1. INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES OF THE WORKSHOP
The Sub-Regional Workshop for West African Countries on "Data Collection and Analysis for Sustainable Forest Management in ACP Countries - Linking National and International Efforts" and "Forestry Outlook Study for Africa - FOSA" was held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, from 13 to 18 December 1999. The event was organized by FAO with the financial support of the EC through the EC-FAO Partnership Programme (Tropical Forestry Budget Line B7-6201/97-15/VIII/FOR - Project GCP/INT/679/EC). The event assembled 41 participants from 15 countries of West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra-Leone and Togo. Also attended the workshop: a representative from WWF, Conservation International (CI), the African Academy of Sciences, the African Development Bank and FAO.
The objectives of the workshop are:
· promote data acquisition by individual countries to provide information for sustainable forest management at the national level which can also be used for planning and identification of trends regionally and internationally;
· review country data and develop procedures to strengthen country data and link it to international data; provide information and training on standardized international definitions and tabular formats for forestry sector data;
· contribute to country capacity for the collection and effective use of forestry sector data;
· develop opportunities for further cooperation between the participating countries, including establishment of a network of correspondents; and
· develop processes to prepare individual country and regional forestry outlook study reports (FOSA).
2. WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES AND MAIN CONCLUSIONS OF THE WORKING SESSIONS.
1. The sub-regional workshop on forestry data collection and the planning meeting for the Forestry Outlook Study for Africa (FOSA) was held in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, from 13 to 18 December 1999.
2. The event brought together 41 participants from 15 countries of West Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra-Leone and Togo. Have also attended the workshop: a representative of WWF, of Conservation International (CI), of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), of the African Development Bank (ADB) and of FAO.
3. The opening session, which took place on 13 December 1999 at Hotel President in Yamoussoukro, was chaired by Mr Gbetibouo Jules, Chief of Cabinet, who represented the Minister of Forestry and Environment in Côte d'Ivoire. Were also present: the representatives of the Resident Minister and the local Prefecture of Yamoussoukro.
4. After the welcome address by the Representative of the Prefect of the Region, the Representative of FAO in Côte d'Ivoire, Mr M. M. Kamara, made a brief statement on the forestry situation in Africa and on the outlook of the sector. He stressed, particularly, the lack of appropriate capacity and the restricted resources resulting in insufficient quality data collection and analysis. In an effort to combat this, FAO and the parties involved have launched a specific programme in view of enhancing the national capabilities in the collection and analysis of forestry data. The Representative of FAO ended his address with an acknowledgement to the Ivorian Government for its acceptance to host this workshop and its active role in it.
5. The Representative of the African Development Bank made it clear that his institution brings a sustainable support to the many countries in the sub-region through forestry projects and forestry components as part of agricultural projects. In addition, he let the assembly know that the ADB will continue to support African countries with their agricultural policy in general and with their forestry planning in particular.
6. In his address, the Representative of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment saluted the initiative of FAO which will make it possible for the many countries to adopt a good methodology of forestry data collection and analysis. He further informed that after accepting the diagnostic report on the forestry sector, the Ivorian Government decided to adopt a forestry policy statement. The Representative of the Ministry of Forestry and Environment declared the workshop opened.
7. The plenary sessions were chaired by Mr Koidiane Armand (Côte d'Ivoire), with rapporteur Mr Tondossama Adam (Côte d'Ivoire).
8. To start, Mr Pape Kone, Senior Forester at the Regional Office of FAO in Accra and Mr Johan Lejeune, Coordinator of the EC-FAO Partnership Project (funded by the European Commission), explained the structure and function of FAO. They also set out the objectives and structure of the workshop which is made up of two separate modules: data collection and analysis of forestry data and planning; and, secondly, the outlook study of the forestry sector in Africa (FOSA). They also described the expected results of the working sessions.
9. Mr Dirk Byler, Representative of "Conservation International" made a presentation on the technical support that his organisation provides to conservation of biodiversity in protected areas. He added that "Conservation International" is currently active in five countries in the sub-region (Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone). This NGO strengthens, in this way, management skills and capabilities of national institutions, particularly in the Kakum (Ghana) and the Marahoue (Côte d'Ivoire) National Parks.
10. Dr Iba Koné from the African Academy of Sciences (AAS), made a presentation on the importance of forestry data collections and analysis in Africa which are essential tools to define sound forest policy and sustained resource management.
11. Fourteen countries presented their national reports containing general information on the forestry sector, methodologies of data collecting and analysing as well as the limits and constraints for more efficient data gathering (see annexes for details on these presentations).
12. Based on the national reports and the discussions which followed it appears that the difficulties are mainly related to the lack of materials, financial resources, poor institutional support and limited national capacity.
13. Faced with this situation, it was recommended that the countries of the sub-region should develop a regional network and exchange the expertise and experiences that exist. Collaboration should be reinforced with national and international organizations.
14. The first plenary session ended with the presentation by Mr Felice Padovani who is in charge of forestry statistics at FAO. He focussed on the interest and importance of collecting and analysing forestry data and the need to establish a forestry statistical office in each of the countries of the sub-region.
15. The participants were divided into two working groups dealing with issues related to forest products and forest resources. Their conclusions and recommendations are listed in the following chapter of this report.
16. The second module of the workshop was entirely dedicated to the Forestry Outlook Study for Africa, (FOSA). Mr Kone and Mr Blanchez, assisted by consultants Mr Amadou Maiga and Mr Francis Odoom were presenting the issues and leading the debates.
17. The introduction to FOSA highlighted its context, objectives and planned activities as well as the details for its implementation. The role to be played by the African countries and in particular, by the national focal points in the FOSA process was stressed. In addition, this presentation clarified the respective roles of the different partners of FOSA as well as the expected outputs of this study.
18. Mr Maiga and Mr Odoom presented a possible FOSA outline for respectively the humid and dry zones of the Western Africa Sub-Region. They focussed on the political, institutional, social and demographic, environmental and economic contexts in relation to the forestry development in the West African Region. They identified key areas and conditions for the development of the forestry sector by the year 2020. They raised key questions likely to help the prospective analysis of the sector.
19. For reasons of language, the session split into 2 working groups (anglophone and francophone groups). Based on the papers of the consultants and questions raised, each of the two groups reviewed the indicative list of priority items for study and ranked priority themes for each of the ecological zones in the sub-region.
20. Following the general presentation of the FOSA programme, Mr Blanchez gave comments on the results expected by the participants. Amongst other were listed:
· comments on the FOSA process,
· understanding of the outlook aspects,
· analysis of the engines of change,
· thematic studies,
· document of the national prospective,
· useful information leading to the national outlook study,
· coordination and cooperation between countries, FAO, ADB and the other partners.
21. Mr Blanchez in another session on the FOSA presentation recalled that "curiosity" is necessary to take care of the future and that the formulation of good questions is the best useful way to envisage the future. The speaker explained the reasons behind the development of this relatively recent science called "Outlook". A link between the outlook and the environment was drawn stressing the common concern of both. The "precaution" principle was explained and the role of the forestry expert as advisor to political decision-makers was commented. FAO experiences in outlook studies (sixties, seventies) and the one recently done in France for its forestry sector were brought up.
22. The draft "table of contents " of a national FOSA report was presented. The basic outline, as well as the different chapters that the document should contain, were reviewed and commented on. The deadline dates and the support that FAO will provide for the drafting of the document were presented. The different possible approaches for an outlook study were described, in particular the one that could lead to the elaboration of desirable scenarios.
23. Mr Koné presented the terms of reference of the national FOSA focal points. He insisted on their responsibilities for the drafting of the document and on the coordination of the activities at national level. He also pointed out that the FOSA focal point - by participating in the study - will gain additional competence in policy and development analysis in the sub-region.
24. A number of practical suggestions had been proposed for helping the focal points to elaborate a workplan and to organize in their respective countries the implementation of FOSA. Round-table discussions ended that topic.
25. Mr Kale Gbegbe, Representative of WWF Regional office of West Africa, congratulated FAO and ADB on the organization of the workshop. He presented the objectives of WWF and the ongoing actions in the sub-region. He dispatched to the participants miscellaneous documents such as annual reports, bulletins and booklets. He closed by saying that WWF is interested in participating in the implementation of the workshop's recommendations.
26. The chair of the workshop closed the discussions by thanking the participants for the quality of their work and encouraged them to become actively involved in the work ahead in order to achieve the objectives of FOSA. He ensured them of the effective support that will be provided by FAO and ADB and he also solicited the support of other partners.
