By Kebba Ansu Manneh
Africa Forest Forum (AFF) in collaboration with Network of Natural Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA) has concluded a three (3) days Webinars on “National responses to the Paris Agreement and promoting gums and resins in Africa for resilience to climate change.
According to organisers, the Webinar aimed to share results obtained by AFF during the last two years from its work on sustainable management of Africa’s forest and trees outside forest and role play in meeting global and national climate change mitigation.
“AFF has worked hard to provide a bridge between science-based knowledge and strong policies that could support the sustainable management and wise use of these resources for the benefit of the present and future generations.
It has strengthen the capacity of some public and private forest institutions for sustained development outcomes in the sector delivered on related issues in the context of climate change,” said Professor Godwin Kowero, Executive Director and CEO of Africa Forest Forum in a press release issued by AFF and NGARA.
He added: “Participants to the Webinar have the opportunity to learn from the results of studies conducted by AFF in 15 African countries on forest policies and governance processes that have the potential to cultivate better resources in the forestry sector to the climate change opportunities and challenges on the continent.”
AFF Executive Secretary, disclosed that the organisation conducted its studies in the following Africa Countries; Benin, Botswan, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Republic of Congo, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
For his part, Dr. Ben Chikamai, Executive Secretary of NGARA reiterated the contribution of sustainable management of forest in responding to adverse climate change impacts on the continent; and especially in the arid and semi-arid areas where gums and resins play an important role in the lives of many people as well as making significant contribution to the incomes of some countries.
He affirmed that the studies conducted in collaboration with AFF would showcase the continent’s existing capacity to strengthen natural gums and resins value chains with the aim of improving rural livelihoods, national incomes and environmental conservation.
The confab that attracted more than 200 Francophone African stakeholders working on or with interest on Africa’s forest and natural resources will also be held from September 6-8th, 2021, for counterpart Anglophone Stakeholders.
In another development, the Africa Forest Forum also held a roundtable media discussion for editors and reporters drew from various media organisations across the continent. The media roundtable discussion was meant to strengthen the capacity of science reporters to better understand and effectively report on how African countries are handling adverse climate change impacts on the forestry sector and people that depend on it.
Organisers said it will improve the understanding of media professionals on the links between climate change and forestry in Africa, and other issues related to how African forestry stakeholders digest and mainstream decisions and agreements from international discourses in their national forestry instruments as a way of increasing accuracy in reporting.
It is also hope to be used as a springboard to sharing widely results obtained by AFF and NGARA during the last two years on their works on the role of gums and resins sector to respond to impacts of climate change. This is specifically for people who depend on it as well as cultivating personal relationships between webinar participants and the media outlets in order to increase reach to all audiences among other specific objectives.
The roundtable discussions was centered on two thematic topics viz enhancing national forest governance responses to Paris Agreement and development of gums and resins sector for climate resilient communities.
Professor Godwin Kowero, AFF Executive Secretary, Dr. Ben Chikamai, Executive Secretary of NGARA, Marie Louise Avana-Tientcheu, Senior Programme Officer, AFF, Professor Larwanou Mahamana, Forest Ecology/Agroforestry and climate change specialist were among other speakers deliberated on the issue during the roundtable discussion held from 30th August, to 1st of September, 2021.
