History

FAO has long standing experience to provide technical advice on NWFP management and related policy formulation all over the world and especially in Central Africa. COMIFAC, the Central African Forest Commission, is FAO’s main regional counterpart organization in Central Africa, and various field projects in support to its Executive Secretariat and its Convergence Plan, as well as to numerous Central African Governments have been implemented. The current project benefits from this institutional interest, well established networking and profound memory within FAO, concerned Governments and COMIFAC

 

Overview of past and ongoing FAO projects on NWFP and political engagements towards a sustainable management of forest resources in Central Africa

 

Declaration of Yaoundé from the Yaoundé Forest Summit 

March 1999

Outlines commitments of Governments from Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic and Chad to joined conservation and sustainable management of forests 

 

Creation and 1st session of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC)

December 2000 

  • Harmonization of forest policies within the region,
  • Coordination of regional activities and initiatives related to the conservation and sustainable use of forest resources. 

 

COMIFAC’s Convergence Plan

February 2005

Defines the strategies of joint interventions of Governments and development partners in Central Africa for conservation and sustainable management of forest ecosystems until 2015

Project "Institutional support to promote the sustainable use and management of NWFP in Cameroon"

TCP/CMR/2905 (financed by FAO), Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MINFOF), Cameroon, 10/2003-09/2005

  • Analysis of NWFP sector,
  • Elaboration of recommendations for sustainable management and the use of selected products, 
  • Recommendations for the elaboration and implementation of a national strategy and action plan,
  • Revealing benefits of a regional approach for the development of the NWFP sector which lead to the formulation of the regional project GCP/RAF/398/GER.

 

Project "Enhancing food security through sustainable management and use of NWFP in Central Africa"

GCP/RAF/398/GER (financed by the German Government); COMIFAC and relevant national Ministries of Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Republic of Congo, 07/2005-09/2008

  • Clarify the roles of NWFP in poverty alleviation, sustainable forest management and food security in the region,
  • Analyze the legal framework on national and regional level governing the use and commercialization of NWFP,
  • Elaboration of sub-regional directives for a sustainable use of NWFP to enhance the development of the NWFP sector and the harmonization of forest legislation within the region (adopted by COMIFAC in October 2008)

 

Project "Mobilization and capacity building for small- and medium-scale enterprises involved in NWFP value chains in Central Africa"

GCP/RAF/408/EC (financed by the European Union), implemented by FAO in collaboration with the Ministry of Forests and Wildlife (MINFOF), Cameroon and Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Water and Forests (MINECNEF), Democratic Republic of Congo and by SNV, CIFOR, ICRAF; 01/2007-12/2010

  • Strengthening the technical capacity of small- and medium-scale forest enterprises (SMFE) involved in production, processing and commercialization of NWFP,
  • Stimulating a participatory management and sustainable use of NWFP,
  • Installing an enabling policy and institutional environment for assisting SMFE,
  • Support for adapting the sub-regional directives on NWFP use into national legislation in Cameroon and DRC.

 

Project "Enhancing the contribution of NWFP to poverty alleviation and food security in Central African Countries"

GCP/RAF/441/GER (financed by the German Government) in collaboration with COMIFAC and relevant national Ministries of Gabon, Republic of Congo and Central African Republic, 10/2009-09/2012  

  • Strengthening the technical capacity of small- and medium-scale forest enterprises (SMFE) involved in production, processing and commercialization of NWFP,
  • Stimulating a participatory management and sustainable use of NWFP,
  • Creating an enabling policy and institutional environment for assisting SMFE,
  • Support for adapting the sub-regional directives on NWFP use into national legislation in Gabon, Congo and CAR,
  • Creating a favorable environment for the realization of the Right to Food.

 

Project "Enhancing the contribution of NTFP to food security in Central African Countries"

The most recent in line is the project GCP/RAF/479/AFB (financed by the African Development Bank) in collaboration with COMIFAC and relevant national Ministries of the Republic Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tomé & Principe, 2013-2016:  

  • Strengthening the technical capacity of small- and medium-scale forest enterprises (SMFE) involved in production, processing and commercialization of NWFP,
  • Stimulating a participatory management and sustainable use of NWFP,
  • Creating an enabling policy and institutional environment for assisting SMFE,
  • Support for adapting the sub-regional directives on NWFP use into national legislation in of the Republic Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Rwanda, Burundi and Sao Tomé & Principe,
  • Creating a favorable environment for the realization of the Right to Food.
last updated:  Wednesday, January 22, 2014