5 December, Kinshasa/British Embassy Press Service: UK and Germany today announced a new £3m partnership to support the Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism to manage DRC’s forests. The funding will be provided from the start-up fund of the £110m Congo Basin Forest Fund set up by the UK and Norwegian Governments.   The partnership is the very first project to be supported by this new Fund which underscores the importance of the DRC in the fight against deforestation in the Congo Basin.  It will help the Ministry to carry forward its programme of institutional reform and increase productivity through staff training and the improvement of working conditions at national and provincial levels.

The partnership was announced today by the UK Ambassador, Nick Kay and German Ambassador, Axel Weishaupt, together with the Minster of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism, José Endundo Bononge, at the Residence of the British Embassy.

Mr Kay said: I am delighted to celebrate the launch of this partnership between the UK, Germany and the Ministry of Environment.  The Congo Basin forests are a vital resource upon which millions of people depend. This support to the Ministry of Environment will help build the capacity of the Government of DRC to sustainably manage these forests for the benefit of the Congolese people and the global climate.  We look forward to working with the Government, Germany and other partners to make this happen.

Mr Weishaupt said: This is the first time two donors have entered into a formal partnership to harmonise their support to the DRC forestry sector in line with the Paris Declaration on aid harmonisation. To maximise the impact of finite external assistance to the sector it is important that all donors work together in a co-ordinated fashion in support of DRC national structures. We therefore hope that others will join us in the partnership we are launching today.

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The UK and Norway have jointly committed £110m to the Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF) to tackle deforestation in the Congo Basin forest region, the second largest tropical forest in the world providing livelihoods for some 50 million people and supporting globally important species and livelihoods. The main purpose of the CBFF is to tackle climate change by slowing the rate of deforestation; and to alleviate poverty. The Fund was launched by the UK and Norwegian Prime Ministers in London on 17 June.  As well as DRC the fund will support Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo. The CBFF start up fund will support seven start up activities over two years.  In addition to building the capacity of the DRC Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism activities will also include strengthening local community forest management in the DRC. At a regional level the start-up fund will support satellite monitoring of deforestation and piloting low carbon rural energy initiatives. For further information on the Congo Basin Forest Fund visit www.cbd-fund.org

For further information please contact the Press Service at the British Embassy in Kinshasa