A press conference to take stock on the activities of the Sangha Tri – national Foundation for Biodiversity Preservation and Conservation was organized last 09 November, 2011, at Franco Hotel in Yaounde.

This press conference, which was organized with the support and the collaboration of the German cooperation via the German Reconstruction Bank (KFW), the French Development Agency (AFD) and Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), saw the participation of representatives of national and international organizations and institutions, representatives of media houses members of the MINFOF-affiliated Network of Journalists for Sustainable Development and some Cameroonian civil society actors.  Among others, the objectives of the conference were to: (1) Report on the STN Foundation’s state of progress with regards to its work plan and funding, following its Board Meeting; (2) Discuss on presentations made by different national and sub-regional partners for the sustainable management of forests and wildlife resources.

 The main points of this meeting hold in two parts: one part devoted to speeches made by different panellists at the conference and, the other part, to discussions with the media. Speeches were presented respectively by: STN Foundation Board Chairman, its Executive Director, KFW representative, AFD Director and MINFOF Secretary of State. The speeches highlighted the remarkable financial participation of various STNF partners and their commitment to make the funding perennial and sustainable. The Director of AFD asserted that:

 “The importance of the Congo Basin lies in the fact that its forests are home to Africa's greatest biodiversity and, contrary to that of the Amazon and India, it is the only preserved equatorial forest block that remains. It is this observation that explains the Partner's determination to participate in biodiversity preservation and reinforce surveillance in protected areas within the Congo Basin and motivates their commitment to increase their financial contributions.

 KFW Representative, talking on funds from AFD and KFW to which those of the "Regenswaldstiftung" can be added, recalled that these funds are, all the same, insufficient for the sustainable management of protected areas, especially as financial markets are very volatile and current investments cannot guarantee any substantial returns.

He thus recommended that other mechanisms (tourism tax, payments for environmental services, sponsorship by the private sector) be envisaged as possibilities for generating additional revenues.

 He continued by highlighting the need for a strong commitment on the behalf of partner countries. He added that this effort is absolutely indispensable to increase the number of surveillance guards in the field, to meet recurrent expenditure and, to guarantee the credibility of partner's political will and thus serve as a guarantee of confidence in mobilizing external aid. He ended by pinpointing the main challenges of climate change, the exploitation of non renewable natural resources (mining) and industrial agriculture.

On his part, the MINFOF Secretary of State recalled that STN stakeholders made enormous efforts to guarantee the sustainable management of the trans-border area with its exceptional biodiversity.  Among other efforts at institutional level he cited: (1) The signing of the draft Agreement on the Fight against Poaching in June 2002 (2) the signing of the Draft Agreement on the Free Movement of STN personnel in February 2005 (3) the signing of the Draft Agreement on the Organisation and Functioning of TNS Anti-Poaching Brigade (BLAB-TNS). Finally, he reassured participants of MINFOF's commitment to do everything possible to set up innovative funding mechanisms.

At the end of this opening ceremony-cum-press conference, the Executive Director of STN Foundation, Dr Timothée Fomété, presented the Foundation as a sustainable funding mechanism and recalled the context in which the STN operates, the underlying principles of the Foundation before informing participants of the various results and the progress achieved by the Foundation till date. On the last point, he stressed: the STN land use plan (2) the signing of draft agreements by Forestry ministers on: the fight against poaching, the putting into place of the Tri-national Anti-poaching Brigade (BLAB – TNS),  the free movement of STN staff ( 3) the signing of personnel badges by the DOs of the three STN divisions (4) the Anti Poaching Brigade in Nyangouté – Central African Republic, inaugurated on 30 July 2011 (5) infrastructure and equipment for management [please note well] and ecotourism (6) evaluation of vegetation changes and enrichment of forest clearances –former timber yards (7) reinforcement of surveillance and control.

 The European financial crisis and taxpayers’ commitment to double their contributions

Responding to a journalist who sought to know if the currently critical European situation would not be a threat to the continued funding of STN Foundation’s programmes, the panel insisted that these contributions were gifts from individuals and corporate bodies who want to support the conservation of biodiversity in the Congo Basin.  Because these funds are gifts from individuals rather than from states, they shall not stop. This thus serves as a call to biodiversity conservation actors to submit large scale projects that can be funded by the STN. 

 Created in 2007, STNF is an environmental trust fund which aims at contributing to sustainable funding of conservation and eco-development activities within the Sangha Tri –national complex (with a surface area of 44,000 square kilometres). The complex covers three contiguous national parks: Lobeke in Cameroon, Dzanga Sangha in RCA and Nouabale-Ndoki in the Congo Republic.

STN Foundation completed effective capitalization of initial contributions of 5 million Euros mobilized by the German cooperation through Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KFW, the German Reconstruction Bank) and 3 million Euros by AFD in 2010.

  The Government of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) concluded a financial cooperation agreement worth 20 million Euros on 5 July, 2011. The funds are destined for the “STN Foundation Sustainable Management of Congo Basin Forests” Programme.

 Available for download

AFD Director General’s Speech

 KFW Representative’s Speech

MINFOF Secretary of State’s Speech

STNF Executive Director’s Speech