Project Support for the Central Africa Forests Commission
Project region COMIFAC member states: Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe
Project partner Central Africa Forests Commission (Commission des Forêts d‘Afrique Centrale – COMIFAC) and its executive secretariat | Headquarters: Yaoundé, Cameroon
Project term Launched: May 2005; ongoing phase: September 2009 to June 2011; new phase: July 2011 to June 2014
Budget EUR 2 million (ongoing phase); up to EUR 6.5 million (new phase) pledged
Context
National policies need to be harmonised and all of the participating countries have to make joint efforts to preserve the forests of the Congo Basin, an ecosystem of global importance, and to combat poverty in the region. The presidents of the countries within the Congo Basin expressed their willingness to cooperate in the Yaoundé Declaration of 1999.
The responsible ministers of forestry and the environ- ment are now monitoring implementation of the declaration, having set up a coordination mechanism, COMIFAC, specifically for this purpose. COMIFAC is designed to steer the intergovernmental coordination and implementation process required to put the Regional Convergence Plan into practice and to shape the dialogue between all civil society and governmental stakeholders.
The establishment of COMIFAC gave the member states a clear mandate at the highest level to engage in sustainable management and protection of the Congo Basin. They mobilised international assistance, safe- guarded the process institutionally by setting up an executive secretariat, expressed their willingness to implement an independent financing concept and networked numerous stakeholder groups with each other. One principle on which COMIFAC is based is ownership: the assumption of individual responsibility at all levels.
This covers decision-making at the highest political level, but also ratification within the member states. In addition, COMIFAC assumes responsibility for tasks on the basis of the subsidiarity principle. This includes the participatory adaptation of frameworks in all member states, the elaboration of regulations and strategies on the sustainable use of resources, the drafting of specific action plans and coordination with other pan-African and international negotiation processes.
Project
Germany supports the effective and efficient imple- mentation of the political mandate granted to COMIFAC by the heads of state. The object of this support is the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources in the Congo Basin through regional cooperation. The aim is that all actors, whether from the public sector or civil society, recognise the status of COMIFAC and its Secretariat as a policy framework and steering institution for the ongoing harmonisation of forest policies between the member states and for implementation of the Yaoundé Declaration.
Germany provides support to the COMIFAC Secretariat and to regional partner institutions and ministries in the concretisation and implementation of the Regional Convergence Plan, and helps to shape the necessary operational measures and secure the long-term financial foundation.
As at: June 2011 F A C T S H E E T : O T H E R R E G I O N A L P R O M O T I O N M E A S U R E S Photo: Alexandra Müller | GIZ
The approach involves the development of sustainable management methods, such as the management of representative protected areas. In order to achieve this, intensive dialogue between all actors needs to be expanded at national and regional level and instruments need to be developed that facilitate participation by the actors and monitoring of the activities.
France and Germany are cooperating closely on devel- opment-policy activities (joint Franco-German office). Complementarity with German bilateral projects in the region is fostering joined-up development cooper- ation. Germany and COMIFAC both belong to the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) and consequently main- tain close contact with forest initiatives in the region.
Results
In the meantime COMIFAC has the necessary expertise to formulate regional positions independently and to incorporate them into the international dialogue. The coordination tasks relating to national forest conser- vation policies in the Congo Basin are carried out successfully. Internationally, the region now speaks with one voice.
The Regional Convergence Plan, with its binding objectives and agreed implementation strategies, is widely recognised as a framework for action. Reforms have been introduced in order to strengthen the relevant institutions and give them the necessary financial backing.
The first regional forest report has been published and provides the basis for joint analysis of ecological, eco- nomic and social developments in the Congo Basin. Particular emphasis is placed on the participation of civil society. The opportunities for employment and income generation offered by the forest need to be preserved. For many countries in the Congo Basin the sustainable use of these resources is an important source of income and an indispensable basis for subsistence. The task of development cooperation is to contribute to improving the effectiveness of financial investments in the forest sector so that more sustainable use can be made of forest resources. The strengthening and institutional anchoring of the regional and cross-border dialogue process between the state, the population, civil society and the private sector promote good governance and representation of the interests of previously marginalised population groups.
Socially sound promotion approaches are embedded in the region’s national forest programmes. These primarily affect the rights of local minority groups such as the Baka Pygmies, but also relate to gender issues such as the role of women as the main users of secondary forest products.
Contact
Support for the Central Africa Forests Commission B.P. 7814
Yaoundé Cameroon
Contact person Dietmar Schorlemer
T +237 22 20 23 73
F +237 22 21 50 48
I www.giz.de | www.comifac.org | www.cbfp.org
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