Please kindly consult the main conclusions of the two side events organised by CIFOR and USFS in the margins of CBFP MOP 19 on: Slot 1: Current scientific activities on peatlands (and other wetlands) in the Congo Basin and  Slot 2: Early responses to protect and manage peatlands in the Congo Basin.

Libreville July 5 13:00 – 14:30 Stream (2) Biodiversity: The Future of Protected Areas. The Africa Protected Areas Director (APAD) forum is a platform and network open to the representatives of national authorities of Protected Areas operating throughout Africa. APAD aims to foster information sharing, develop a common agenda for Africa's protected areas, facilitate collaboration and collective responsibility among the Africa Protected Areas Directors. The platform is underpinned by an Africa-led agenda for protected and conserved areas as the backbone of natural infrastructure.

During the event, FSC introduced a range of FSC solutions that are being deployed across the world and in the Congo Basin to strengthen the governance of forests for people and economy, address the climate challenge and strengthen tropical forest product value chains in traditional and emerging markets. These include...

Final Press Release: Thirteenth Workshop of COMIFAC Protected Areas and Wildlife Sub-Working Group (SGTAPFS)

The 13th Workshop of the Central African Forest Commission's Sub-Working Group on Protected Areas and Wildlife (SGTAPFS) took place in Libreville, Republic of Gabon, from 11 to 15 July 2022. The German Cooperation through the GIZ Regional Project to Support COMIFAC, the European Union through the ECOFAC VI Program, and WCS provided technical and financial support for the workshop, which was coordinated by the institution's Executive Secretariat.

The Binational Supervisory and Arbitration Committee (CBSA), on the Cooperation Agreement between Cameroon and Chad for the concerted management of the Bouba Ndjidda and Séna Oura cross-border protected area complex, has held its second session at the invitation of Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, Minister of Forests and Wildlife of Cameroon and Current President of CBSA. Kindly download the documents....

The side event began with an introduction of Denis SONWA, followed by the presentation of the large articulations in front of furnished the sequence that was made by Abdon AWONO. He stressed the importance of the efficient management of wood energy in Central Africa in a context marked by global changes and where the majority of the population uses woodfuel as the main source of energy.

Organized on July 06, 2022 by Field Legality Advisory Group (FLAG), Conservation Justice (CJ) and Brainforest, the side-event "Actions of follow-up and legal watch by the civil society for the protection of Central African forests" had as main objective to highlight the initiatives of follow-up on the environmental litigation and to discuss ways and means for an increase of similar actions. To this end, the co-organisers presented the results of their actions, including the challenges and stakes of follow-up on disputes arising from natural resource management in the Congo Basin, before an online and in-person audience.

The event was based on knowledge exchange on the evolution of MRV in central Africa. It combined direct presentations including online and physical participation and had as objective to review and share lessons on more than a decade of REDD+ MRV in Central Africa, to take stock and map the way forward for improving MRV and Transparency systems in the region. The event was comprised of 4 presentations.

Libreville 07-07-2022. The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme organized a side event at RDP19 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. Key messages from the side event include: The diversity of socio-ecological, cultural, demographic, epidemiologic and economic contexts in the sub-region, requires different wildlife management models to best fit local realities, and, doing so, be better accepted by users and more effective. To develop those models, multi-disciplinary approaches that consider all three – ecological, economic and social – dimensions of sustainability are needed.... Please download the document...

19th Meeting of the Parties of the CBFP, Radison Blu Hotel, Libreville, 06 July 2022 - As the global challenges of combating the climate crisis and biodiversity erosion increasingly focus on the protection of tropical forests, ClientEarth in partnership with Brainforest launched an invitation to discuss the political and legal basis for placing communities at the centre of forest management. The panel focused on experiences of implementing community forestry in Gabon, including opportunities and challenges. The session was marked by two phases of presentations and discussions respectively.

The side event began with an introduction of Denis SONWA, followed by the presentation of the large articulations in front of furnished the sequence that was made by Abdon AWONO. He stressed the importance of the efficient management of wood energy in Central Africa in a context marked by global changes and where the majority of the population uses woodfuel as the main source of energy.

This session clarified the subsidiary, though indispensable, role of human-elephant conflict mitigation methods. It underlined the importance for conservation actors to work towards human-elephant coexistence, which is the only way to ensure the preservation of elephants and the well-being of local communities. It should be remembered that true human-elephant coexistence is a state of cohabitation where the well-being of humans and elephants is ensured in a sustainable manner. As elephants are in the same natural environment as humans, with mutual aggression linked to conflicts of interest between the two and among humans, this state of coexistence can only be achieved if communities exceed the levels of tolerance and acceptance of elephants....

The Legacy Landscapes Fund organised this session with the intention of sharing good practices and creating synergies and lessons learned among conservation actors in the application of social and human rights safeguards in conservation. The Legacy Landscapes Fund is a conservation fiduciary fund that aims to protect some of the most important landscapes for biodiversity and climate on this planet in perpetuity. Therefore, it is extremely important for all stakeholders involved that these Legacy Landscapes are managed in accordance with environmental and social safeguards in order to prevent and mitigate any potential negative impact that any action may have on the environment itself, but also on the staff and the indigenous and local people who live in and around these landscapes.

Libreville 07-07-2022. The Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme organised a side event at MOP19 from 13:00 to 15:00. The key messages from this meeting are the following: The diversity of socio-ecological, cultural, demographic, epidemiological and economic contexts in the sub-region requires different models of wildlife management to adapt best to local realities, and in doing so, be more user-friendly and effective. Developing these models requires multidisciplinary approaches that take into account the three dimensions - ecological, economic and social - of sustainability....

The Climate Focus side event, entitled “The Forest Declaration Assessment - How to achieve the 2030 goals in the Congo Basin” took place on 5 July 2022 during the 19th Meeting of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. Following a brief overview of the project, five regional experts took the floor in a string of presentations on a variety of forestry-related topics.

The general context of forest management and conservation in central Africa… The socio-economic context of forest management and conservation in central Africa. The 4 key elements which have most impacts on forests management and conservation in central Africa… young population and strong population growth…

The high-level meeting on the international financial architecture for biodiversity was held on July 5 and 6, 2022 in Libreville, Gabon. The panel was composed of CAFI, AfDB, AFD and the EU on July 5, and KFW and Winrock on July 6. The finding is that there is chaos in the actions of donors to the forests of the Congo Basin. In the Congo Basin there are 35 funding initiatives in total, including a concern for coordination. It is a question of reflecting on the best coordination mechanism and also on the PES and their indicators; to look at what are the mechanisms to reassure the private sector...

 

This report places the Congo Basin’s Forest ecosystems in a global context characterised by debates that will guide the management of the entire world's tropical forests over the coming decades. It also addresses topical issues such as peatland management and questions about the relationship between the management of biodiversity resources and the emergence or re-emergence of zoonotic diseases, of which COVID-19 has particularly affected the context of its writing.

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Co-organised by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), this meeting is geared towards finding common and sustainable solutions for the preservation of the Congo Basin forests. There are many financing promises for these forests. However, according to participants, they do not always serve the right purpose.

Yaoundé, 26 July 2022. Mrs. Esso Rosy, vice-president of the follow-up of NSAF's recommendations has successfully carried the voice of Rejefac's young leaders on the theme: green entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainable development, during the visit of the French President H.E. Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Cameroon.

4/7/2022 - With the support of the GIZ - COMIFAC regional project, REPALEAC convened in Libreville to actively participate in the #MOP19. The aim of this meeting was to explore approaches for implementing the Glasgow Declaration for indigenous peoples.

Analysis of this review underlines the conclusions of Libreville CBFP Mop 19th Stream 1a of Event: Emissions from the mining of minerals needed to manufacture EVs needs to be offset at source if they are to have a net positive impact on climate change. Many of the minerals are going to be coming from the Congo Basin.You may find this review of the potential climate impacts of the fast-growing market for Electric Vehicles (EVs) on the demand for minerals that are needed – particularly for the construction of their batteries...