Support mission for five CLPAs in the creation of community forests

As part of the project "Greening the land rights of forest communities in the Gabonese Republic" implemented by the consortium of organizations Brainforest, MINAPYGA, and Keva Initiative with funding from the Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI) for a duration of 3 years, a mission to support five (5) Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples in the creation of community forests will take place in the provinces of Nyanga and Ngounié from February 5 to 29, 2024.

During the first year of implementation of this project, 10 Local Community Forest Associations (CLPA) were identified and trained on their rights and the mechanisms for implementation. They were also supported in conducting participatory mapping. Following this activity, 5 communities were selected for the creation of Community Forests. After awareness-raising on community forestry, models of statutes and internal regulations were provided for reading and amendment so that the communities could form associations. The next steps will therefore focus on organizing the Constitutive General Assembly and holding consultation meetings.

The main objective of this mission will be to support 5 local communities and Indigenous Peoples in the creation of Community Forests. Specifically, it will involve:

• Structuring 5 CLPA into an association;
• Organizing consultation meetings for the 5 identified CLPA;
• Preparing and submitting the legalization files for the 5 created associations;
• Preparing and submitting the requests for community forests from the 5 target communities;
• Validating the participatory maps before the local authorities.

Let us remember that promoting the rights of local communities and Indigenous peoples over land and natural resources to improve their living conditions and combat deforestation in the Gabonese Republic is the overall objective of the GREENER project.