Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) Presentation of the USFS Land-Use Planning Guides Mission Report – May 2011 Mission Dates: April 15 – April 28, 2011
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U.S. Forest Service Technical Assistance Trip Financed by the U.S. Agency for International Development Central African Regional Program for the Environment (USAID/CARPE) Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) Presentation of the USFS Land-Use Planning Guides Mission Report – May 2011 Mission Dates: April 15 – April 28, 2011 Report Submitted by: Bill CONNELLY David FOURNIER Jason KO Table of Contents Executive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Background ................................................................................................................................................... 2 COMIFAC ................................................................................................................................................... 2 USAID/CARPE ............................................................................................................................................ 2 US Forest Service ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Summary of Mission ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Pre-Workshop Session .............................................................................................................................. 4 Summary of Workshop Proceedings ......................................................................................................... 4 First Day of Workshop ........................................................................................................................... 4 Second Day of Workshop ...................................................................................................................... 5 Third Day of Workshop ......................................................................................................................... 6 Fourth Day of Workshop ....................................................................................................................... 8 Conclusions of Workshop ......................................................................................................................... 9 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Summary of recommendations to revise guides ...................................................................................... 9 Recommended Follow-up Activities to Workshop ................................................................................. 11 Guide validation .................................................................................................................................. 11 Guide Capitalization ............................................................................................................................ 11 Training of Trainers ............................................................................................................................. 12 5th guide / Regional Directive .............................................................................................................. 12 Annex 1 – Communiqué finale .................................................................................................................... 13 Annex 2 - Agenda ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Annex 3 - List of participants ...................................................................................................................... 23 Executive Summary The USAID Central African Program for the Environment (USIAD/CARPE) has funded the technical expertise of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to work with USAID/CARPE partners on land-use planning in the 12 priority COMIFAC/CBFP landscapes in Central Africa. Specifically USFS was asked to elaborate land-use and management planning guides for the different intervention levels and areas: Landscape Level, Protected Area Macrozone, Extractive Macrozone, and Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) Macrozone. These guides were designed for use by implementation partners (NGO, government, communities, and private sector) active on the ground in the 12 priority landscapes. After a testing and elaboration period, the four guides were presented to a broader regional audience through the Central African Forestry Commission (COMIFAC) for their eventual validation and wider use in the sub-region. A workshop was held in Douala April 18-22 to present the guides to COMIFAC partners to train them on the tested methodologies and gain feedback. The participants were presented with the concepts and content contained in each of the four guides, case studies of their use in COMIFAC/CBFP landscapes by partners, and requested to work in small groups to analyze the content and make recommendations for revisions and next steps. As a result of the workshop, with certain recommended revisions, the four guides were technically validated, however it was requested that national level validation and trainings by the COMIFAC member countries be pursued before the guides official regional validation by COMIFAC. Additionally, due to current program needs for such guides (PACEBCo and RAPAC), it was agreed that limited use of the guides could be advanced by these programs until the guides official validation. USAID/CARPE agreed to support USFS and COMIFAC in integrating the guides use into above said programs, as well as pursue their eventual official validation. This report is designed to complement the final report (French) produced by COMIFAC. Its goal is to provide an English summary of the workshop for USAID and future USFS missions. Introduction The goal of this report is to provide a summary analysis of the USAID/CARPE and USFS land-use planning guide presentation workshop in order to: 1. Better orient future USAID and USFS activities and detailers 2. Summarize the proceedings of the workshop 3. Summarize the presentations, reactions, and discussions from workshop participants in the large and small groups 4. Summarize the recommendations and contributions from the participants for revision of the USFS guides 5. Present the approved road map for follow-up actions for capitalization and official validation of the guides at a regional level 1 The USFS, with funding from USAID/CARPE, organized a regional land use planning guide validation workshop in Douala targeted at COMIFAC and COMIFAC partners in which the USAID/CARPE land-use planning (LUP) guides were presented. The concepts of planning were discussed, the content of the previously mentioned four (4) LUP guides was reviewed and technically validated by the participants, and a road map was drawn out for capitalization on the guides through training and official regional validation. The specific goals of the workshop were: Review the four (4) guides and integrate relevant observations for consolidation Examine, enrich and validate the guides Exchange experiences on land-use and management plans in the sub-region Discuss the content of the guides concerning the elaboration process and adoption of land-use and management plans Discuss and brainstorm possible ideas for sub-regional directives and guides related to national land-use planning The USAID/CARPE land-use planning guides were each presented along with a case study of its application in one of the COMIFAC/CBFP landscapes. Subsequent small group sessions were held to garner feedback from the participants on each guide. In the second part of the workshop, each country presented an update of land-use planning in their country related to forests and protected areas. A brainstorming session was held to discuss potential for a 5th guide or sub-regional directive on national level land-use planning. Lastly, COMIFAC, RAPAC, and PACEBCo presented ideas for capitalizing on the guides within the context of other projects and programs. Background COMIFAC The Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) is the principal political and technical forum for guidance, coordination, harmonization and decision-making in the conservation and sustainable management of forest and savannah ecosystems in Central Africa. Created in 1999 by the Yaoundé Declaration, COMIFAC is composed of the Forestry Ministers of its 10 member countries and has an executive secretariat (ES) based in Yaoundé, Cameroon. COMIFAC is recognized as primary coordinator for partner activities of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP), a type II voluntary partnership whose primary aim is to enhance natural resource management and improve the standard of living in the Congo Basin. The COMIFAC Convergence Plan, last revised in 2005, has the vision of sustainable and joint management by Central African States of their forest resources for the wellbeing of their people, the preservation of biodiversity and the protection of the global environment. The Convergence Plan thus defines communal intervention strategies for governments and development partners concerning the conservation and sustainable management of forest and savannah ecosystems in