Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, Mr. Jean-Marie Atangana Mebara and CIFOR’s Director-General Ms. Frances Seymour hand over the signed documents. With the signing of the Host Country Agreement, CIFOR and the Government of Cameroon have become official partners in protecting Central Africa’s forests and reducing poverty. Photo by Patrick Nyemeck.
Yaoundé, March 9, 2007: The future of Central Africa's forests in supporting millions of livelihoods and providing a vital habitat for much of the world's rich biodiversity was significantly enhanced today with the signing of a Host Country Agreement between the Government of Cameroon and the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).
Signed by Mr. Jean-Marie Atangana Mebara, Cameroon's Minister of State and Minister of External Relations, and Ms. Frances Seymour, CIFOR's Director General, the agreement guarantees the support of the Government of Cameroon for CIFOR's activities in Central Africa. It also binds CIFOR to work in the interests of the people of Cameroon through its research on policies, practices and technologies that contribute to improving sustainable forest management and the livelihoods of people who depend on forests. Now official partners, CIFOR and the involved Ministries support and advice each other on forestry issues.
CIFOR's Regional Co-coordinator Ms Cyrie Sendashonga said it was a privilege for the Center to be recognized and supported by the Government in its research to improve the contribution forests make to Cameroon's – as well as other countries of the Congo Basin-present and future development while safeguarding their rich biodiversity.
"Cameroon is an important piece in the jig-saw of Congo Basin countries that form the world's second largest rainforest. The Congo Basin's enormous plant and animal diversity and its vital role in reducing poverty make it one of Mother Nature's greatest gifts to humanity." Ms Sendashonga said.
But we must value this gift. And that's the aim of today's Host Country Agreement. The Agreement recognizes the true value of the Congo Basin and the importance of governments and forestry organizations like CIFOR working together so that forests continue to support people's livelihoods without suffering irreversible environmental damage. The future of the Congo Basin and rainforests around the world depend on all of us working together."
According to the World Bank, forests around the world provide 1.6 billion people with food, fuel and other life-essentials. One in four western pharmaceuticals is derived from rainforest ingredients. In the countries that make up the Congo Basin, more than 80 million people depend on its rich forests and other natural resources for their livelihoods and economic development. These include primarily Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the Republic of Congo.
Unfortunately, despite the livelihood and environmental importance of the continent's forests, Africa has the second highest deforestation rate in the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, Africa lost 4 million hectares of forests per year between 2000 and 2005.
In this challenging region, government policy plays a vital role in ensuring the long term survival of the forests. It is essential that policies which affect forests and the people who depend on them are based on sound knowledge and advice from good science and research.
CIFOR researchers work with and advise a range of government departments and agencies dealing with issues that impact on sustainable forest management. For example, in partnership with both government and non government agencies, CIFOR has helped improve rural livelihoods in such areas as Lekié and Akonolinga with its research into the cultivation and marketing of Non-Timber Forest Products such as "eru".
CIFOR is also assisting the government by presenting its studies on forest management decentralization, low impact logging practices and community forestry. In 2003, CIFOR helped the Ministry of Forests developing a set of Criteria & Indicators for sustainable forest management. Currently, the Government and CIFOR are working partners in the Model Forest project – a broad alliance of NGO's, logging companies, administrative authorities and local communities working toward sustainable forest use.
CIFOR is confident that with the signing of the Host Country Agreement, it will carry on its activities with fresh momentum and heightened collaboration with the Government of Cameroon and other partners towards tackling challenges in sustainable forest management and poverty alleviation in Central Africa. The recent conclusion of a Memorandum of Cooperation between CIFOR and the Commission for Central African Forests (COMIFAC) is another important milestone towards that common goal.
French version
For more information, please contact:
Janneke Romijn
Communications Officer
CIFOR Central Africa Regional Office
BP 2008, Messa, Yaoundé, Cameroon
j.romijn@cgiar.org
Tel +237 222 74 49 / +237 222 74 51
Fax +237 222 74 50.
www.cifor.cgiar.org