Prior to the seventh meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol (COP-MOP-7) at the Twelfth Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-12) and at the first meeting of the Parties to the Nagoya Protocol on ABS (MOP-1), the Central African Biodiversity Working Group (GTBAC 20) held its twentieth meeting in Douala, Cameroon, to prepare the sub-region’s common positions on various items on the agenda of these meetings.

Organized by the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat with technical and financial support from GIZ and the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the meeting was attended by representatives of the COMIFAC countries, FAO, CEFDHAC networks (REJEFAC, REPALEAC) REPAR, RAPAC, local NGOs (SURAMANA, CARFAD), partner organizations (GIZ, JICA and IUCN) and members of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat and aimed to: (1) review various items on the agenda of COP-MOP 7 and COP12 with a view to developing the common positions of the COMIFAC countries; (2) discuss progress in organizing a side meeting of COMIFAC countries to inform the international community on the progress achieved in implementing COP11 decisions; (3) design a framework for contributions at COP12; (4) come up with an update on the state of preparedness of national delegations (composition of delegations, logistics, etc.); (5) take stock of ABS-related activities conducted in COMIFAC countries in order to find ways of building capacity for implementation of the ABS Protocol at national level; (6) take stock of activities related to the review of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAP); and (7) give feedback and exchange views on the findings of subregional, regional and international meetings (Validation Workshop on the African Union guidelines for coordinated implementation of the Nagoya Protocol in Africa, SBSTTA 18).

In order to achieve these objectives, presentations were made in plenary sessions, providing food for thought and fueling fruitful discussions between the participants. Following the discussions, the meeting made strong recommendations to COMIFAC/GTBAC, the countries in the sub region and their partners. The recommendations were geared towards better human and financial resource mobilization to enhance the contribution of the sub region’s countries at these fora and hence ensure better implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS.

Full details on the conduct of GTBAC 20 are found in the final communiqué on the meeting, which can be downloaded below: