The Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) |  |
In March 1999, the Central African head of states expressed in the Yaoundé Declaration their wish to create a unique political and technical authority, the Central African Forests Commission, to orient, coordinate, harmonize and facilitate decision making in the Central African context of sustainable management and conservation of forest and savannah ecosystems.
COMIFAC’s Convergence Plan adopted in February 2005 by the head of states defines common strategies for the development intervention of states and partners in the framework of sustainable management and conservation of forest and savannah ecosystems.
As laid down in its Constitutive Treaty adopted in February 2005 in Brazzaville on the occasion of the 2nd Summit of Head of States of Central Africa, the Central African Forests Commission consists of ten signatory member states, namely the Republic of Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad.
Through different funds e.g. from the European Union or the German Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, FAO technically and financially supports COMIFAC in the effective fulfillment of its tasks in the frame of COMIFAC’s collaboration in the non-wood forest products sector.
During the Extraordinary Session of the Ministers Council on the 26th and 27th of October 2008 in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, the ministers of the member states adopted the “Sub-regional Directives for a sustainable management of non-wood forest products of plant origin in Central Africa”, elaborated with the support of FAO through its project “Enhancing food security through non-wood forest products in Central Africa”, GCP/RAF/398/GER (2005-2008).