Annual meeting of the Steering Committee: "Global Forest Transformation for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa".
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Sub-Regional Office for West Africa is organizing the annual meeting of the Steering Committee of the "Global Forest Transformation for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa" Project on 07 and 08 May 2024 in Banjul (The Gambia). The meeting will be held at the, Bakadji Hote, Banjul, The Gambia.
Key participants:
- Government: Honourable Madam Rohey John Manjang, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources of the Gambia.
- Chairperson: Her Excellency Mrs. Massandje Toure-Liste, Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Representation of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA): Mr. Joachim Beijmo, Head of Regional Development Cooperation in Sub-Saharan Africa
- FAO: Dr. Gouantoueu Robert Guei, Coordinator of the FAO Sub-Regional Office for West Africa and Ms Shibu Rampedi, FAO Representative to the Gambia
Agenda Highlights: Participants from the 15 ECOWAS member countries will review and adopt the 2023 Annual Report as well as the 2024 Annual Work Plan. Discussions will focus on the activities planned for 2024 and the validation of the 2024 budget.
"This meeting will serve as a forum for deliberations and stock taking of the actions taken in response to the recommendation of the 2023 Annual Meeting," said Dr Gouantoueu Robert Guei, Coordinator of FAO's Sub-Regional Office for West Africa.
Field visit:
The annual meeting will be followed by a field visit to the Mansakonko region, on 08 and 09 May 2024, during which the members of the project steering committee will visit the community initiative "Grassroots Adaptation interventions for climate change effects (GRACE)" implemented by the NGO Freedom From Hunger Campaign (FFHC) in the Lower River Region (LRR). Supported by the project, this community-based initiative focuses on the protection and restoration of the mangrove ecosystem.
The members of the project's steering committee also plan to meet with local authorities to discuss the level of implementation of the project, measure achievements on the ground, collect their concerns and lay the groundwork for a sustainable partnership perspective.
Project Implementation Context: The project "Global Forest Transformation for People and Climate: A Focus on West Africa" is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is implemented throughout the ECOWAS region and involves civil society, the private sector, state technical services and research institutions.
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen decision-making on forests and land management by improving knowledge of forest dynamics, supporting the reform of forest legal frameworks, and demonstrating and sharing community-based best forestry practices across the West African sub-region and globally.
PRESS CONTACT:
For more information, please contact the media contacts listed:
- M. Ibrahima Diallo
Communications Specialist, FAO Sub-Regional Office for West Africa
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +221 77 649 83 37
- M. Etheine Sylva
Communications Specialist, FAO Country Office in The Gambia
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +220-3553458 +220-3553458
- Mme Maria Kukharva
Project Manager (Program, Advocacy and Awareness-raising)
REDD+, Forests and Climate, Forestry Division
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome, Italy
Email: [email protected]