| Overview : Central Africa is home to the second largest tropical rainforest in the world. Forest loss is accelerating despite ongoing efforts, as government action alone has not been sufficient to establish an effective balance between the interests of the forest and economic development. On this basis, a coalition of willing donors together with Central African partner countries – Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Republic of Cameroon, the Republic of Congo, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and the Republic of Gabon – have decided to enter into a collaborative partnership to establish the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI). The objective of this initiative is to recognize and preserve the value of the forests in the region to mitigate climate change, reduce poverty, and contribute to sustainable development. This objective will be attained through the implementation of country-led, national scale REDD+ and Low Emissions Development (LED) investment frameworks that include policy reforms and measures to address the drivers of deforestation and forest degradation and promote sustainable development. The CAFI Trust Fund is the principal means to implement the Central African Forest Initiative. A growing number of CAFI EB members have signed and pledged in 2019 additional contributions to the CAFI trust fund, including Germany, who has taken over the CAFI Presidency in 2020 for the next two years. One of the key priority countries is Cameroon, which signed the CAFI Declaration in 2015. Cameroon’s vision is to become a newly industrialized, emerging and middle-income country by 2035. The national development plan (SND) emphasizes the importance of the rural sector to diversify and develop the national economy. The SND also puts forward ambitious economic development goals in the industry and services sector (energy, agro-industry, forest-wood-industry, and mining). In the context of the national greenhouse gas reduction target of 32% by 2035 (Nationally Determined Contribution), and with financial support through a CAFI preparatory grant, Cameroon has elaborated a draft National Investment Framework (NIF) to address drivers of deforestation, channel domestic and international donor finance to sustainable land-use and help coordinate interventions across policy sectors. However, policy goals from medium- and long-term economic development strategies are not yet aligned with Cameroon’s NDC and are likely to impact negatively on the country’s forest cover, unless a high-level and cross-sectoral policy dialogue is initiated and the different sectoral strategies harmonized with the draft national investment framework (NIF) elaborated under the CAFI preparatory grant. A delegation from Cameroon’s Ministry of Environment participated in CAFI’s 12th executive board meeting held from 02 to 05 April 2019 in Bonn in Germany, where CAFI Board members reiterated the need for a high-level political dialogue between the ministries responsible for land use and land management in Cameroon, and underlined the importance of identifying a high-level ministerial task force under the lead of a cross-sectoral ministry or government body in charge of finance coordination and reforms to oversee the implementation of programs. Objectives, tasks and responsibilities The objective of this consultancy is two-fold: - The consultant will prepare ideas and guidance on possible communication channels and lines to the government that will help the CAFI Executive Board in its future policy dialogue with the government and the negotiation of framework conditions of a potential letter of intent with Cameroon (40% of workload). This also includes the identification of a cross-sectoral and operational government structure that could be capable of coordinating, on a day-to-day basis, the political dialogue with CAFI and the implementation of potential future programs (10% of workload).
- The consultant will provide technical support to the CAFI Executive Board by identifying the strategic axes for government commitments (such as non-conversion of certain types of forest as in other LOIs signed by CAFI; sustainable forest exploitation, zero-deforestation commodities etc.) that could form the basis of a future letter of intent in line with present and future drivers of forest loss identified in the national investment framework (50% of workload).
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