21 March 2014: The main conclusions of the second meeting of the Sub Working Group on Protected Areas and Wildlife in Central Africa (SGTAPFS), as reported by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), include the development of a strategy for sustainable wildlife management, which integrates the Forest and Wildlife Crime Analytic Toolbox.

The meeting also addressed the draft guide on the creation of transboundary protected areas in Central Africa; the wildlife crime analytic toolbox; and prospects for collaboration between the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC) countries in the fight against wildlife crime. A series of recommendations were developed, which included the call to: finalize the sub-regional strategy for the sustainable wildlife use by indigenous and local communities in COMIFAC countries; and to use the Wildlife and Forest Crime Analytic Toolbox.

The meeting, which took place from 25-27 February 2014 in Libreville, Republic of Gabon, brought together experts in wildlife and protected areas from the Wildlife and/or Protected Areas Departments of COMIFAC countries, the COMIFAC National Coordinating Bodies of the Congo and Gabon, the Central African Biodiversity Working Group (GTBAC), the General Secretariat of ECCAS, the Executive Secretariats of COMIFAC and RAPAC, and development partners such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), among others. [Congo Basin Forest Partnership News]