address illegal wildlife trade and crime.
The session will interactively present the different tools available for policymakers, researchers, NGOs, donors, private sector and students working in the region to obtain information related to biodiversity and forest management.