The 13^th meeting of the Board of Directors (BoD) of the Congo Basin Forests Fund (FFBC) took place in Paris, France, on September 13, 2013.

The meeting served as an opportunity for participants to assess progress in the fund’s performance since the last BoD meeting that held in October 2012. The meeting was chaired by the Right Honourable Paul Martin, former Prime minister of Canada and co-Chair of the FFBC. Participants included representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the FFBC Secretariat, donors’ representatives (United Kingdom, Norway and Canada), the Chadian minister of the Environment in his capacity as COMIFAC Chair, the Secretary General of the Economic Community of Central African States and the American Facilitator of the Congo Basin Forests Partnership.

Hosted by the AfDB, the Congo Basin Forests Fund was launched in London in June 2008 by the United Kingdom and Norway, in collaboration with the COMIFAC member states. The CBFF aims to alleviate poverty and address climate change challenges by curbing deforestation in the Congo Basin. To date, donor commitments total 128.8 million Euro, including a 20 million dollar contribution made by Canada in 2012.

According to the Board, the CBFF’s performance improved significantly this year. The Board further commended the CBFF Secretariat for the quality of the revised logical framework and the global portfolio analysis conducted in August 2013.

The Board then adopted the following recommendations based on the findings of the portfolio analysis: (1) Extend the duration of CBFF-funded projects from 3 to 5 years for projects covered by the next tender, (2) Devolve CBFF staff to the Congo Basin to enhance and increase the productivity and services provided to beneficiaries.

This Board meeting also provided a platform for the American CBFP Facilitator to present the CBFP road map for the next two years and Board members were able to discuss assistance to be provided to the Congo Basin states to help build their capacity to mobilise green funds.

For more Information, please contact  Mrs. MOLLO NGOMBA, CLOTILDE LOUISETTE (C.NGOMBA@AFDB.ORG)