The fifth ordinary session of the council of ministers of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC), gathered representatives hailing from Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea, Chad and Central African Republic, and development partners involved in the field of forest and the environment. The outgoing Chairman of the COMIFAC, Professor Domingo Olomo Mvé handed over the chairmanship to the Central African Minister of Water, Forests, Fisheries and Hunting, tasked with environment, Ms Yvonne Mboïssona.

CBFP's Facilitator, Hans Schipulle, was among those who underlined Ms Mboissona's charismatic dynamism. During his keynote address (non-official tranlsation by website editor) he thanked the Centrafrican host for the warm welcome and the fine organisation of the meeting. 

A large number of pending high-level decision were actually taken during the meeting, owing a large part to the excellent work of the expert-meeting and the political responsibles' willingness to adopt viable solutions. However, some issues placed on the agenda could not be discussed at large, and participants decided to schedule an extraordinary session in the run-up of the Global Forum on Sustainable Development in Brazzaville, on October 26th.

Final communiqué of the Council of Ministers' 5th ordinary session (non-official translation provided by website editor)
Proceedings of the expert group (non-official translation provided by website editor)

The Bangui meeting ended with the adoption of the " Bangui Declaration," (non-official tranlsation by website editor) thus reaffirming the member countries’ common stance ahead of the negotiations on the post-Kyoto 2012 new climate regime. The statement appealed to the organizations of the UN system, the Secretariat of NEPAD, the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) and the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF) so that they support the countries of the Congo Basin in particular, in their efforts to include issues relating to the management of tropical forests in the post-Kyoto negotiations. A call was also made to other technical and financial partners to solicit their multifaceted support in implementing the Bangui Declaration and increasing their efforts with a view to supporting the cause of Central Africa in the establishment of a new post-Kyoto regime on climate.

Photo:  Participants at the 5th ordinary session of the COMIFAC Council of Ministers


Photo: The Secretary Executive of the COMIFAC welcomes Ms Yvonne MBOISSONA of RCA