Côte d'Ivoire/ Forest protection: La Mé region adopts a Green Plan, a sustainable development tool for 2024-2029

After around a year's work in the field, the La Mé Regional Council now has a 2024-2029 Green Plan for the preservation of forest cover in the region. The document was received by the President of the Council, Prime Minister Patrick Achi, on Wednesday November 27, 2024. The handover ceremony took place on the site of the Société agropastorale (Sap La Mé), in Adzopé, in the presence of numerous actors and stakeholders in the project.

It is a strategic document articulated around three axes representing a vision and a roadmap for building a sustainable region. President Patrick Achi cites the implementation of sustainable agriculture; the preservation, management and expansion of forest areas; and the reduction of environmental pollution.

With regard to the first axis, the Plan will be implemented in the field through the management of cash crops in compliance with national and international standards. The aim is to help farmers achieve "zero deforestation" in their daily activities. This implies that these farmers will benefit from techniques that will enable them to improve productivity in a reduced space.

Specifically, the aim is to support the conversion of 1,500 hectares of full-sun cocoa plantations into agroforestry cocoa plantations.res, giving priority to natural regeneration, as well as the rehabilitation of 2,500 hectares of degraded cocoa farms.

For the second axis, the Plan will promote sustainable forestry and the extension of forests in rural areas. The aim is also to improve the management of classified forests, promote the involvement of local communities and support the development of the network of regional protected areas.

Under Axis 2, the Regional Council will disseminate the new provisions of the Forestry Code and, above all, draw up 300 forest management plans.

As part of Axis 3, the Regional Council intends to effectively combat illegal gold panning by promoting "sustainable gold" mining techniques. Other initiatives include the creation of the N'Guéchié nature reserve, and support for the implementation of local development plans in the 15 villages surrounding the Mabi-Yaya forest.

Numerous efforts are being made in the region, including the reclassification of almost all the Mabi-Yaya forests as a Mabi-Yaya nature reserve in 2019. On the other hand, Achi Patrick stresses the need to implement this Green Plan in view of climate change and the unimaginable disasters that this disruption encourages.

The implementation of the Green Plan was supported in particular by the European Forest Institute and the German Republic through Giz. Stella Gaetani, First Secretary Deputy Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy, praised the region's action, which illustrates its determination to act responsibly to preserve natural resources.

Following the handover of the Green Plan, the President of the Regional Council intends to organize a donor conference to collect resources to finance the project. The handover ceremony was also an opportunity for the members of the Technical Committee of La Mé's Multi-stakeholder Platform for Sustainable Development to hold their first meeting.

Source: www.fratmat.info/