February 2014: The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the Commission des Forets d’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC) convened a workshop to develop a Central African wildlife management strategy.

Workshop participants came together to discuss a vision and objectives as well as the priority axes for a wildlife strategy, which is to be developed based on stakeholder consultations, national government consultations, sub-regional validation workshops and transmission to the COMIFAC Secretariat.

The workshop was organized as part of the COMIFAC/FAO project titled ‘Sustainable Management of the Wildlife and Bushmeat Sector in Central Africa.’ The project highlighted a number of obstacles to the development of a wildlife strategy, such as the absence of a wildlife resource management strategy, weak legal and regulatory frameworks, and the presence of transboundary issues like cross-border elephant poaching. In addition to challenges, workshop participants also noted the links between sustainable wildlife management and food and nutrition security and livelihoods in Central Africa, emphasizing the importance of a strong regional strategy to support sustainable development. [Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) Press Release] [Publication: Communique Final Sanctionnant les Travaux de l’Atelier de Concertation sur la Strategie de la Gestion de la Faune Sauvage en Afrique Centrale]