Audience granted to His Excellency the British High Commissioner to Cameroon

• Date de Publication : 2023-08-21

On Friday, August 18, 2023, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife Mme. Koulsoumi Alhadji épse Boukar granted an audience to the British High Commissioner to Cameroon in the conference room of the ministry. His Excellency Barry-Robert LOWEN, was accompanied by Alice PRIESTLAND, Second Political Secretary. The purpose of the audience was not only to make contact with the heads of Minfof central services, but also to establish a climate of collaboration and partnership between Cameroon and Great Britain in the forestry and wildlife sub-sectors, with a view to strengthening cooperation between both countries. After the customary courtesies, the Secretary of State of Minfof, did not fail to specify the ministry’s fundamental mission, which is the elaboration and implementation of the evaluation of the government's policy on forestry and wildlife. She also expressed her gratitude for Great Britain's multi-faceted support, notably the funding of several national and regional projects (for the Congo Basin); support in forest governance, from which a host of countries draw inspiration; support in the management of protected areas; and support for several civil society organizations working in the forest and wildlife sub-sectors. The list is not exhaustive, however, and does not include the promise of one and a half million (1,500,000) US dollars in funding for the countries of the Congo Basin by Great Britain at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in GLASGOW in 2021. His Excellency Barry-Robert LOWEN expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to speak on the strengthening of multifaceted cooperation between the two countries, in symbiosis with the National Development Strategy (NDS30). A number of recommendations were made in this respect, including the ongoing development of the Second Generation Computerized Forest Information Management System (SIGIF 2), which continues to prove its effectiveness in timber traceability, from the development phase on April 1, 2021, to the procedural phase through its 12 modules; the creation and control of Wood Processing Units, 227 in all the national triangle because most of our domestic markets are supplied with wood of illegal origin; the project to stop logging in 2026; a national strategy for the preservation of wildlife at both national and regional levels; the fight against climate change through reforestation activities.