18 April 2013: Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) members participated in two informal forest dialogues with China, both of which were held in Douala, Cameroon. Since 2007-2008, CBFP members have engaged in informal dialogues with Chinese actors on sustainable forest management (SFM) and issues such as certification, timber traceability and the Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan of the European Union. The two recent dialogues aimed to improve forest governance, reduce poverty and more sustainably manage forest resources.

At the first meeting, on 28 January, CBFP members and China discussed projects and programmes and considered ways to support increased synergies and transparency in their actions, in line with the objectives of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC). Germany, which has responsibility for maintaining cooperation between COMIFAC and China, organized this meeting.

CBFP members and China met again on 20 March to identify joint activities to improve SFM, with the goal of integrating these activities into the Forum on China Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) framework. Under FOCAC, China has committed to “help African countries improve protection and sustainable management of forests.” Participants discussed how to facilitate partnerships that meet Chinese government guidelines for forest operators abroad, while still complying with the host country laws. They also discussed certification, legality and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD+). Participants proposed two future studies: a market analysis on how to incent Chinese companies to invest in and transition towards SFM; and an analysis on how to include Chinese enterprises in existing and future certification and legal verification processes and programs in the Congo and Gabon. This meeting was held on the sidelines of the CBFP Meeting of Partners (MoP). [CBFP Press Release] [Publication: Report of the Informal China-Africa Dialogues meeting 28 January 2013] [Publication: Report of the Informal China-Africa Dialogues meeting 20 March 2013]