EU Commission grants €38m for conservation and sustainable management of Central Africa's forests

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With its new EUR 38 million ECOFAC IV programme, the European Commission is stepping up its funding for the conservation of Central Africa's wet tropical forests. The aim is guarantee the long term conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in seven Central African countries: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. The return to the programme of the DRC, which accounts for half of the region's woodlands, means that the programme will now cover 180 000 km² of tropical forest and savannah ecosystems.

The region has the planet's second largest tropical forest system after Amazonia. This new stage in the ECOFAC programme (Ecosystèmes Forestiers d'Afrique Centrale/Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa) links conservation efforts to development and poverty reduction. The conservation of these forests is crucial to the development of 65 million people.

The needs of local people, who are heavily dependent on the forest's resources, are a major consideration in the programme. There has been considerable investment in researching ways and means of reconciling human development and conservation through complementary projects (microprojects and rural development).

The ECOFAC programme was launched in 1992, in the wake of the Earth Summit in Rio, to contribute to the conservation and rational use of forest ecosystems and biodiversity in Central Africa. Six countries were initially involved: Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and São Tomé and Príncipe. The first three stages saw the commitment of more than EUR 70 million from the 6th, 7th and 8th European Development Funds (EDFs).

ECOFAC IV is the EU's biggest contribution to the implementation of the convergence plan drawn up by the member countries of COMIFAC (Commission des Ministres des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale/Central African Forests Commission) and a major boost for the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), set up by donors and NGOs at 2002's World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.

ECOFAC IV also includes a contribution to the EU's action plan on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT). This commitment reflects the EU's determination to work with timber producing countries to tackle deforestation and curb illegal trade in timber.

One of the programme's key strengths is its regional approach, as attested by the assistance for the establishment of RAPAC (Réseau des aires protégées d'Afrique Centrale/Network of Central African Protected Zones), a network intended to enable other protected zones in the subregion to draw on ECOFAC's experience.

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• République centrafricaine: la Commission fournit une aide humanitaire de quatre millions d'euros aux victimes de l'insécurité (6/8/2007)
• EU Presidency Statement - ECOSOC Substantive Session: UN Forum on Forests (24/7/2006)
• Horn of Africa: European Commission earmarks further €10 million to improve drought preparedness (13/6/2006)
• European Commissioner Dimas at UN conference in Brazil to discuss biodiversity issues (23/3/2006)
• EU Commission provides further €5m for drought victims in Horn of Africa (8/2/2006)
• EU Council adoption of EU Strategy for Africa marks new era in Euro-African relations (12/12/2005)
• EU Council Conclusions - EU Strategy for Africa (22/11/2005)
• EU Commission adopts new European Union Strategy for Africa (12/10/2005)
• Observatory for Environment and Sustainable Development for Africa (16/2/2005)