The sixth edition of the One Planet Summit focused, from March 1 to 2 in Libreville (Gabon), on the search for solutions capable of protecting tropical forests, resulting in an agreement, the Libreville Plan.
The agreement is based on five fundamental pillars, in particular:
– Political commitment: We will not win the fight against climate change without tropical forests, which act as one of the main carbon sinks on a planetary scale. There is an urgent need to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.
– A principle of coexistence between Man and Nature: Protecting the forest requires a wide range of tools, ranging from strong protection such as national parks to sustainable management methods for natural resources. A protected forest, which maintains or even increases its rate of carbon sequestration, is not closed to humans. A protected forest is a sustainably managed forest for the benefit of local populations.
– An environmental ambition that benefits people – Protecting the forest is also an economic opportunity: the potential of the bioeconomy and the local and sustainable processing of products from the forest is immense. Conversely, deforestation represents a threat today for populations: destroying forests means undermining the water cycle, soil richness, losing invaluable genetic diversity, a source of innovation and to know.
– Protect what is vital – Certain vital reserves of carbon and biodiversity deserve a high level of protection, because their degradation would have irremediable consequences: this is particularly the case of mangroves, peat bogs and certain primary forests which are home to species say “umbrella” because they alone support ecosystems (gorillas, orangutans, elephants, jaguars, etc.).
– Remunerate the services provided to the rest of the world by forest countries: Developing forest countries that commit to a high ambition for Nature and whose performance is proven must be able to be remunerated for this by the international community.
The creation of a fund with an envelope of 100 million euros has been announced. « We are going to put an additional 100 million euros for countries that want to accelerate their strategy to protect vital carbon and biodiversity reserves within the framework of partnerships, » said French President Emmanuel Macron.
The summit co-chaired by the Gabonese head of state, Ali Bongo, and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, brought together some heads of state, government delegations, scientists, international NGOs, representatives of African youth and business owners.
By OMA Newsletter N° 1074 of 03/03/2023
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
