This is part of the ‘Libreville Plan’, which includes Positive Conservation Partnerships (PCP), an initiative to protect the most important carbon and biodiversity reserves.
By Bernard Bangda
Rewarding « biodiversity certified » countries. This is the commitment made by the Heads of State and Government who met in Libreville, Gabon, on March 1 and 2, 2023 at the « One Forest Summit » to discuss the conservation of the forests of the Congo Basin, the Amazon and Southeast Asia. They created a €100 million fund, financed by France (€50 million), the Walton Foundation (€20 million) and Conservation International (€30 million).
The Libreville Plan states that these funds will allow countries to be rewarded for their efforts to conserve forests and protect their carbon and biodiversity stocks. They will receive « biodiversity certificates ». « These certificates can be exchanged with sovereign states or with the private sector as a contribution to nature conservation, » the French head of state stressed.
« Carbon credits are the most secure source of funding for a transition that protects deforestation-based economies, » Hans Brattskar
Hans Brattskar believes this commitment is justified by the fact that « carbon credits are the most promising source of financing for a transition away from deforestation-based economies ». The special envoy from the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment was speaking on a panel entitled “coalition of actors to develop high environmental value carbon credits.”
Gabon’s Minister of Water and Forests, Lee White said the panel involved « thinking about how to combine biodiversity issues with those of carbon credits to create a kind of biodiversity-positive super carbon credit, and which Gabon offers to the world ».
Initiatives
« Business leaders have launched « 10by30 » to create 10 million jobs in sustainable forest management by 2030”
The « Libreville Plan » has also offered a plenty of room for researchers. As part of the « One Forest Vision », they will draw up a detailed map of the Amazon forest, the Congo Basin and the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, the world’s three largest forest basins. The aim is to better assess their value. Business leaders launched « 10by30 », which aims to create 10 million jobs in activities related to sustainable forest management by 2030.
The One Forest Summit was opened by Lee White, Gabon’s Minister of Water and Forests, and Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, France’s Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships. At the end of the meeting, Gabon’s Head of State, Ali Bongo Ondimba, said: « This summit has brought together nations from all over the world who are willing to commit themselves to the conservation and restoration of the planet’s forests, and it is a testimony to the collective awareness of the role played by forests in this global climate and ecological crisis.”
