By Doh James Sonkey
Cameroon’s Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Jules Doret Ndongo had a working session last August 20, 2024 in the conference room of his Ministry in Yaounde with the Congolese Minister of the Environment, Sustainable Development and the Congo Basin, Arlette Soudan-Nonault. The Congolese Minister who was at the end of her 48-hour visit to Cameroon had a closed door discussion with Minister Jules Doret Ndongo and his close collaborators on the November 2024 COP29 meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her delegation comprised amongst others of the Vice President of BDEAC, Jean Paterne Megne Ekoga and the acting Director General of the Congo Basin, Florentine Mapeine Onotiang.
Minister Arlette Soudan-Nonault who doubles as the Executive Secretary of the Climate Commission told Minister Jules Doret Ndongo about the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin as it remains an African and global challenge.
Minister Jules Doret Ndongo in his preliminary speech welcomed the August guest who was sent by the President of the Republic of Congo, Denis Sassou N’Guesso to his Cameroonian counterpart, President Paul Biya.
The visiting Congolese Environment Minister said, “We are on the eve of COP29 to hold in November in Baku in Azerbaijan and we need to speak the same language within the framework of inclusive development, how to finance our ecological transition, how to raise funds for the 16 sustainable development goals as we are moving there”.
Jules Doret Ndongo explained to reporters at the end of their closed curtains discussion that, “Cameroon’s position will be the one we want to have to adhere, to submit projects which our partners will help us render them sellable and bankable. We have projects and will continue to ask the other administrations apart from the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife and Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development and Protection of Nature in charge of the fight against desert encroaching, soil erosion and degradation. We are also expecting projects from Water Resources and Energy, Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, the Economy, disaster etc.”
It should be recalled that the forest ecosystems of the Congo Basin span a land surface area of 301 million to 530 million ha, accounting for roughly 70% of Africa’s forest cover (over 99% of the forested lands are primary or regenerated naturally forests). 46% are found in lowland dense forests (low altitude) (1, 2, 4, 5), including all forest types in Central Africa found in the following COMIFAC-ECCAS member countries: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Principe, Chad and some “small” zones in Nigeria and Uganda. These ecosystems are ranked the world’s second largest expanse of dense tropical forests after the Amazon. The Congo Basin forest ecosystems located in Central Africa cover a surface area of 6 613 000 km2.