The Congo Basin Forest Fund was launched in June 2008 to complement existing activities; and to support transformative and innovative proposals which will develop the capacity of the people and institutions of the Congo Basin to enable them to manage their forests; help local communities find livelihoods that are consistent with the conservation of forests; and reduce the rate of deforestation. It will provide a source of accessible funding, and encourage governments, civil society, NGOs, and the private sector to work together. The CBFF is initially being financed by a grant of £ 100 million from the British and Norwegian Governments.

The highly attended event, chaired by UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, brought together a number of important persons from state services and development institutions, several of them delivering speeches that underlined their commitment to and appreciation of this new financial mechanism. CBFP members were among those who had decided to mark their presence and Hans SCHIPULLE, CBFP's facilitator, noted in his keynote address that he was extremely glad of the British partners' decision to pursue the implementation of the fund within the existing regional cooperation network. He not only reminded the participants of CBFP'S role in the region, but also insisted on the necessity to install a autonomous financial mechanism that should contribute to a sustained resource flow.

For further information, please take a glance at the Congo Basin Forest Fund's website http://www.cbf-fund.org. The African Bank for Development has also launched a special section about the fund on its website.