CONGO/B: CENTRAL AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE ENVIRONMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000219

SIPDIS

FROM BRAZZAVILLE EMBASSY OFFICE

SENSITIVE

DEPT PASS USAID FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS
NAIROBI PASS PIERSON
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER

E.O. 12958:N/A
TAGS: SENV PREL CF
SUBJECT: CONGO/B: CENTRAL AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE ENVIRONMENT
SUMMIT; CHIRAC ATTENDS, TREATY SIGNED



1. (U) Summary: The Second Summit of the Central African
Heads of State on Conservation and the Sustainable
Management of Forest Ecosystems, held in Brazzaville on
February 4 and 5, was marked by the signature of a treaty
that strengthens the role of
the Central Africa Forest Commission (COMIFAC) and expands
its membership to include Burundi, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and
Principe. While the treaty calls for a financing mechanism
for COMIFAC member states and a suite of environmental
activities known as the Plan de Convergence, heads of state
also appealed to the international community to provide
increased aid, including through such innovative mechanisms
as carbon trading and debt for nature swaps. The USG was
invited to attend as a member of the Congo Basin Forest
Partnership (CBFP). In a side event, the French hosted a
day of discussion on the terms of reference for their two-
year term as CBFP facilitator, a role they assumed from the
U.S in December 2004. The French have indicated they will
put the accent on dialogue, coordination and close
cooperation with the CBFP partners. In a key address to
the Summit, French President Chirac urged the Central
African leaders to focus on good governance and also briefly
touched on the need to address illegal logging. The USG
delegation urged Summit leaders to renew their commitment to
the principles of African Forest Law Enforcement and
Governance (AFLEG) and to reinforce measures to monitor and
control the illegal trade in wildlife/bushmeat. COMIFAC
also announced the name of the new FAO-financed co-
facilitator, Raymond Bitikan, but we understand Bitikan has
not yet accepted the post. Of note, the Italian
representative announced debt relief of 800 million Euros to
COMIFAC countries. There was a French-led CBFP partner
meeting held on the fringes of the Summit February 3. USAID
Africa Assistant Administrator Lloyd Pierson led the USG
delegation and made key points on the separation between
CBFP and COMIFAC and stressed the importance of conservation
management, AFLEG, and environment policy. End Summary.

COMIFAC Treaty and Declaration
--------------


2. (U) Following two days of speeches lauding the progress
that the Central African member states of the Central Africa
Forest Commission (COMIFAC) made in concerting their
efforts to improve environmental conservation of the Congo
Basin, the heads of state of the Republic of Congo,
Cameroon, CAR, DROC, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Sao
Tome and Principe, joined by representatives of the heads of
state of Rwanda and Burundi, signed a Treaty February 5 on
the Conservation and the Sustainable Management of the
Forest Ecosystems of Central Africa. The Treaty reaffirms
their commitment to the 1999 Yaounde Declaration, good
environment and biodiversity practices outlined in the 2000
Plan de Convergence. Angola, one of the expected
signatories, did not sign the Treaty at the Summit. The
Treaty, which will come into force when it is ratified by at
least four countries, commits the signatories to
establishing financing mechanisms and treating conservation,
sustainable forest management and environmental protection
as national priorities.


3. (U) In their addresses to the Summit, the respective
heads of state uniformly called on the international
community to step up their financial contributions to the
conservation of the region's ecosystem through contributions
to COMIFAC, debt for nature swaps, or other innovative
mechanisms. These calls were reiterated in a Heads of State
Declaration issued at the close of the Summit. President
Bongo was the only Head of State whose speech focused on the
need for debt forgiveness by developed nations in order for
the region's countries to use more resources for
environmental conservation.

Chirac's Speech
--------------


4. (U) French President Jacques Chirac, who was the
undisputed star of the show, used the occasion to highlight
his interest in and concern for the Central African
environment, but put the emphasis on actions the Central
African states must take at national and regional levels to
ensure good governance and effective forest laws,
sustainable forest management, and the creation of more
protected areas. He made a passing reference to USG CBFP
facilitation as he noted what France's three main goals
during its facilitation tenure will include:

-- reinforcing dialogue, coordination and cooperation among
all actors in the Congo Basin, including the public and
private sector;
-- combating illegal commerce in tropical timber through the
reinforcement of mechanisms of surveillance and control;
-- reinforcing regional and national capacities necessary
for sustainable management of the Congo Basin, particularly
through training, administration, and the codification and
implementation of forest policies.

USG Participation at the CBFP Session
-------------- --


5. (U) In their respective addresses to the Summit, USG
delegation chief Lloyd Pierson (USAID Assistant
Administrator for Africa) and the Ambassador underscored the
distinct and separate natures of COMIFAC and the CBFP,
stressing that the CBFP is and must remain an informal and
relatively unstructured alliance of like-minded countries,
international and local organizations (including COMIFAC)
and the private sector. Pierson in both the CBFP Feb. 3 and
COMIFAC Feb 4 ministerial meetings on the margins of the
Summit stated in his remarks the imperative of promoting the
sustainable management of the Congo Basin's forests and
wildlife while also seeking to improve the lives of the
region's inhabitants. He highlighted in detail the key
points of AFLEG, the list of actions of the 1999 Yaounde
Declaration and the President's Initiative Against Illegal
Logging (PIAIL). The Assistant USAID Administrator also
noted that while the COMIFAC Plan de Convergence is a useful
reference point for Partner activities, the USG strongly
believes that CBFP partners must have the latitude to
determine the nature and extent of their contributions to
the region's environment in a sovereign manner. Both
Pierson and the Ambassador called on the Central African
states to pay scrupulous attention to commitments they made
during the October 2003 Yaounde African Forest Law
Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) ministerial, including
commitments to inventory, monitor and control the illegal
traffic in bushmeat/wildlife.


6. (U) A large number of CBFP partners attended a February
3 session chaired by the French Ambassador in charge of
Summit preparations, Gerard Cros introduce the new French
CBFP facilitator, Denys Gauer, and reviewed the terms of
reference (TOR) for France's term of facilitation. The USG
delegation intervened early in the session to urge that the
TOR and a proposed Cooperation Framework make clear the
separate and distinct nature of CBFP and COMIFAC. The USG
delegation also noted that it opposed any notion of a
central funding mechanism for CBFP, supported the concept of
an informal mechanism for consultation among partners, and
asked for a clear recommitment to the principles of AFLEG.
The USG also raised concerns about a proposed Consultative
Committee as overly-bureaucratic and noted concerns about
the terms of reference for an African CBFP "co-facilitator."
The French were amenable to our suggestions and those of
other partners and also made clear that the Consultative
Committee would be voluntary, serving only as a means to
facilitate information exchange among partners. The notion
of the Consultative Committee was retained and our points
on separate and distinct and AFLEG were included in a final
TOR and the TOR was adopted by consensus. Other elements
of the French TOR include the following:

-- Elaboration of the CBFP website;
-- Organization of a voluntary working group to examine
potential finance mechanisms that could be used to support
the Plan de Convergence;
-- Strengthening of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat
through appointment of an African co-facilitator (although
this was a bit of a deception since it appears that the
French are supporting ROC candidate Raymund Bitikan from
CAR, and Bitikan is saying he has not accepted the job) and
other technical assistance;
-- Improvement of governance through the harmonization of
laws and forest regulations with AFLEG and the promotion of
voluntary agreements within the framework of the EU's FLEGT
(Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) initiative;
-- Regional and national promotion of CBFP and COMIFAC
conservation activities.


7. (SBU) Comment: The Central African Heads of State noted
their renewed commitment to good governance, including
AFLEG, as well as the pursuit of concrete actions on the
ground and the vigorous implementation of their Plan de
Convergence. Whether they turn their words into actions
remains to be seen. Many of the international community
CBFP partners present at the Summit privately expressed
skepticism about entrusting further funds to COMIFAC, which
most see as a stalking horse for Congolese Forest Minister
Henri Djombo's political ambitions. There is also concern
that COMIFAC still needs to do more and improve as an
organization. Despite Gabonese Minister Doumba serving as
current COMIFAC chair, ROC Minister Djombo was clearly
running the show. The Germans, French and some others,
however, remain committed to strengthening COMIFAC's
institutional capacities through limited inputs of technical
support. The more impressive speeches were given by
Cameroon President Biya and DRC President Kabila. Neither
Chirac nor anyone in his delegation made mention of
financial commitments. On the brighter side, there remains
widespread support for CBFP and its multiple activities,
although not all partners see CBFP and COMIFAC as "separate
and distinct." Most participants left the Summit with a
strong sense that the French take their new role as
facilitator seriously and with a strong commitment to
working in an amicable and cooperative manner with the U.S.
and other partners, although there remain differences on
"separate and distinct" for COMIFAC issues and terms of
reference for the African co-facilitator.


8. (U) Assistant Administrator Pierson departed before he
could clear this cable.


9. (U) Minimize considered.


10. (U) Brazzaville Embassy Office - Sanders.
MEECE