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Central Africa's
Billion Dollar Lands
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| Dear Sample-First-Name Sample-Last-Name, |
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Central African countries could save billions by investing in their lands, a study on the Costs of Land Degradation has revealed. Whether in the lush tropical forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin, or the drylands of northern Cameroon and Chad, illegal logging, deforestation and poor agricultural practices are costing the region approximately USD 5 billion every year. And this may be just the tip of the iceberg, with a more recent in-depth study warning that the annual bill could be up to USD 2 billion in Cameroon alone. Next to the considerable toll on countries’ economies, long term ecosystem decline is aggravating food, health and energy crises and conflicts over the use of land, water and forest resources.
The above analysis – which was commissioned by the Global Mechanism (GM) of the UNCCD and will be made available in due course – is an instrumental tool in making a compelling case to ministries of finance and planning and other key players for increased investments into sustainable land and forest management. Preserving Central Africa’s precious natural capital will only be achieved if land and forest management are embraced as national political priorities. Through the Integrated Financing Strategy (IFS) process, the GM supports countries in positioning sustainable land management (SLM) into national political and budgetary frameworks. The IFS strives to increase access to a comprehensive package of finance for SLM from national and international sources, including the private sector, and to facilitate the development of investment frameworks for SLM.
Subregional cooperation is proving to be a significant platform to support countries in their efforts to mobilize resources for UNCCD implementation. This was evident during a recent subregional clinic held in Dakar, Senegal on investment frameworks for SLM. The clinic, which was organized by UNDP and the GM within the context of the Least Developed Countries-Small Island Developing States (LDC-SIDS) programme, enabled countries to share the key challenges they have faced whilst exchanging notable successes to date.
Cameroon is taking significant strides as the first francophone country to have elaborated an IFS, with official validation at the ministerial level expected in the coming months. In addition, both the Central African Republic (CAR) and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are in the process of developing Integrated Investment Frameworks. |
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Securing sustainable financial flows for forests and lands, increasingly requires countries to adopt programmatic approaches that embed cross-cutting issues such as climate change or trade and market access into financing strategies for SLM. As an active member of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) and the TerrAfrica initiative, the GM will be launching its first subregional capacity building initiative later this year to support Central African countries in tapping in to climate change financing opportunities. The GM will work closely alongside both the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), in what promises to be a practical entry point for UNCCD financing. |
Best regards,
The Global Mechanism Team |
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