Certification forum: Towards the generalization of the certification in Gabon

Communiqué on the certification forum: Towards the generalization of the certification of activities of the forest-wood sector in Gabon

Organized by the Ministry of Water and Forests, in charge of the Environment and Sustainable Development through the Agency for the Execution of Activities of the Wood Forest Sector (AEAFFB) and the Coordination Office of the Strategic Plan Gabon Emergent (BCPSGE), the Forum on the generalization of the certification of activities of the forest-wood sector in Gabon ended on November 23, 2018.

This meeting was chaired by the Minister of Water and Forests, in charge of Environment and Sustainable Development, Jacques Denis TSANGA and experienced the participation of stakeholders in the forest-wood sector.

The work of the forum focused on the presentations followed by the debates as follows:

Presentation of the notion of certification and categorization of operators in the forest-wood sector;
Description of certification processes for the activities of the forest-wood sector;
Control of forest information and implementation of a traceability system for forest products;
Identification of operator support mechanisms for forest certification

The fruitful discussions that resulted from these presentations resulted in concrete proposals for the implementation of an action plan to prepare the way towards the generalization of the certification of activities in the forest-wood sector in Gabon.

« This action plan must be enriched, planned, evaluated, before being applied, » said Jacques Denis TSANGA.

All in all, the following recommendations were made:

The forest-wood sector administrations must ensure the effectiveness of the application of the texts in force;
Forest companies have to choose the certification systems themselves;
An inventory must be made to check if the management plans are actually implemented, in order to assess the level of each company and identify the type of support needed;
Forest certification needs to be addressed in stages;
The legislative and regulatory framework must be adapted to the issue of forest certification;
Technical and financial support programs must be defined in order to support companies towards forest certification.