By Elias Ngalame
The African Forest Forum (AFF) is organizing a hybrid side event at the World Forestry Congress taking place in Seoul, Korea.
The event, which is open to all interested forestry stakeholders who would like to participate virtually, will take a hybrid format, with an in-person component hosted by the Government of the Republic of Korea on 02 May 2022 at the COEX Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul.
According to a press release by AFF, this hybrid event entitled, ‘Strengthening forest management for enhanced livelihoods and resilience in a changing environment in Africa”, will bring together an esteemed panel for an interactive discussion on transformative pathways for enhancing climate change adaptation and mitigation in Africa through the application of nature-based solutions.
The event will also explore how the livelihoods of forest-dependent communities can be improved through the enhancement of the value chains of non-timber forest products (NTFPs).
The discussions will be moderated by Prof. Godwin Kowero, Executive Secretary-CEO, African Forest Forum (AFF).
This hybrid event accordingly is organized by the AFF in collaboration with the Network for Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA), the African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF) and the Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG).
It is made possible with financial support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).
Forests in Africa influence the social, economic, and environmental spheres and therefore are crucial for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Trees offer many opportunities for greening the planet and simultaneously enhancing livelihoods and scaling up resilience; these tree-based options have, indeed, the potential to restore forest landscapes, provide forest ecosystem services, and improve climate-resilient livelihoods and environment, sustain the availability of biomass energy, and create green jobs.
All of these underlines the crucial roles of trees and forests in Africa to not only eradicate poverty but also secure environmental stability, among others
The discussions panel will be made up of, Prof Marie Louise Avana, Senior Program Officer, African Forest Forum (AFF), Cecile Ndjebet, President and TV Founder, African Women’s Network for Community Management of Forests (REFACOF), Doris Mutta, Senior Program Officer, African Forest Forum (AFF), Ben Chikamai, Executive Secretary, Network for Gums and Resins in Africa (NGARA), Charles Meshack, Executive Director, Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG), and Djibril Dayamba, Senior Program Officer, African Forest Forum (AFF).
The World Forestry Congress (WFC) it should be noted, is held every six years and is the world’s largest global gathering of foresters. It provides a unique opportunity to strengthen international cooperation with forest supporters and intersectoral partners by sharing expertise and experiences and projecting a vision of the future roles of forests in global sustainable development.
The Congress according to the Press release will bring together global forest stakeholders to review and analyze key challenges facing the sector and ways to address these.
Participation will be diverse, with representation from all regions and sectors; including the public and private sector, NGOs, CSOs, scientific or professional bodies, and forestry societies, as well as those who simply care about forests and the environment.
