CP-Gabon at COP16

This year, the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity took place in Cali, Colombia. It promises to consolidate the action plan for signatory countries of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which took place at COP 15 in December 2022. The agreement functions as an action plan for the 196 signatory countries of the Convention to take measures at national level to meet their targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

On this occasion, Gabon showed its ambition in favour of biodiversity and climate conservation by signing CP (link to the declaration) with France, the Fonds d'amorçage des Partenariats Pays, the Finance for Permanence Project operated by the NGO The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Gabon, through the Global Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN).

It will focus on 4 focal areas:

1. The 30x30 objective, which aims to protect 30% of land and 30% of oceans by 2030, including support for the mitigation of human-wildlife conflicts;
2. Sustainable forest management, the establishment of sustainable value chains for a green economy, the development of income-generating activities and the enhancement of natural capital;
3. Support for scientific cooperation and capacity-building initiatives for Gabonese research institutions, with particular emphasis on the One Forest Vision initiative (OFVi) and the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI);
4. Combating environmental crime.

This partnership follows an initial joint declaration between Gabon and France, which took place during the Gabonese President's visit to France in May 2024. 

It is important to note that OFVi played a role in the design of this agreement. Indeed, the framework for the discussions was the report of the workshop organised by OFVi in November 2023 (link to related article).

Alfred Gnomanda, General Commissioner of the Centre de Recherche Scientifique et Technologique du Gabon - CENAREST, had the opportunity to explain the future OFVi-CENAREST scientific collaboration at a previous workshop on biodiversity in Ipassa in September (link to related article).