Before the One Forest Summit to be held in March 2023 in Gabon, the capital Libreville is hosting the third international conference of the Network of Parliamentarians for the Sustainable Management of Central African Forest Ecosystems (REPAR). The meeting will focus on building climate resilience around the natural environments of the sub-region.
From 21 to 24 February 2023, the Network of Parliamentarians for the Management of Central African Forest Ecosystems (REPAR) will meet in Libreville, the capital of Gabon. During these four days of exchanges, the parliamentarians will explore the climate resilience of the natural heritage of the sub-region, particularly the conservation of dense and humid forests in the Congo Basin.
The second green lung of the planet (after the Amazon, editor’s note) covering an area of nearly 301 million hectares is faced with illegal exploitation of its forests. Cameroon, for example, lost 58 million dollars (nearly 33 billion CFA francs) between January 2016 and July 2020 in the illegal export of its wood to Vietnam, according to the 2021 report of the Centre for Environment and Development (CED).
In this context, the Libreville meeting, which will be attended by Lucie Milebou Aubusson Milebou, President of the Gabonese Senate, and Arslen Bounemra, the country coordinator of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), will aim to raise awareness of biodiversity protection among socio-political actors in Central Africa.
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In the case of Gabon, where 70% of the territory is covered by dense forest, the Repar host country will put on the table the human-elephant conflicts that are exacerbating, particularly in the province of Ogooué-Ivindo, with the destruction of plantations by these pachyderms and ivory trafficking by local populations. Moreover, the local authorities have recently authorised ‘an administrative drive of adult male elephants in any area where there is a threat or aggression, in order to guarantee the safety of people and property’.
For more information on the event, click here.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi
