81299820-Appui à la COMIFAC : diplomatie environnementale, communication et offre de formation professionnelle en matière de forêts

The project "Regional Support to the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC)" provides technical support to COMIFAC in the areas of biodiversity conservation and forest governance. COMIFAC is one of the regional institutions that has the political legitimacy to bring together a large number of state and civil development stakeholders around issues related to the sustainable management of Central African forests. To this end, the German Cooperation has agreed to a number of fields of action to support COMIFAC towards the autonomous implementation of its steering instrument, the subregional convergence plan. Since 2007, COMIFAC has the status of a specialized agency of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). However, the provisions for implementing this integration have not yet been adopted and have a strong impact on COMIFAC"s ability to carry its missions in its 11 Central African member states (Angola, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Chad). By supporting COMIFAC in its process of achieving financial autonomy, the project contributes significantly to improving the sustainable management of forest resources throughout the Central African sub-region. The project focused on four priority areas aimed at supporting forest policy with regard to biodiversity conservation and guiding sub-regional forest governance. These include: 1. Strengthening the institutional and organizational functioning of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat (SEC) and its operational thematic networks (parliamentarians, forestry training, indigenous populations, and local communities), with a view to effectively integrate COMIFAC into ECCAS as a specialized agency. The project thus aims to support COMIFAC in developing functional tools and mechanisms to ensure that all sub-regional stakeholder groups participate in dialogues and that their positions is taken account of in decision-making processes at national, regional and international levels. 2. Strengthening COMIFAC's political mandate of environmental diplomacy by improving its capacity to participate in international negotiations and to support member states. This implies strengthening the functioning of COMIFAC's specialized working groups (Biodiversity, Climate and Forest Governance) and building the experts" capacities in translating international and regional agreements into national law. Hence the need to support the establishment and professionalisation of a group of regional negotiators mandated by COMIFAC, its member countries and civil society. 3. Improving vocational training in the field of protected area management and landscape restoration in Central Africa through support to the Network of Forestry and Environmental Training Institutions of Central Africa (Réseau des Institutions de Formation Forestière et Environnementale de l'Afrique Centrale, RIFFEAC). This is done specifically by developing study programmes on current topics and providing support for the integration of certain training courses related to protected area management and landscape restoration. 4. Strengthening COMIFAC's communication on sustainable forest management in the Congo Basin through the publication and dissemination of thematic papers of international and regional significance. Helping to improve COMIFAC's impact in the field of political and environmental communication through actions with high international visibility. The German contribution through the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) amounts to up to 8.5 million euros. The Project is executed in cooperation with COMIFAC by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and runs from 01.11.2022 to 31.10.2025.