Steering Committee meeting of Global Transformation of Forests for People and Climate: a focus on West Africa.
A one day steering committee took place virtually, to discuss the activities of the project. Under Focus Area 2 (Assessment of forest and land-related laws, policies and strategies at the sub-regional level towards the development of effective decentralized governance instruments”, seven countries have been selected for the national forest legal framework analysis, focusing on transboundary challenges and deforestation trends in the Upper Guinea Forest Rainforest and Sahel regions. They are five countries from the Upper Guinea Rainforest (Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone) and two Sahel/Savana countries (Senegal and the Gambia).
Following the expression of interest from their respective government representatives, the legal framework analysis is underway in four countries (Ghana, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone). Two additional countries are gearing up to undertake their respective studies. Multiple technical sessions and legal exchange meetings helped develop and refine the methodology for systematic review of forestry legal frameworks, identify transboundary synergies and divergences, and enrich each country’s national perspective. Stakeholder interviews and community consultations with key actors, have helped promote a multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary approach, as well bolster the legal analyses and ensuing recommendations.
The purpose of this workshop is to take stock of the progress accomplished to date, discuss bottlenecks, and invite inputs from the Steering Committee members on the next steps of the project implementation process.
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