The National Information workshop on IUCN’s climate change-related activities, the development of civil society’s climate change and REDD+ engagement strategy and communication plan took place from September 24 to 26, 2014, in Libreville, Gabon.

 
Hosted by the Gabonese National Forum of the Conference on Dense and Humid Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa (CEFDHAC) with financial support from IUCN, the workshop aimed to ensure full involvement of all stakeholders in the implementation of climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in Gabon; inform and raise stakeholders’ awareness of climate change and REDD+ issues +, as well as the need for  multistakeholder participation in these processes; develop the climate change and REDD + engagement strategy and communication plan of Gabonese civil society; validate the position paper of the Gabonese civil society on the REDD+ process; assess progress in implementing the Gabonese National Forum’s strategic plan and update it if necessary; introduce the CBFF project and report on the evolution of IUCN’s efforts on the ground; prompt discussions on the establishment of two major platforms for dialogue between civil society actors on the MINKEBE National Park; assess the level of climate change-related discussion and interventions initiated by civil society and discuss a strategy for the involvement of national NGOs in national climate change debates. Workshop attendees included representatives of civil society member organizations of the Forum, IUCN representatives and experts.

 
The presentations made during the training workshop focused on: the phenomenon of Climate Change; the REDD+ mechanism, and key aspects of Gabon’s climate plan.

 
The presentations allowed participants to delineate the scope of IUCN’s REDD+ and climate change-related activities and adopt the engagement strategy, communication plan, roadmap and updated position paper of CEFDHAC Gabon’s National Forum on climate change and REDD+. Moreover, they made the following recommendations:

 
1. The Chairperson of the National Forum should establish, latest before the end of December 2014, the platform and coordinating organ for civil society organizations on climate change and REDD+ following the guidelines defined at the November 2013 meeting;
2. Circulate the position paper among the relevant persons before the end of December 2014;
3. Hold, before the end of December 2014, a meeting with technical and financial partners to present the engagement strategy, communication plan and roadmap of the CEFDHAC NF on climate change and REDD+ for fund raising purposes;

4. Set up, before the end of November 2014, a drafting team to finalize the strategic plan of CEFDHAC Gabon’s NF.

 
For more information on the conduct of the workshop, please read the final communiqué below: