Collaborating for Change: U.S. Forest Service International Programs Holds Round Table Discussion at Forest Governance Forum
From October 30th to the 31st, 2018, the 11th annual Forest Governance Forum was held in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo, hosted by Citizen Voices for Change (CV4C) in collaboration with the Congo Basin Forest Partnership. This forum focused on not only forest governance, but also REDD+ and land use issues in the region, facilitating discussion between government agencies, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups in preparation for the annual international Congo Basin Forest Partnership meeting held November 27th and 28th 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. During the two-day forum, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs, supported by USAID’s Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment and in partnership with government agencies in the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, hosted a round table discussion about fire management in savannah forest mosaic landscapes.
The U.S. Forest Service International Programs hosted a round-table discussion focused on fire management plans in the region | Video courtesy of Mafoula Anatole
The round table discussion focused on the feasibility of creating and implementing simple fire management plans for improved coordinated fire management as a tool to achieve various national resource management goals. Partners from non-governmental organizations and government as well as U.S. Forest Service representatives discussed fire management issues in both Congos, the challenges and success of current programs, the process of developing participative management plans, and the goal of having fire management integrated into national environmental management strategies.
Republic of the Congo Country Coordinator Isaac Moussa and Democratic Republic of the Congo Program Assistant Alyssa Dongo spoke about the U.S. Forest Service International Programs’ work on fire management in the region | Video courtesy of Mafoula Anatole
As a technical partner to governments in the region, the U.S. Forest Service International Programs is committed to supporting participative fire management initiatives which aim to improve natural resource management through more strategic and planned use of in the region with the broader aim to benefit the livelihoods of local communities. This forum provided an opportunity to exchange with other interested stakeholders and organizations on this important issue. Resulting recommendations from the forum were presented at the Congo Basin Forest Partnership meeting in Brussels to inform region-wide forest policy decisions and programming.
