Congo/ Biodev 2030: adoption of a work plan to implement the project
On January 7 in Brazzaville, Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister for the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, launched the second phase of the Biodev 2030 project, which supports stakeholders in analyzing the potential for innovative financing through the biodiversity certificate and payment for environmental services approaches.
The work launched will lead to the development of a joint work plan to guide future actions and interventions. With a budget of ten million euros, including four hundred thousand euros earmarked for the Congo, the project aims to extend support for the operationalization of commitments made.
It is being implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), coordinated by Expertise France and financed by the French Development Agency (AFD).
The Biodev 2030 project is an experimental approach to biodiversity mainstreaming implemented in fifteen pilot countries, including the Congo, in multiple socio-economic, environmental and geographical contexts. Through a process centered on science-based multi-stakeholder dialogue, the project aims to contribute to the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Accord in these countries by promoting the adoption of productive practices that reconcile biodiversity and development.
According to Clotilde Ngomba, national coordinator of WWF-Congo, the Biodev 2030 project fosters the emergence of a shared national vision for transforming production practices in favor of biodiversity. "In each country, this first phase focused on three sectors, such as agriculture, mining, livestock farming, forestry, fishing, etc. Above the sectors, such as agriculture, mining, livestock farming, forestry, fishing, etc., the first phase focused on three sectors. Above these were sectors such as rice, corn, cotton, sugarcane, coffee, market garden crops, timber, energy wood, mulch, fishing and others... In the Republic of Congo, phase 1, which will be completed by the end of 2022, has identified the main threats and opportunities to natural resources in the agricultural and mining sectors", she emphasized.
The project will also support the national public authorities in institutionalizing and perpetuating a national biodiversity advisory committee. The aim is to set up a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform at national level to coordinate actions in favor of biodiversity.
"With this in mind, a national dialogue will be set up to explore the opportunities offered by these innovative financial mechanisms. This dialogue will identify a pilot territory in which exchanges will be held around these astonishing approaches to sectoral and biodiversity issues, as well as synergies with existing projects and local political appetite. This approach will thus enrich ongoing efforts and enable us to better structure conservation and sustainable financing initiatives," said Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault.
The project aims to support implementation by strengthening the technical and institutional capacities of local players, and to valorize the results and key lessons of the project. "The expected results of the Mass Streaming community of practice component are to strengthen the Biodev 2030 method as a reference tool for integrating and mobilizing financial resources. The method and this community will be promoted at key events such as the COP and the IUCN World Congress in 2025 to attract donors and encourage other players to adopt the approach," added Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault.
The project will help strengthen biodiversity governance in the country, by creating a space for dialogue and coordination that is essential to meeting current and future environmental challenges. Capitalizing on other ongoing initiatives, it aims to support stakeholders in analyzing the potential of innovative financing for biodiversity, such as biodiversity certificates and payments for environmental services.
"Following on from the actions carried out during the first pilot phase, the second phase of Biodev 30, with a budget of 10 million euros, including 400,000 euros earmarked for the Congo, aims to extend the support provided for the operationalization of biodiversity certificates and payments for environmental services.The second phase of the Biodev 30 program will continue to support the operationalization of the commitments made, and above all their implementation in the pilot territories targeted at some fifteen partner countries, including the Republic of Congo. It was with this in mind that the memorandum of understanding between Congo, WWF and AFD was signed on October 22, 2024", said Lalitte, First Counsellor at the French Embassy in Congo.
The Minister pointed out that Congo has 145,000 km² of peatlands, now practically valued at 165,000 km²and fourteen protected areas representing no less than 13.6% of the national territory, and over 2 million hectares of certified sustainably managed forests.
"The VVF's Living Planet 2022 report notes a devastating 69% decline in the population of wild vertebrate animals in less than 50 years (...).) By adopting the global framework for biodiversity in Cumming, Montreal, in December 2022, at the COP 15 on biodiversity, the States, including the Republic of Congo, have affirmed an ambition to protect the planet's biodiversity.publique du Congo, affirmed a strong ambition for biodiversity, including its integration into all economic sectors and the adoption of sustainable production practices that preserve nature, as specified in targets 10, 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19", recalled Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault.
Source: www.adiac-congo.com/
