Central Africa Forests Commission (COMIFAC)
From TrustAfrica wiki
B.P.: 20818
Yaoundé, Cameroun
Tel: +237-221 3510/11
Fax: +237-221 3512
Email: comifac2005@yahoo.fr
Website: http://www.comifac.org
Description
COMIFAC was established in 2005, at a summit of the Central Africa Heads of State in Brazzaville, to act as a regional forum for the conservation and sustainable joint management of forest ecosystems in Central Africa. The countries include Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Chad, Burundi, Sao Tomé and Rwanda. The Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) is the primary authority for decision-making and coordination of sub-regional actions and initiatives on conservation and sustainable management of the Congo Basin forests.
It is made up of the forestry ministers of participating Central African countries and is under the head of a secretariat. The legal basis for the Commission was laid in 1999 when the heads of state of the Republic of the Congo, Chad,Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome/Principe, Gabon and the Central African Republic convened and produced the Yaoundé Declaration. The Declaration recognizes the protection of the Congo Basin's ecosystems as an integral component of the development process and reaffirms the signatories' commitments to work cooperatively to promote the sustainable use of the Congo ecosystem in accordance with their social, economic, and environmental agendas.
Since its formation, COMIFAC has met regularly to discuss its agenda and develop an official Plan de Convergence, an action plan that identifies COMIFAC priorities. Based on COMIFAC’s Plan de Convergence (2003-2010), the CBFP identifies its major themes as: harmonization of forest policy and taxation, inventory of flora and fauna, ecosystem management, conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of natural resources, capacity building and community participation, research and innovative financing mechanisms.
Since 1999, the signatories of the Yaoundé Declaration have worked to overcome variances and formalize their commitments into a treaty. In February 2005, a landmark conference was held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo where an official treaty was signed by the heads of state of Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, Sao Tome/Principe, Burundi and Rwanda. The signatories to the Treaty do not correlate directly with the members of CBFP, but the Treaty demonstrates the active nature of the forestry dialogue in Central Africa of which both the CBFP and COMIFAC play an integral part.
The COMIFAC assures the enforcement of the Yaounde declaration under which it is mandated to supervise and coordinate environmental initiatives concerning forests in the sub region. It has the following governance organs: the summit of Heads of State, the Ministers’ Council, the Executive secretariat, the sub-regional forum and the national forums.
Track Record
The COMIFAC is the only regional authority of orientation, decision and coordination of the sub-regional actions and initiatives on conservation and sustainable management of the forest ecosystems.
The Commission has facilitated establishment of national environmentally sustainable strategies and has informed and trained key actors participating in policy formulation. The organization has also put up sub regional surveillance, monitoring and evaluation of desertification efforts in the region and reinforced national systems for collecting and analyzing data on desertification.
Besides, COMIFAC identifies and values traditional knowledge of local people on conserving natural resources and fighting land degradation, using the technical and scientific potential of the sub region and ICT to improve diffusion of research findings on land durability. COMIFAC has encouraged the exchange of information between the committee of Science and Technology of CCD and national research institutions in the sub region to maximise benefits from research done at international level.
Opportunities
Regarding cooperation, COMIFAC as the global mechanism and secretariat of the CCD, should establish strong collaboration to expand its capacity to address issues in its area of operation. In the context of elaborating the PASR, COMIFAC should enhance the capacities of already existing intergovernmental organizations and NGOs in the region.
