The summit brought together
32 countries from the world’s three main
forest regions for the first time
Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo) / Nairobi,
8 June 2011 - Countries from the tropical
forest ecosystems of the Amazon, Congo and
South East Asia have strengthened co-operation
on the sustainable use of forest resources
to achieve national economic growth, at
a major summit in Congo-Brazzaville.
The Summit of Heads
of State and Government on Tropical Forest
Ecosystems brought together representatives
from 32 countries from the world's main
forest regions for the first time. The summit
was hosted by the government of the Republic
of the Congo, with support from the United
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
other UN agencies.
Delegates adopted a
joint declaration to work together to improve
the sustainable management of tropical forests.
It addresses issues such as biodiversity,
climate change, national development and
deforestation in the context of the UN Climate
Change Conference in Durban in December
2010 and next year's UN Conference on Sustainable
Development in Brazil (known as Rio+20).
In the declaration,
the heads of state and government affirm
their commitment to put in place enabling
mechanisms that would encourage position
the forest sector as a key tool for the
transition towards a low-carbon, resource
efficient green economy, sustainable development
and poverty reduction in their countries.
The Amazon, the Congo
basin, together with the tropical forests
of Southeast Asia cover 31% of the world's
land area, house more than half of all terrestrial
biodiversity and contribute to the livelihoods
of more than one and a half billion people.
The forest basins provide vital ecosystem
services and goods – such as food and timber
resources and water purification - that
underpin human wellbeing and a vital part
of regional economies.
Delegates at the Brazzaville
summit stressed the need for adequate, reliable
and sustainable financing to allow their
countries to meet the challenges of sustainable
forest management and other forest-related
commitments.
They recommended new
public-private and civil society partnerships,
as well as multilateral co-operation, to
facilitate investments to strengthen forest-related
sectors in their countries.
Particularly, the Heads
of State and Government called for concrete
steps on how to move forward international
financing instruments such as the Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+)
initiative and secure the phase 3 funding
that tropical forest basin countries critically
need.
They appointed Mr. Bharrat
Jagdeo, President of Guyana, as Goodwill
Ambassador for the forests of the three
basins to work with developed and developing
countries to find solutions and resources
to improve management of these globally
vital forest resources.
The Brazzaville Declaration,
which recommends that forests be considered
as a priority area at next year's Rio +20
conference, is the first step towards a
more formal co-operation agreement on forests
between countries of the three major tropical
forests basins and other countries worldwide.
Delegates mandated Denis
Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic
of Congo, to coordinate the development
of the cooperation agreement, in consultation
with the countries of the three tropical
forest basins and relevant regional organizations
(Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization
(ACTO), The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations (ASEAN) and Central African Forests
Commission (COMIFAC).
The next summit will
be held in June 2010 in conjunction with
the Rio+20 sustainable development conference
in Brazil. It will review progress made
since the Brazzaville summit and aim to
adopt the co-operation agreement in time
for Rio+20.
A draft version of the
Brazzaville Declaration can be viewed at:
www.3bassinsforestiers.org
