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Published March 02, 2023 / Environment

Conclusions of the One Forest Summit for the preservation of tropical forests

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On March 1 and 2, in Libreville, Gabon, the One Forest Summit brought together a number of actors from the private, public and civil society sectors to discuss how to strengthen the fight against climate change and promote solidarity between the three major forest basins on a global scale: the Amazon forest, the Congo Basin and the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. This event was announced during the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in November 2022, by President Emmanuel Macron and President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Opening of the One Forest Summit by Gabon's Minister of Water and Forests Lee White and French Secretary of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, © Jacques Witt/SIPA.

Gabon, co-host of the Summit with France, is 88% of its territory is covered by the equatorial forest,  one of the world's two main green lungs and is at the forefront of the fight against global warming and the protection of biodiversity. A forerunner, Gabon has also voluntarily committed to protecting a third of its natural areas, both terrestrial and marine, and is the first state to to be paid for protecting its forests  within the framework of the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) supported by Norway.

 

The country is also a member since 2016 of the Congo Basin Climate Commission (CBCC), which, thanks to the Congo Basin Blue Fund, aims to accelerate the implementation of the climate transition and the economic transformation of the Congo Basin in a logic of sustainable development (listen to the intervention of Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Technical Coordinator of the CBCC).

 

The main conclusion of the forum was the proposal by French President Emmanuel Macron to finance an additional 100 million euros for countries wishing to accelerate their strategy to protect vital carbon and biodiversity reserves within the framework of partnerships". The six heads of state present at the summit, including President Sassou Nguesso, President of CBCC, also signed a document called the "Libreville Plan" for the protection of climate and biodiversity.

 

This international meeting was preceded by the One Forest Youth Forum  organised on February 27 and 28 by the Republic of Gabon and technical and financial partners such as Unicef and the International Organisation of the Francophonie. The theme of the forum was "Youth facing the challenges of forest ecosystem development". At COP27, the Brazzaville Foundation opened a fruitful dialogue on this subject with youth representatives.