KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) Conservation experts at the 2016 Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) conference have called on the private sector to play a leading role in protection and sustainable management of forests and the entire biodiversity in the Central Africa region.

Speaking on the first day of the conference, Andrea Athanas, Program Design Director at African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) said that with the growing population amid the changing climatic conditions, people continue to invest so as to improve production and create space for settlement, thus putting pressure on wildlife habitats.

“Massive investments are coming in this region that has put pressure on land and water resources, and this has huge implications on wildlife in particular,” Athanas said. “We need to sit with the private sector and engage in constructive solution creation,” she added.

So far, it has been observed that with over 500 delegates attending the 16thgeneral assembly of CBFP, the private sector is minimally represented with only companies in eco-tourism and forest sector in attendance.

Jef Dupain, the Regional Director, Central and Western Africa at the AWF also underlined the importance of bringing on board the private sector, because, many times the private sector is willing to participate in conservation but, often, they do not understand well the roles they can play because of lack of information.

It is believed that the private sector can reinforce the conservation of wildlife resources and habitat, while re-investments in communities can enable those societies live side by side with wildlife and have economic opportunities through access to value chain and achieve economic growth.

According to Athanas, AWF is already working with the private sector in landscapes where the organisation operates in sectors of palm oil production, mining, dam and road construction among others.

This, said Athanas, has created space for the companies to move in a way that is compatible with wildlife conservation.

The experts meeting at the CBFP seeks to create groupings that will include international NGO’s, development partners, private sector, government and local community based organisations with representatives to meet in a council.

The 5-day meeting is expected to produce concrete outputs of direct relevance and value to CBFP members and practitioners in the field as well as key recommendations addressed to policymakers on a limited and well-focused set of crucial issues.

KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) Conservation experts at the 2016 Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) conference have called on the private sector to play a leading role in protection and sustainable management of forests and the entire biodiversity in the Central Africa region.

Speaking on the first day of the conference, Andrea Athanas, Program Design Director at the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) said that with the growing population amid the changing climatic conditions, people continue to invest so as to improve production and create space for settlement, thus putting pressure on wildlife habitats.

“Massive investments are coming in this region that has put pressure on land and water resources, and this has huge implications on wildlife in particular,” Athanas said. “We need to sit with the private sector and engage in constructive solution creation,” she added.

So far, it has been observed that with over 500 delegates attending the 16thgeneral assembly of CBFP, the private sector is minimally represented with only companies in eco-tourism and forest sector in attendance.

Jef Dupain, Regional Director, Central and Western Africa at the AWF also underlined the importance of bringing on board the private sector, because, many times the private sector is willing to participate in conservation but, often, they do not understand well the roles they can play because of lack of information.

It is believed that the private sector can reinforce the conservation of wildlife resources and habitat, while re-investments in communities can enable those societies live side by side with wildlife and have economic opportunities through access to value chain and achieve economic growth.

According to Athanas, AWF is already working with the private sector in landscapes where the organisation operates in sectors of palm oil production, mining, dam and road construction among others.

This, said Athanas, has created space for the companies to move in a way that is compatible with wildlife conservation.

The experts meeting at the CBFP seeks to create groupings that will include international NGO’s, development partners, private sector, government and local community based organisations with representatives to meet in a council.

The 5-day meeting is expected to produce concrete outputs of direct relevance and value to CBFP members and practitioners in the field as well as key recommendations addressed to policymakers on a limited and well-focused set of crucial issues.

KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) - The 16th Meeting of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) kicks off in Kigali, Rwanda on November 21, with over 500 delegates from governments, organisations – both the public and private sectors, representatives from civil society and the academic and scientific community looking forward to developing policies and other means of dealing with the challenges facing the Congo Basin forests.

Other issues to be discussed include land use planning, conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources, including the fight against wildlife trafficking, climate change, sustainable economic development and private sector knowledge-based decision-making among others.

So far, Heads of State and Government of the Congo Basin countries have confirmed their commitment to the principles of conservation of the biodiversity and the sustainable management of Central African forest ecosystems, the fundamental rights of their populations to benefit from forest resources and the imperative to reconcile development needs with conservation within the framework of international cooperation.

The Kigali conference comes at a time when the Congo Basin forests are facing challenges of growing complexity and gravity.

However, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) points out that in the recent past, there has been substantial progress in conservation activities within the basin. The organization works in four priority landscapes in the CBFP which include Maringa-Lopori-Wamba and Bili Uele landscapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dja Fauna Reserve and Campo Ma’an Park in Cameroon.

The Congo Basin Forest covers approximately 180 million hectares and accounts for 30% of plant cover on the African continent, and 19% of the world’s tropical rainforests according to statistics from the African Forest Fotum.

The Basin accordingly hosts significant biodiversity and provides key habitat to some of Africa’s most unique and threatened wildlife, including the forest elephant, okapi, and four great ape species: bonobo, chimpanzee, eastern gorilla and western gorilla. It hosts approximately 10,000 plant, 1000 bird, 400 mammal, and 700 fish species, many of which are unique to the Basin.

 Currently, CBFP comprises more than eighty African  and  international  partner countries  and organisations  from both the public and private sectors as well as from civil society and the academic and scientific community. It is the most comprehensive regional platform dealing with the challenges facing the Congo Basin forests.

Cooperation within CBFP accordingly, aims to support the shared vision of the Central African Heads of State, notably, improving measures taken, including technical and financial support measures, to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, to combat climate change and to alleviate poverty in Central African countries in line with the COMIFAC Convergence Plan.

KIGALI, Rwanda (PAMACC News) - The 16th Meeting of Parties of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) kicks off in Kigali, Rwanda on November 21, with over 500 delegates from governments, organisations – both the public and private sectors, representatives from civil society and the academic and scientific community looking forward to developing policies and other means of dealing with the challenges facing the Congo Basin forests.

Other issues to be discussed include land use planning, conservation and sustainable use of wildlife resources, including the fight against wildlife trafficking, climate change, sustainable economic development and private sector knowledge-based decision-making among others.

So far, Heads of State and Government of the Congo Basin countries have confirmed their commitment to the principles of conservation of the biodiversity and the sustainable management of Central African forest ecosystems, the fundamental rights of their populations to benefit from forest resources and the imperative to reconcile development needs with conservation within the framework of international cooperation.

The Kigali conference comes at a time when the Congo Basin forests are facing challenges of growing complexity and gravity.

However, the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) points out that in the recent past, there has been substantial progress in conservation activities within the basin. The organization works in four priority landscapes in the CBFP which include Maringa-Lopori-Wamba and Bili Uele landscapes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dja Fauna Reserve and Campo Ma’an Park in Cameroon.

The Congo Basin Forest covers approximately 180 million hectares and accounts for 30% of plant cover on the African continent, and 19% of the world’s tropical rainforests according to statistics from the African Forest Fotum.

The Basin accordingly hosts significant biodiversity and provides key habitat to some of Africa’s most unique and threatened wildlife, including the forest elephant, okapi, and four great ape species: bonobo, chimpanzee, eastern gorilla and western gorilla. It hosts approximately 10,000 plant, 1000 bird, 400 mammal, and 700 fish species, many of which are unique to the Basin.

 Currently, CBFP comprises more than eighty African  and  international  partner countries  and organisations  from both the public and private sectors as well as from civil society and the academic and scientific community. It is the most comprehensive regional platform dealing with the challenges facing the Congo Basin forests.

Cooperation within CBFP accordingly, aims to support the shared vision of the Central African Heads of State, notably, improving measures taken, including technical and financial support measures, to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable management of forest ecosystems, to combat climate change and to alleviate poverty in Central African countries in line with the COMIFAC Convergence Plan.