Forests Africa: Opportunities for a Green Economy
United Nations Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya
Conference
The conference will be supported by the UN-REDD Programme, the World
Agroforestry Center and will be open for partnerships with other
organisations.
The event will provide a platform for key players from government, the
private sector (formal and informal), civil society, media, as well as
the research and development sectors, to openly discuss the challenges
and opportunities that Africa’s forests present for the development and
comparative advantage of the continent and its transition to a Green
Economy.
The conference will aim to take a step toward repositioning forests
within Africa’s economic and political landscape. In transitioning to a
Green Economy, Africa will require economic growth pathways that are
diversified, generate greater employment, produce higher outputs with
lower inputs, reduce environmental risks and enhance competitiveness for
African economies. The conference will increase awareness of the
challenges and opportunities for forests to contribute to green
economies at the local, national and regional levels through sustainable
management, REDD+, trade of forest products and services, and inclusive
processes. It will also identify the range of enabling policies
required. Delivering on such a goal will require coordinated
collaboration among a broad range of policy and non-state stakeholders -
especially those from outside the forestry sector.
Conference Structure and Content
The conference is designed as a three-day event, divided into two
parts. The first part, entitled ‘Experts and evidence workshop’, is a
two-day session in which leading scientists and practitioners will
present the latest research, experience and thinking on selected topics.
This will then lead into a one-day policy conference in which key
messages stemming from these workshop sessions will be presented for
discussion to policymakers at the highest level from across Africa.
Enquiries: Daniel Cooney, E-mail: d.cooney@cgiar.org.
For more about the conference, refer to www.cifor.org/nairobi.html.
For more about the United Nations Environment Programme, refer to www.unep.org.
For more about the Center for International Forestry Research, refer to www.cifor.org.