VPA/FLEGT: The Redeployment of Civil Society

Following a period of lull resulting from the country's political situation, the Platform of Gabonese civil society organizations and actors around the FLEGT and VPA process is redeploying.

Interview conducted by Phal G. MEZUI.

Following up on the national workshop held in Libreville on May 26, 27, and 28, 2009, for the purpose of drafting the roadmap for the FLEGT action programme, the Gabonese civil society NGOs and actors involved in this process met on Friday, October 2, 2009, at Brainforest's premises. The objective of the meeting was to take stock of the actions carried out to date, but also and above all to agree together on a timeline of upcoming activities. Taking advantage of the opportunity offered by this meeting, which allowed participants to conduct an in-depth review of the involvement of Gabonese civil society in the implementation of the FLEGT and VPA process, the focal point, Richelieu ZUE OBAME, gave an interview to the editorial team of Brainforest Info.

Brainforest Info: Mr. Richelieu ZUE OBAME, in your capacity as focal point for Gabonese civil society in the FLEGT and VPA process, could you explain to our readers what this is about?

Richelieu ZUE OBAME: FLEGT (Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) is a mechanism established by the European Union as a response from the Community to the challenges of improving forest law enforcement in tropical timber-producing countries. This mechanism culminates in the signing of a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) between the producing country (in this case, Gabon) and the EU. As such, it requires the implementation of concrete measures to reduce illegal logging.

B.I: Gabon has been engaged in the VPA/FLEGT process for a few months now; where do things stand?

R.Z.O: The FLEGT mechanism involves two major stages. The first, and current one, is the implementation of the elements of its action plan. At this level of the process, it is essentially a matter of initiating discussions that must address the seven points contained in the FLEGT briefing notes. Conducting these discussions requires the involvement of all stakeholders in the forestry sector. It is on this basis that civil society is involved. It is also on this basis that the NGO Brainforest is currently executing a project to build the required capacities of civil society for its fruitful participation in these negotiations. This capacity building ranges from facilitating the understanding of FLEGT concepts and objectives to active participation in negotiations, as well as institutional support for these organizations. The second major stage is the phase of monitoring law enforcement in the forest sector. This phase will materialize through the establishment of an independent forest observatory run by civil society. However, what should be kept in mind is that with Gabon having only recently formalized its commitment to FLEGT, civil society is currently in the preparatory phases.

B.I: Civil society is one of the stakeholders in the FLEGT process and in the VPA negotiations; how are you preparing for these negotiations?
R.Z.O: Civil society's preparatory activities began in January 2009 and are ongoing. These include informational and awareness-raising meetings; there was a training workshop for national civil society on FLEGT concepts, objectives, and vision in May. In addition, NGOs were able to take part in the work of the national workshop on FLEGT, one of whose main objectives was to draw up the roadmap for the process in Gabon.

B.I: What difficulties are you encountering in this preparation, and how are you coping with them?
R.Z.O: To implement such a mechanism, the main difficulty is material in nature. It must be noted, however, that we benefit from EU funding and from the support of FERN, a Brussels-based organization that provides us with great assistance. On a technical level, on the other hand, we draw on both FERN and organizations such as WWF or IUCN. Alongside those first mentioned, other entities in the sub-region maintain an active knowledge-sharing relationship with our network. This is the case with CED in Cameroon, OCDH in Congo, etc.

B.I: Any closing words?
R.Z.O: Our closing word is actually a wish: the wish that all organizations committed to the issue of sustainable management of our forest resources join civil society's FLEGT network. The wish that the supervisory administration, through the quality and level of contributions from these organizations, understands that there is a valuable partner here for the national effort toward the conservation and rational management of our forest resources.