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Berlin, Germany - 14 February 2019 The Federal Republic of Germany has agreed to take over the Facilitation of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) for the period 2020-2021. It is thus honoured and very pleased to be able to take over this role and to continue the initiatives and work undertaken by the previous CBFP Facilitators: the Kingdom of Belgium, the European Union, Canada, France and the United States.
Dr. Christian Ruck, has been appointed by the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany to assume the role of CBFP Facilitator for the next two years. Dr. Ruck is a seasoned, high-level politician with proven expertise and a keen interest in the Congo Basin. He has worked both at the German and international level, representing his country in numerous international fora and has accepted several important mandates.
Dr. Ruck was officially installed as CBFP Facilitator of the Republic of Germany on 14 February 2020 at BMZ Berlin during a solemn ceremony presided over by Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Member of the German Federal Government. This ceremony marked at the same time the official launch of the activities of the German Facilitation. It brought together Ambassadors of Central African countries, Ambassadors and diplomatic missions of donor countries, German parliamentarians and sectoral ministries concerned with the topic as well as national and international organizations.
"It is both an honour and a challenge for me to lead an initiative such as the CBFP" said the new facilitator, who was, among others, from 1990 to 2013, Member of the Bundestag, German Federal Parliament, from October 2002 to November 2009, Chairman of the Working Group on Economic Cooperation and Development of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group and from November 2009 to 2013, Dr Ruck was Vice-Chairman of the CDU/CSU Parliamentary Group and responsible for Economic Cooperation and Development, Environment and Energy. In 2013, Dr Ruck assumed the position of Director of the KFW office in Cameroon, with a broad portfolio, including the forestry sector. More recently, he was with KFW in Tanzania covering the green sector portfolio.
"It is essential for the Federal Republic of Germany and the other CBFP partners to support the efforts that Central African countries are striving to implement for the conservation and sustainable management of their natural resources and the fight against poverty. The sustainable development of the magnificent forests that these countries are home to is one of the keys to their future development. The preservation of their unique biodiversity and the control of the carbon stocks they contain are also global challenges that call for global solutions. Thus reflecting the importance and global responsibility of humanity in the preservation of its forests, natural resources and biodiversity capital. But above all the positive impact that the conservation and sustainable management of these forests have on people's livelihoods and on the global climate. For these solutions to emerge, stakeholders need to come together and suggest relevant and effective strategic directions. This is why the CBFP is important, given the multiple pressures that threaten the integrity of its ecosystems and whose causes are diverse and linked to, among others, the resource and policy governance framework, the security situation, socio-economic development and the effects of climate change".
"What can the Congo Basin Forest Partnership do? - Our joint partnership can develop or initiate problem analyses and corresponding solutions. It brings together allies, but also parties in conflict in an atmosphere of voluntariness and institutional flexibility. It can initiate, activate and support action programmes and transboundary agreements, and it can try to coordinate and align the multitude of donors, funds and programmes with a single ambition: the protection and sustainable use of the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin. »
Dr. Ruck, the new facilitator, is pleased that the outgoing facilitator, provided by the Kingdom of Belgium from January 2018 to December 2019, has worked with partners to consolidate the governance of the CBFP, further develop and guide the partnership in the enhanced thematic and policy dialogue among partners.
"The facilitation of the Federal Republic of Germany obviously intends to build on the results achieved by the facilitation.
To this end, the new facilitation intends to propose two priorities to its partners:
It will be communicated to the partners and posted on the CBFP website after its adoption by the parties in the coming weeks.
The Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) was established in 2002 at the World Summit on Sustainable Development held in Johannesburg in response to United Nations General Assembly resolution 54/214, which called on the international community to support the efforts for the conservation and sustainable management of the forests of the Congo Basin, as reflected in the declaration of the Heads of State of Yaoundé 1999.
The Congo Basin Forest Partnership is affiliated with the partnerships of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. As a "Type2" partnership, it is a multi-stakeholder partnership allowing member organisations to cooperate on a voluntary basis. The CBFP brings together 115 members, including 10 Central African countries and nearly a hundred partners concerned with the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin (ECCAS, COMIFAC, partner countries, civil society of the Congo Basin, international NGOs, multilateral organizations, research and training institutions, private sector operators). Cooperation within CBFP aims to support this common vision of the Central African Heads of State, in particular by improving the effectiveness of the measures taken, including technical and financial support, in favour of biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, the fight against climate change and poverty reduction in Central African countries in accordance with the COMIFAC Convergence Plan.
Cooperation and governance structure of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership
In keeping with its non-binding and voluntary nature, the CBFP does not have a formal institutional structure. Instead, it has a set of informal structures: CBFP Meeting of the Parties; CBFP Governing Council; CBFP Colleges; CBFP Facilitation.
The CBFP was initially facilitated by the United States from January 2003 to December 2004, France from January 2005 to October 2007, Germany from October 2007 to September 2010 and Canada from September 2010 to December 12. The United States again assumed the Facilitation from May 2013 to December 2015, the European Union from January 2016 to December 2018. The Kingdom of Belgium from January 2018 to December 2019. The CBFP Facilitation is now provided for the second time by the Federal Republic of Germany for the period 2020-2021.
The Federal Republic of Germany, which has been a member of the Partnership since the launch of the initiative in 2002, was one of the original supporters of the "Congo Basin Forest Partnership" at its inception. Eighteen years after this initial launch, the CBFP continues to flourish, with today 115 members and an average of more than 500 participants in the meetings of the parties. Better yet, the CBFP is, without a doubt, a capital for our actions today and a hope for our future achievements. It represents one of the good examples of the concept of multi-stakeholder partnerships, contributing to intergovernmental, multi-stakeholder engagement.
The meeting between the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, and the members of the College of International NGOs of the CBFP took place this Tuesday, March 7, 2023, without taboos and with an open heart.
On Wednesday, February 8 at 15.00 CET (Berlin, Brussels, Kinshasa Time) on MS Team, the partners and co-leaders of the Eastern Block of the follow-up of the implementation of the N'Djaména Declaration on Transhumance held their first coordination meeting of the year 2023. This meeting followed the meeting of the Central block on Tuesday, January 31, 2023.
On Wednesday, March 8, at 3:00 p.m. (Yaoundé time) on MS Team, in anticipation of the end of the German CBFP Facilitation scheduled for July 2023, and with a view to preparing the handover from the German Facilitation to the France-Gabon Co-Facilitation, the Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, held a meeting with the members of the Intergovernmental College and Multilateral Institutions of the CBFP.
Bujumbura, March 14, 2023, The CBFP Facilitator from the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, took the floor at the 11th Ordinary Session of the Council of Ministers of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), held from March 14 to 17, 2023 in Bujumbura, Burundi. The council was organized by COMIFAC in close collaboration with the Burundian Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, and with the financial support of the German cooperation through the GIZ project.
Bujumbura, Burundi, March 17, 2023 - The opening of the ministerial segment of the eleventh COMIFAC Council of Ministers was marked by the handover ceremony of the Chairmanship between the Republic of Cameroon, outgoing Chair, and the Republic of Burundi, incoming Chair, represented by Pr Sanctus NIRAGIRA, Minister of the Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Burundi in the presence of the Prime Minister, Head of Government Lieutenant General Gervais NDIRAKOBUCA, Heads of Institutions, Ambassadors of COMIFAC member countries, technical and financial partners, regional and international organizations, and the business community.
On Wednesday, 1st of March 2023 from 12:00 to 13:30, the strategy meeting of the international coalition "Biodiversity Corridors in Africa" took place during the One Forest Summit. Please download below the minutes in English and French.
Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi, March 14, 2023 - The experts' segment of the 11th session of the Council of Ministers of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) was opened by Prof. Sanctus NIRAGIRA, Minister of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of the Republic of Burundi.
The Wildlife Conservation Society Central African Republic Program is deeply saddened by the death of Mr. Éric Rama Doungous, Ecoguard team leader and head of the Base Vie location in Bamingui. He died Monday, March 20, after he and his team, on patrol in the western sector of Bamingui-Bangoran National Park, were ambushed by armed bandits.
Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi, March 13-14, 2023 - The sub-regional workshop on the results of the 27th Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ended today.
Organized by KfW on the occasion of the mission in Yaounde of the CBFP Facilitator of the Federal Republic of Germany, Honorable Dr. Christian Ruck, this meeting was in line with the meetings of the Consultation Circle of MINFOF and MINEPDED Partners (CCPM), whose activities were re-launched after a slowdown due mainly to the COVID crisis. It took place on Tuesday, January 25, 2022 at Hotel La Falaise in Yaoundé, still within the framework of the visit of the CBFP facilitator to Cameroon.
"Since March 1, 2023, the United Kingdom has taken over the chairmanship of the Central African Forest Initiative, CAFI, following Germany. The UK's new role in CAFI follows on from the work done at the COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, which highlighted the importance of the Congo Basin.
As the world races to mitigate global warming, agricultural expansion generally characterized by the practice of slash and burn has been identified as the topmost driver of deforestation that leads to carbon emission in the world’s largest carbon sink. In a new report titled Congo Basin Forests – State of the Forests 2021 produced by the Central Africa Forest Observatory (OFAC), experts say population growth puts fresh pressure on the forests of Central Africa and consequently reduce carbon stock as thousands of arrival of agrarian households into forest areas leads to clearing to establish farmlands. The experts also listed logging, territorial development, land use, governance and need for energy as other factors driving deforestation.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH have signed an agreement with the Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR) for a USD 79.3 million project (USD 35.2 million in GCF financing), to address a much-needed transition to the climate resilient management of forests and landscapes at scale.
GCF and the World Bank have signed an instrumental legal agreement to rapidly begin implementing the second phase of a renewable energy facility. It will support nine countries in meeting their NDC commitments while increasing access to electricity for the most vulnerable populations. The mitigation/adaptation cross-cutting Facility aims to also increase the reliability of the grid infrastructure, improving the country’s economic resilience, and the resilience of vulnerable households to better adapt to the devastating impacts of climate change.
On 5 January 2023, during the ceremony to present New Year’s greetings to the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N’Guesso reiterated the announcement he had made at the 27th United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in Egypt. In his capacity as president of the Congo Basin Climate Commission, he announced that the summit of the world’s three major forest basins would be held in Brazzaville in June 2023. The Congo Basin in Central Africa, the Amazon Basin in South America and the Borneo Mekong Basin in Southeast Asia.
Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi, March 17, 2023, under the high patronage of His Excellency Major Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, President of the Republic, Head of State of Burundi, the eleventh ordinary session of the Council of Ministers of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) was held on March 17, 2023 in Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi.
As part of an effort to operationalize an integrated landscape approach in southern Zambia, the COLANDS (Collaborating to operationalize landscape approaches for nature, development, and sustainability) initiative has been developing and applying new tools and techniques designed to understand and integrate stakeholder visions for the Kalomo Hills Forest Reserve landscape.
The General Secretariat for Land Management has launched the study on the national forestry capital for the preparation of the national scheme of land management of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This study, which is expected to take1 year, aims at determining the ecological (conservation), economic and social potentials of the forest massifs for the whole national territory. The launching ceremony took place this Tuesday, March 14, in Kinshasa.
The thirty-fifth meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has ended with the approval of USD 587.7 million in new climate finance for developing nations, as well as the selection of a new Executive Director. Mafalda Duarte has been selected as the next Executive Director of GCF, with Henry Gonzalez, GCF Deputy Executive Director, appointed to serve as interim Executive Director until Duarte starts her tenure with GCF. The outgoing Executive Director Yannick Glemarec is reaching the end of his four-year term and will leave GCF on 2 April 2023.
“Working on gender issues requires the ability to understand questions such as ‘why’ and ‘how’,” said Stibniati Atmadja, Ethiopia’s Country Lead for the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s Women’s Land Rights Initiative (WLR). “Qualitative data is key for this – but collecting and analyzing such data is a major skill gap in many countries.”
The third international conference of parliamentarians on the sustainable management of Central African forest ecosystems was held in Libreville, Gabon, from 27 to 28 February 2023.
On tuesday, March 7, 2023 at 11:00 am CET (Berlin, Brussels, Kinshasa Time) the partners, leaders and co-leaders of the Western Block held their last coordination meeting online, on the follow-up of the implementation of the Declaration on Transhumance across borders, on MS Teams.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has selected Mafalda Duarte as its new Executive Director. Following an extensive global recruitment process, the Board made the selection during its thirty-fifth meeting at the GCF headquarters in Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea.
The "One Forest Youth Forum (OFYF)" was held from 27 to 28 February 2023 in Libreville (Gabon) as a prelude to the One Forest Summit. The event was organized spontaneously by the youth, members of AGRIDIS and the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA Gabon) in collaboration with the National Youth Councils of ECCAS, the Youth Network for Central African Forests (REJEFAC), and a hundred NGOs and youth associations involved in the tackling of environmental, climate and forestry issues.
Jean Christophe Bokika Ngawolo, Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the NGO Mbou-Mon-Tour, was among the few personalities to speak at the One Forest Summit in the presence of various heads of state including Emmanuel Macron, Denis Sassou Nguesso and Ali Bongo. His organization was created in 1997 by a few university executives from the village of Nkala, in the territory of Bolobo (Maï-Ndombe). This territory has one of the highest densities of bonobos, an endemic species of the country and endangered according to the IUCN Red List.
The Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock of Burundi and with the financial support of the German cooperation through the GIZ project to support COMIFAC are organizing the eleventh ordinary session of its Council of Ministers from 14 to 17 March 2023 in Bujumbura, Republic of Burundi.
In order to improve the efficiency of the management of Protected Areas, the DRC, with the involvement of its partners, had invested in the BIOPAMA project in order to contribute to the development of the IMET tool "Integrated Management Effectiveness Tool". The use of the IMET tool in 18 DRC Protected Areas, for an overall frequency of 33 assessments, contributed to the diagnosis of management problems and to generate structured information to guide decision making for the change of the conservation status.
In line with the CBFP "Fair Deal", the OFS advocates for "A fair deal" between forest countries and the international community: "Time for payment for services rendered to the rest of the world (with the support of the secretariat of the High Ambition for Nature and Peoples (HAC) has come. In return for the commitment of forest countries, the international community will make available more funding, but also a mechanism for payment for the services rendered by nature kept intact, including carbon sequestration.”
Tuesday, January 31, 2023 at 11:30 am (Bangui time) the first coordination meeting of the year 2023 of the partners Co-leaders of the Bloc Centre for the follow-up of the implementation of the Declaration of N'Djaména on Transhumance, took place on MS Team.
For developing countries who are part of the UN’s REDD+ scheme (to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, sustainable management of forests, and enhancement of forest carbon stocks), establishing baseline forest reference emission levels (FREL) is essential obligation to track progress towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. FREL covers emissions from deforestation and – in some countries – from forest degradation and peat decomposition. In countries like Indonesia, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the Republic of Congo (RoC), that have large amounts of standing forest – and which can contribute significantly to a country’s emissions due to land-use change – these reference levels are particularly critical.
Ghana has become the second country in Africa after Mozambique to receive payments from a World Bank trust fund for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, commonly known as REDD+. The World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) paid Ghana $4,862,280 for reducing 972,456 tons of carbon emissions for the first monitoring period under the program (June to December 2019).
Douala, Republic of Cameroon, February 23, 2023- The Executive Secretary of COMIFAC, Mr. Hervé Martial MAIDOU, today presided over the opening ceremony of the fourteenth workshop of the Sub-Group on Protected Areas and Wildlife (SGTAPFS).
Paris, 27 February 2023 – The One Forest Summit will be held in Libreville, Gabon, on 01-02 March, with the goal of making progress on climate action and protecting biodiversity by promoting solidarity between the three major forest basins of the world. Director General Audrey Azoulay will attend to highlight UNESCO’s unique mandate to protect forest areas and numerous conservation programs.
Mungu Amurinde Jeanne d’Arc, a resident of Rubavu District in the Western Province of Rwanda has expressed special gratitude to the President of Rwanda Paul Kagame for the positive impacts brought by the Sebeya Catchment conservation project.
Baroness Scotland is head of the Commonwealth Secretariat - the organisation's main intergovernmental agency. Getty Image. The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, will be in Gabon from Wednesday 1 March to highlight the importance of protecting global biodiversity at the One Forest Summit in Libreville on Thursday.