Sustainable forest management: common front

• Date de Publication : 2021-04-29

Sustainable forest management and logging traceability were at the heart of an audience granted yesterday by Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forests and Wildlife (Minfof), to the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Cameroon, Corinna Fricke, accompanied by the brand new Ambassador, Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU), Philippe Van Damme. "So that we can come up with a system that can improve our performance, we have set up, in partnership with our donors, a system that makes it possible to ensure this sustainable management and to see how to strengthen revenues", explains Jules Doret Ndongo. The engagement of the EU and Germany alongside Cameroon requires the setting up of effective instruments. "We agree with the ministry in charge of forests that we need to involve a system that ensures legal exploitation in order to allow Cameroon to take full advantage of its natural resources," said Corinna Fricke. First, it is a question of setting up the dematerialization of procedures which is a lever for modernizing the forestry administration. The second generation forest information management computer system (Sigif 2) has been set up for this purpose. While a certain opinion thinks that the current no longer passes between Cameroon and the EU on the subject of this tool which aims to ensure the traceability and legality of local timber, the two parties are tying their fists for a harmonious forest management and beneficial to all. Basic foodstuffs: stable prices in the markets For Philippe Van Damme, the European Union attaches great importance to the sustainable management of the Cameroonian forest basin and more broadly of the Congo forest basin at the environmental, economic and social levels. "In terms of the management and monitoring of flows in the timber sector, we agreed that it will be necessary to set up monitoring and invite civil society to monitor the systems that have been put in place. And we for our part have to meet international standards negotiated between the EU and a number of countries, ”the European diplomat said. These standards are, according to him, non-negotiable and the same for everyone. It will also be a question for the EU and Germany to mobilize, in agreement with the Minfof, independent experts to assess the system and see where there are improvements and corrections to be made so that Cameroon can fully adhere to the system. Program for the application of forest regulations, governance and trade, which will give certification of sustainability to timber exported by Cameroon Promotion of the destination Cameroon: synergy around ecotourism.