Objet :

1. The U.S. Facilitation Team of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership wishes you a healthy and productive new year, 2014!

2. The 13th Meeting of Partners (MoP) of the Congo Basin Forests Partnership (CBFP) as critical feedback to ECCAS, COMIFAC, the Facilitation and CBFP going forward
3. Welcome to our new partner “Cuso International”!
4. COMIFAC: Towards a Revised Convergence Plan
5. GTBAC holds 18th meeting
6. ICRAF : ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins : New publications from ICRAF-ASB
7. UMD: New ERL paper on aboveground carbon loss in DRC
8. Dr Denis Sonwa: America is Back as Facilitator in Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP)
9. The M&NRV-FAO Project is now online

10. What's new- A Palm Leaf for RIFFEAC: “La revue scientifique et techinique Foret et environnement du Bassin du Congo, Vol. 1, 62 p” (Scientific and technical journal of the Congo Basin Forests and Environment Vol 1, 62 pgs.)

11. Signing of a Funding Agreement Worth 1.5 Million Euro between RIFFEAC and AFD
12. International agreement on African elephants tops agenda at Botswana Summit
13. Gabon Actu: ECCAS’ First Steps against Elephant Poaching
14. INTERPOL and UNEP: United against environmental crime
15. EU FAO Flegt Programme calls for project proposals from countries not engaged in VPAs
16. Government Security News: Killing Animals, Buying Arms: Setting the Stage for Collaborative Solutions to Poaching + Wildlife Crime
17. TRAFFIC-WWF: China destroys seized ivory in symbolic move

18. TRAFFIC-WWF: China destroys seized ivory in symbolic move

19. Analysis of China’s overseas investment policies
20. IIED: Report sets stage for China-Africa forest governance research
21. The Protected Areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo

22. IIED: REDD+ and rights: extending carbon rights in the DRC to climate-regulating services

23. AfriquEnvironnement Plus: Special Issue: ECOFAC V - Inclusive and multisectoral program in the heart of Central Africa
24. FAO-InFONews: FAO, UNIDO to help boost forest and wood-processing sectors in southern Africa
25. Experts gather around the issue of mining in Cameroon and the Waza Logone Plain in particular
26. Climate Change Policy & Practice: EEA Describes CO2 Emissions Accounting Methods
27. Climate Change Policy & Practices: CIFOR Outlines Emerging Research Priorities
28. ...Et très prochainement...National validation workshop COMIFAC Convergence Plan  -Introductory Workshop –Year 1 PPECF - Workshop for ES COMIFAC’s PTA 2014 -COMIFAC-OFAC...
29. Job Offers: USFS-RAPAC-TRAFFIC-WWF-IUCN-CIFOR...

Dear Partner,

Would you please check a compilation of articles and announcements posted recently on the CBFP website (www.pfbc-cbfp.org) as a database of the activities of our partners:

Readers' corner: our partners' publications

• The U.S. Facilitation Team of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership wishes you a healthy and productive new year, 2014!

The U.S. Facilitation Team of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership wishes you a healthy and productive new year, 2014!  We look forward to working with you in the new year for continued success in shared projects to advance conservation in central Africa.  Find more...

• The 13th Meeting of Partners (MoP) of the Congo Basin Forests Partnership (CBFP) as critical feedback to ECCAS, COMIFAC, the Facilitation and CBFP going forward

Download all the presentations, official statements and general documents related to the 13th CBFP Meeting of  Partners  In Focus on : (1) Developing Conservation-based Economic Opportunities (2) Innovation Alley: a Showcase of Successful Economic Projects (3) Congo Basin REDD+ Platform: Adaptation and Mitigation (4) Improving the Enabling Environments for Civil Society Engagement (5) Training to Build Capacity for Regional Conservation and Development (6) Combating Wildlife Trafficking in the Congo Basin (7) CBFP Perspectives and Strengthening COMIFAC Plan de Convergence (8) Charting the Future: a Horizon of New Initiatives by CBFP Partners (9) Additional Success Stories  of CBFP – Presentation of innovative field projects and grants successes (10) COMIFAC-China Dialogue  (11) Launch of the Roadmap of the Congo Basin Communicators ...Read more...

• Welcome to our new partner “Cuso International”!

Ottawa (Canada), 2 October 2013 – “Cuso International” has officially joined the Congo Basin Forests Partnership (CBFP)  to promote sustainable management of Central Africa’s forest ecosystems, and to work with the CBFP partners’ to support the implementation of the COMIFAC Convergence Plan.  Read more...

• COMIFAC: Towards a Revised Convergence Plan

From November 21 to 22 a technical workshop was held in Douala (Cameroon), to validate the methodological tools and structure of the revised COMIFAC Convergence Plan. The meeting was organized by the Executive Secretariat of COMIFAC, with financial support from GIZ, which is COMIFAC’s Support Office, the ADB through its regional programme, PACEBCO, the World Bank (MSP project) and IUCN... Read more...

• GTBAC holds 18th meeting

The 18th meeting of the Central African Biodiversity Working Group held in Malabo from 26 to 29 November 2013 was hosted by the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat with financial and technical support from the GIZ-COMIFAC project and JICA. The meeting gathered representatives of COMIFAC countries, international organizations, civil society (REFADD, RAPAC) as well as the members of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat. Read more...

• ICRAF : ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins : New publications from ICRAF-ASB

A Report titled " Towards a ;landscape approach for reducing emissions: a substantive report of the Reducing Emissions from All Land Use – REALU project" - This report documents lessons and experiences from the Reduced Emission from All Land Use (REALU) project, implemented by the ASB Partnership for the Tropical Forest Margins (ASB) hosted by the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF)... Read more...

• UMD: New ERL paper on aboveground carbon loss in DRC

…That methodology grew directly out of the forest cover monitoring work done for CARPE, i.e., the FACET method. This paper published today relies directly on the FACET product….  - A Tyukavina, S V Stehman, P V Potapov, S A Turubanova, A Baccini, S J Goetz, N T Laporte, R A Houghton and M C Hansen (2013) :  National-scale estimation of gross forest aboveground carbon loss: a case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo... Find more...

• Dr Denis Sonwa: America is Back as Facilitator in Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP)

Although President Barack Obama did not make a stop in the heart of the continent in his recent trip to Africa,  the US administration is taking a new responsibility in this region. The US is assuming, for the second time, leadership in the CBFP at the moment where reducing deforestation in the Congo Basin is one of the objectives of the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI) of President Barack Obama. The Congo Basin is also at the center of US interest for development and conservation in sub-Saharan Africa (1and 2). The following text presents: (i) the previous role of US in the creation of CBFP ten years ago, (ii) the current challenges in the region and (iii) the way the US will strategize its responses through the CBFP during the next two years... Find more...

• The M&NRV-FAO Project is now online

Since the regional project launch workshop was held in N'Djamena - Chad in September 2012, the MRV project jointly run by COMIFAC and FAO has been deployed in all the COMIFAC countries where its activities include... Read more...

• What's new- A Palm Leaf for RIFFEAC: “La revue scientifique et techinique Foret et environnement du Bassin du Congo, Vol. 1, 62 p” (Scientific and technical journal of the Congo Basin Forests and Environment Vol 1, 62 pgs.)

• Signing of a Funding Agreement Worth 1.5 Million Euro between RIFFEAC and AFD

A funding agreement was signed on December 10, 2013, between the Central Africa Forestry and Environmental Training Institutions Network (RIFFEAC), represented by Mr. Ibrahim SOULEYMANE SAMBO, RIFFEAC Regional Coordinator, the French Ambassador to Cameroon, Mrs Christine ROBICHON, and The French Development Agency (AFD), represented by Mr. Hervé CONAN, its Director in Cameroon, Mr. Raymond MBITIKON, COMIFAC Executive Secretary being present. Read more..

• International agreement on African elephants tops agenda at Botswana Summit

At the end of the important gathering, a strong statement, dubbed urgent measures from the African Elephant Summit (Gaborone, Botswana, 2-4 December 2013) was adopted by more than thirty states, including China and Vietnam. The 14-point declaration, aims to rally «political support at the highest level "against poaching and ivory trafficking. On 3 December, six countries signed the text in Gaborone, 25 others will follow suit formally later on). The text is available for download... Read more...

• Gabon Actu: ECCAS’ First Steps against Elephant Poaching

While the international community is mobilizing in order to preserve and protect the remaining population of elephants in the world, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) is setting up against elephant poaching… Read more...

• INTERPOL and UNEP: United against environmental crime

The first international conference on environmental compliance and enforcement was held at the UNEP complex in Nairobi, Kenya on November 6, 2013, against the backdrop of the recent Africa - France Summit held at the Elysée on peace and security in Africa. Heads of State present at the Summit voiced their concerns in no uncertain terms about elephant poaching and the illegal ivory trade which are crimes against the environment and are destabilizing countries’ internal security and seized the opportunity to condemn such actions. Read more...

• EU FAO Flegt Programme calls for project proposals from countries not engaged in VPAs

The EU FAO FLEGT Programme will launch a global call for project proposals from government institutions, civil society and private-sector organizations in eligible timber-producing countries not already engaged in Voluntary Partnership Agreements in January 2014. Grants of up to Euro 100 000 will be available...Read more … ..

• Government Security News: Killing Animals, Buying Arms: Setting the Stage for Collaborative Solutions to Poaching + Wildlife Crime

The Stimson Center, a Washington, DC-based think tank has released a report “Killing Animals, Buying Arms: Setting the Stage for Collaborative Solutions to Poaching + Wildlife Crime.” The report, which covers national security issues, terrorist funding from poaching is available for Download...Read more …

• TRAFFIC-WWF: China destroys seized ivory in symbolic move

Guangdong (China), 6 January 2014—The Chinese government today destroyed 6.15 tonnes of elephant ivory seized from illegal trade in a move signalling that China is firmly behind international action to address rampant elephant poaching and illegal ivory trade. The country is the world’s biggest consumer of trafficked ivory, most of which comes from elephants killed in Africa. Read more …

• Analysis of China’s overseas investment policies

In recent years, in line with China’s Going Out strategy announced in 2000, China’s overseas investment activities have increased greatly and at increasing rates. By the end of 2009, the total value of China’s outward foreign direct investment had reached US$5.6 billion. Policies have played strong supporting roles in bringing about this trend by facilitating and encouraging Chinese companies to make overseas investments... Read more...

• IIED: Report sets stage for China-Africa forest governance research

IIED has published a report that identifies research that can shed light on the positive and negative effects of Chinese investment in African forests, and show how to improve governance of the timber trade. Read more...

• The Protected Areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo

This article appeared in : la revue trimestrielle de conservation de la nature et de gestion durable d’Ardenne et Gaume • 3e trimestre 2013...Read more …

• IIED: REDD+ and rights: extending carbon rights in the DRC to climate-regulating services

In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the state has ultimate ownership rights to all resources, adjudicating land use rights and revoking them if public interest demands. Community rights, although weak, are acknowledged in a dual system of tenure and resource rights. Read more...

• AfriquEnvironnement Plus: Special Issue: ECOFAC V - Inclusive and multisectoral program in the heart of Central Africa

In this Edition: Special Feature: ECOFAC V Programme   -  Fighting Illegal Logging in Central Africa – News : COMIFAC: Towards the establishment of a Forest Governance Task Force - Congo-Brazzaville :International forum on sustainable development of the timber industry in the Congo Basin countries ...Read more …

• FAO-InFONews: FAO, UNIDO to help boost forest and wood-processing sectors in southern Africa

FAO and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) are joining forces to assist the development of sustainable forest and wood-processing sectors in countries of the Southern Africa Development Community in an effort to combat forest resource depletion caused in part by failing reforestation and sub-standard and wasteful logging and wood-processing practices... Read more …

• Experts gather around the issue of mining in Cameroon and the Waza Logone Plain in particular

From 26 to 29 November 2013, the city of Maroua in the Far North region of Cameroon, provided the setting for an Expert Meeting on mining in Cameroon chaired by the Governor of the region, focusing on the issue of oil exploration and exploitation in the Waza Logone Flood Plain... Read more...

• Climate Change Policy & Practice: EEA Describes CO2 Emissions Accounting Methods

18 December 2013: A European Environment Agency (EEA) report,  ‘European Union CO2 emissions: different accounting perspectives,' explains key characteristics of different air emissions accounting methods and the resulting emissions data at the EU level, highlighting the need for methodological improvements, as well as better data coverage and quality... Read more...

• Climate Change Policy & Practices: CIFOR Outlines Emerging Research Priorities

The 'CIFOR Research Priorities 2013-2014' outlines current research themes and priorities in regard to CGIAR's Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry, and Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. It further outlines emerging priorities on evidence-based forestry; the landscape approach; forests, food security, and nutrition; and migration, urbanization and remittances. Read more...

• WARSAW CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE

• THIRD EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE MEETING OF THE PARTIES (MOP 3) TO THE PROTOCOL ON WATER AND HEALTH: SPECIAL SESSION ON EQUITABLE ACCESS TO DRINKING WATER AND SANITATION

More news...

...Upcoming agenda items...

• 04.11.2013 - 11.11.2013Francophonie Meeting of Primotology in Democratic Republic of Congo under the Leadership of SFDP and the Kinshasa University

• 07.01.2014 - 15.01.2014 National validation workshop and review of the Convergence Plan in COMIFAC member countries, Yaounde, Libreville, Bangui, Kinshasa, N'djamena, Brazzaville, Malabo, etc..

• 14.01.2014 INTRODUCTORY WORKSHOP - YEAR 1 REPORT OF PPECF in CONGO

• 14.01.2014 - 17.01.2014 GEO (Group on Earth Observations) Ministerial Summit, Geneva International Conference Centre , Geneva, Geneve, Switzerland

• 14.01.2014 - 17.01.2014 FAO, COMIFAC: Consultation meeting on the development of the strategy management of wildlife and meeting of the Steering Committee of the bush meat Project, Brazzaville, Congo

• 15.01.2014 - 17.01.2014 Workshop for ES COMIFAC’s PTA 2014, Limbe, Cameroon

• 18.01.2014 - 19.01.2014 Fourth Session of the IRENA Assembly, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

• 20.01.2014 - 21.01.2014 Meeting on resolution of the issue of cross-border poaching in the Massif-Ivindo Djoua, Douala, Cameroon

• 21.01.2014 - 25.01.2014 International Conference on "Changes in land cover and forest biomass in Central Africa: How accurate for REDD-MRV systems"

• 22.01.2014 - 25.01.2014 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2014, Davos, Graubunden, Switzerland

• 26.01.2014 - 30.01.2014 21st Session Near East Forestry and Range Commission – Amman, Jordan,

• 27.01.2014 - 28.01.2014 11th Meeting of the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE), Bonn, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

• 30.01.2014 - 31.01.2014 PREREDD: Regional Workshop on the Training stratification in Central Africa, Douala, Cameroon (To be confirmed)

• 31.01.2014 Steering Committee PACEBCo, Bata, Guinée Equatoriale (To be confirmed)

• 03.02.2014 - 04.02.2014 African Union Technical Expert Group Meeting on „ABS“, Addis-Abeba, Ethiopia (To be confirmed)

• 10.02.2014 - 14.02.2014 3rd World Congress on Agroforestry Delhi, India,

• 10.02.2014 - 14.02.2014 World Congress on Agroforestry 2014, Delhi, India

• 17.02.2014 - 21.02.2014 Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group Meeting on Socio-economic Considerations (Article 26 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety), Seoul, Republic of Korea

• 22.02.2014 - 23.02.2014 REDD+ Symposium - Carbon Emission Reductions and Removals in Tropical Forests, Kobe, Japan

• 24.02.2014 - 28.02.2014 Third meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Intergovernmental Committee for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and benefit-sharing

• 27.02.2014 - 28.02.2014 UNOPS COMIFAC: 6th Scientific and Technical Committee meetings (CTS), Regional Steering Committee (RTG), and RTP Project TRIDOM, Brazzaville, Congo (To be confirmed)

• 01.03.2014 - 06.03.2014 International Conference on Technology, Science and Climate Change,

• 13.03.2014 - 15.03.2014 Sustainable resource management for climate change mitigation and social security, Indian Society of Tree Scientists - IUFRO, Chandigarh, India,
  

• 19.03.2014 Fifteenth RRI Dialogue on Forests, Governance and Climate Change, The Newseum, Washington, D.C., USA – „ Challenges of Carbon Rights and Implementing the New Warsaw Agreement on REDD+“

• 20.03.2014 - 21.03.2014 AGEOS -COMIFAC: International Conference on "changes in land cover and forest biomass in Central Africa", Libreville, Gabon

• 22.03.2014 - 30.03.2014 UNEP / GEF-COMIFAC validation Workshop and launch of the sub-regional project in the COMIFAC Members Countries on APA (To be confirmed)
  

• 24.03.2014 - 30.03.2014 ECCAS, Congo Government: Third edition of the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples of Central Africa (FIPAC3), Impfondo, Congo (To be confirmed)

More events ...

• Global Canopy Programme Recruitment: Senior Project Manager - Community Forest Monitoring

• World Bank's Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev) Request for Project Ideas

• IUCN PACO is seeking an expert in ecosystem management, an Expert in monitoring and evaluation and an Expert in environmental law and governance

• The World Wide Fund for Nature seeks a Program Officer Democratic Republic of Congo

• UPDATE: The 2014 Train Fellowship Competitions is NOW OPEN - Russel E. Train Fellowships 2014 - Democratic Republic of Congo

• Join CIFOR’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+


• UNFCCC launches CDM African radio contest 2013

More job offers...

It would be greatly appreciated, if you can forward this information to your colleagues, friends or anyone who may be interested in the CBFP flash news. Please do forward your suggestions to dany.pokem@pfbc-cbfp.org I remain at your disposal for further information.

Best regards from CBFP Facilitation,

Dr. Dany DOGMO POKEM

Tel: 0049 176 24 09 50 50 
e-mail:  dany.pokem@pfbc-cbfp.org   
Internet: http://www.pfbc-cbfp.org/accueil.html   http://ccr-rac.pfbc-cbfp.org