Private sector awareness on VPA / FLEGT negotiations in Ivory Coast

APV / FLEGT project closing workshop of the SPIB in Ivory Coast

On Wednesday, December 13th in Abidjan, was held the closing workshop of the APV / FLEGT project of the SPIB (Union of Industrial Wood Producers) – ATIBT, supported by the delegation of the European Union (EU) in Côte d’Ivoire.

The overall objective of the workshop was to share the main results of the project, in the presence of the authorities of the Ministry of Water and Forests (Deputy Director of the Ministry), the Chief Negotiator of the VPA / FLEGT Côte d’Ivoire, the FLEGT Focal Point, the FLEGT Facilitator, the Regional Directions and many private sector actors in the forest-wood sector of Côte d’Ivoire.

With the representative of the EU, Mr. Stéphane Cocco, were present representatives of the donors, such as the GIZ (German Development Agency).

This event gave rise to numerous exchanges on the state of the VPA / FLEGT negotiations, including the presentation of the experience conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It has also made it possible to provide information and awareness-raising experiences carried out in recent months in different Ivorian localities. Finally, it allowed the restitution of three technical studies conducted by the SPIB, on the mapping of stakeholders in the sector, the transition of logging perimeters, and comments and annotations on the Forest Code of 2014.

*Boubacar Ben Salah, President of the SPIB*

The president of the SPIB, Mr. Boubacar Ben Salah, as well as the assistant coordinator of the project, Mr. Gilbert Kouakou, organized the event with their teams and the support of the ATIBT, and animated the debates.