CONTEXT

The aim of the CAFI Annual Forum is to foster exchange amongst member countries of the Initiative that signed the CAFI Joint Declaration in 2015; to share knowledge and reflect on the challenges of sustainable development in the Central African sub-region, and specifically through the rational and sustainable use of land and forest resources.

The theme selected for the first edition of the CAFI Annual Forum is "Land use planning : an essential tool for integrated, inclusive and sustainable development". This theme was chosen because of the decisive role that spatial planning policies will need to play in the region, in order to ensure the successful implementation of development and economic diversification programs, primarily based on sectors related to land use (agriculture, forestry, mining, oil, energy, tourism, etc.). In addition, it’s clear that from the national level to the local level, development must be approached through forward planning, sustainability and space optimization; to ensure a balanced distribution between activities and population size, and ultimately to ensure that all territories within a country socially and economically attractive. As the lands of Central African countries are heavily dominated by forest cover, land management and land use planning are closely linked to the management of forest areas.

As such, CAFI supports its partner countries in developing and strengthening policies that help align current and future sectoral development plans with land and forest availability, prior to any investment and at each stage of programming and implementation of development projects.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the CAFI Annual Forum is to stimulate debate amongst countries in the region and to encourage the co-construction of a new approach to development where forest areas are adequately managed and secured to promote sustainable and economic prosperity. The 2018 edition of the Forum aims to stimulate a debate and exchange around issues such as:

• How can we reconcile agricultural development and the sustainability of the forest as a resource, in the face of decreasing food security?

•  How can land use planning be a catalyst for sustainable development in Central Africa?

• What value does the forest have as a resource in the face of a growing demand for space for development needs?

•  Is legislation enough to put an end to the sectoral mosaic of the forest estate?

• What LUP needs and tools, at which levels of territorial governance, are required to direct land use toward greater sustainability?

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