10.09.2021
A business forum has been created at the initiative of Gabon and France. In its future operation, in addition to the delegates of the Alliance member countries, representatives of the private sector, French economic actors selected from the Groupe National des Forêts Tropicales (GNFT), the French Foreign Trade Advisors, as well as interested members of the Africa Business Forum of the Choiseul Institute will also participate.
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the French Republic, Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, and of the Gabonese Republic, Mr. Pacôme Moubelet Boubeya, the Minister in charge of Forests Mr. Lee White (in videoconference) initiated the preparation of the forum, with the participation of the General Director of the ATIBT, Benoît Jobbé-Duval.
France and Gabon have been involved in the Alliance for the Preservation of Tropical Forests since the beginning. The Charter of the Alliance states that "a rapid end to the destruction of nature is essential to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement, those of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework to be adopted at COP15 of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Public opinion is increasingly aware of this, and this is reflected in the commitments of companies and the objectives of public policies. “
In the spirit of the Alliance Charter and in order to illustrate the relevance of increased Franco-African cooperation in this area, the IUCN World Congress should offer France, in partnership with Gabon, the opportunity to mobilize private sector representatives to reflect on one of the Alliance's core objectives, which states that "responsible sourcing and the establishment of sustainable low-carbon value chains are essential to prevent illegal logging, forest fires and other drivers of deforestation and forest degradation, and to achieve the goal of a circular economy; Considering also that the implementation of these objectives requires partnership approaches between tropical forest countries, partner countries and other stakeholders, including responsible public and private procurement and sustainable production and consumption patterns. "
Similarly, the transformation of the forestry sector, particularly in Central Africa, must take into account environmental, social and economic requirements to ensure sustainable exploitation and an equitable contribution to development.
The main objective of this meeting is to lay the groundwork for the operationalization of the Tropical Rainforest Alliance as an instrument for the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals and the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
Specifically, this meeting could lead to the creation of a Business Forum for the establishment of sustainable value chains in Africa, whose first meeting would take place in the fall.
The creation of this forum aims to involve the private sector in sustainable forest management.
