Support to COMIFAC countries in REDD+ negotiations Burundi, Cameroun, République centrafricaine, Tchad, Chine, Congo, République démocratique du Congo, Guinée équatoriale, Gabon, Norvège

Context of the service

After tough negotiations, the 15th Climate Conference in Copenhagen at the end of 2009 resulted in a political declaration of intent, setting the limit of global warming at 2°C by 2050, but not accompanying this objective with any constraint on greenhouse gas emissions. The work of the ad hoc working groups on the follow-up to the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP) and the long-term collaborative commitments (AWG-LCA) supposed to be concluded in Copenhagen, have therefore been extended by one year, until the 16th Climate Conference in Cancun.
The countries of the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), anxious to be in a position to defend their interests in the negotiations on REDD+, but also on adaptation, financing mitigation and adaptation, etc. have therefore called on ad hoc expertise to accompany them in the 2010 negotiations:
- Conference of the Great Forest Basins in Paris on 10-11 March,
- Oslo forest/climate ministerial conference on 26-27 May,
- UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn from 31 May to 9 June,
- UNFCCC negotiations in Bonn from 2 to 6 August,
- UNFCCC negotiations in Tianjin from 4 to 9 October (with six days of prior consultations: G77+China, Africa Group, Least Developed Countries and COMIFAC),
- 6th session of COMIFAC Ministers in Kinshasa from 8 to 11 November.

Services provided

The expert's tasks were to provide technical and strategic advice on climate negotiations in general and REDD+ in particular, facilitate contacts with other groups of countries present in the negotiations (EU, Umbrella countries, major emerging countries, etc.), with donors and international NGOs present in these for a. Specifically, these tasks were:
- Before the sessions: decipher the issues at stake in the negotiations and the positions of the countries and present them in the form of notes and synthetic presentations,
- During the sessions: accompany the negotiators (or even Ministers during the Ministerial sessions in Paris, Oslo and Kinshasa) of COMIFAC on a daily basis by helping them prepare position papers and statements to be made in plenary sessions, by facilitating bilateral diplomatic meetings and by facilitating daily briefing and debriefing meetings,
- After the sessions: provide activity reports gathering all the products listed above and integrating a critical analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of COMIFAC countries in REDD+ negotiations.
The support provided enabled COMIFAC's REDD+ negotiators to better define and defend their positions, to strengthen their negotiating relations with other countries involved, and to make contacts with donors and NGOs active in REDD+.

Summary of the service

Strategic support in the high-level conferences on forests and climate (Paris on 11 March and Oslo on 27 May) and in the UNFCCC negotiations (Bonn on 06/10 and 08/10, Tianjin on 10/10 and Kinshasa on 11/10) for the 10 member countries of the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC); Capacity building on the issues at stake in the negotiations; Preparation of COMIFAC positions; Diplomatic dialogue with donors and NGOs.