COMIFAC Working Group on Biological Diversity

Founding workshop in Sao Tomé, 5^th to 7^th December 2006

The discussion on ABS is now launched in Central Africa: At the occasion of the founding workshop of the Working Group on Biological Diversity of the COMIFAC (Central African Forest Commission) in Sao Tomé, 5th to 7th December 2006, representatives of the COMIFAC member states and relevant partners in development (bilateral organisations, NGOs) have started a process aiming at elaborating a common political approach towards ABS in Central Africa.

One of the first steps will be an initial workshop with, inter alia, the following mandate:

1. inform participants about the negotiations on the International Regime of ABS and its evolution;
2. evaluate the results of a study on the current treaties signed by the countries of the sub-region, non written rules and regulations as well as requests on genetic resources and the overview of the current legislation on ABS;
3. identify the needs on capacity building on ABS and elaborate a definitive road map on ABS in Central Africa.

This initial workshop is preliminarily scheduled for September 2007.

The process is supported by the COMIFAC, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the French Cooperation through the French facilitation of CBFP (Congo Basin Forest Partnership) and the French-German COMIFAC support Office in Yaounde, Cameroon.

Atelier-GTZ-COMIFAC-Biodiversite-2006-12.doc Commission des Forêts de l’Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC), 2006. Report of the founding workshop of the COMIFAC Working Group on Biological Diversity (in French language).

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