US embassy cable - 05KINSHASA219

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINSHASA 000219 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FROM BRAZZAVILLE EMBASSY OFFICE 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT PASS USAID FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS 
NAIROBI  PASS PIERSON 
PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHER 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: SENV, PREL, CF 
SUBJECT: CONGO/B: CENTRAL AFRICAN HEADS OF STATE ENVIRONMENT 
SUMMIT; CHIRAC ATTENDS, TREATY SIGNED 
 
 
1.  (U) Summary:   The Second Summit of the Central African 
Heads of State on Conservation and the Sustainable 
Management of Forest Ecosystems, held in Brazzaville on 
February 4 and 5,  was marked by the signature of a treaty 
that strengthens the role of 
the Central Africa Forest Commission (COMIFAC) and expands 
its membership to include Burundi, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and 
Principe.   While the treaty calls for a financing mechanism 
for COMIFAC member states and a suite of environmental 
activities known as the Plan de Convergence, heads of state 
also appealed to the international community to provide 
increased aid, including through such innovative mechanisms 
as carbon trading and debt for nature swaps.   The USG was 
invited to attend as a member of the Congo Basin Forest 
Partnership (CBFP).  In a side event, the French hosted a 
day of discussion on the terms of reference for their two- 
year term as CBFP facilitator, a role they assumed from the 
U.S in December 2004.  The French have indicated they will 
put the accent on dialogue, coordination and close 
cooperation with the CBFP partners.   In a key address to 
the Summit, French President Chirac urged the Central 
African leaders to focus on good governance and also briefly 
touched on the need to address illegal logging.   The USG 
delegation urged Summit leaders to renew their commitment to 
the principles of  African Forest Law Enforcement and 
Governance (AFLEG) and to reinforce measures to monitor and 
control the illegal trade in wildlife/bushmeat.  COMIFAC 
also announced the name of the new FAO-financed co- 
facilitator, Raymond Bitikan, but we understand Bitikan has 
not yet accepted the post.  Of note, the Italian 
representative announced debt relief of 800 million Euros to 
COMIFAC countries.  There was a French-led CBFP partner 
meeting held on the fringes of the Summit February 3.  USAID 
Africa Assistant Administrator Lloyd Pierson led the USG 
delegation and made key points on the separation between 
CBFP and COMIFAC and stressed the importance of conservation 
management, AFLEG, and environment policy.   End Summary. 
 
COMIFAC Treaty and Declaration 
------------------------------------------ 
 
2.  (U) Following two days of speeches lauding the progress 
that the Central African member states of the Central Africa 
Forest Commission (COMIFAC)  made in concerting their 
efforts to improve environmental conservation of the Congo 
Basin, the heads of state of the Republic of Congo, 
Cameroon, CAR, DROC, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Sao 
Tome and Principe, joined by representatives of the heads of 
state of Rwanda and Burundi, signed  a Treaty February 5 on 
the Conservation and the Sustainable Management of the 
Forest Ecosystems of Central Africa.  The Treaty reaffirms 
their commitment to the 1999 Yaounde Declaration, good 
environment and biodiversity practices outlined in the 2000 
Plan de Convergence.  Angola, one of the expected 
signatories, did not sign the Treaty at the Summit.  The 
Treaty, which will come into force when it is ratified by at 
least four countries, commits the signatories to 
establishing financing mechanisms and treating conservation, 
sustainable forest management and environmental protection 
as national priorities. 
 
3.   (U) In their addresses to the Summit, the respective 
heads of state uniformly called on the international 
community to step up their financial contributions to the 
conservation of the region's ecosystem through contributions 
to COMIFAC, debt for nature swaps, or other innovative 
mechanisms.  These calls were reiterated in a Heads of State 
Declaration issued at the close of the Summit.   President 
Bongo was the only Head of State whose speech focused on the 
need for debt forgiveness by developed nations in order for 
the region's countries to use more resources for 
environmental conservation. 
 
Chirac's Speech 
------------------- 
 
4. (U) French President Jacques Chirac, who was the 
undisputed star of the show, used the occasion to highlight 
his interest in and concern for the Central African 
environment, but put the emphasis on actions the Central 
African states must take at national and regional levels to 
ensure good governance and effective forest laws, 
sustainable forest management, and the creation of more 
protected areas.  He made a passing reference to USG CBFP 
facilitation as he noted what France's three main goals 
during its facilitation tenure will include: 
 
--  reinforcing dialogue, coordination and cooperation among 
all actors in the Congo Basin, including the public and 
private sector; 
-- combating illegal commerce in tropical timber through the 
reinforcement of mechanisms of surveillance and control; 
-- reinforcing regional and national capacities necessary 
for sustainable management of the Congo Basin, particularly 
through training,  administration, and the codification and 
implementation of forest policies. 
 
USG Participation at the CBFP Session 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5.  (U) In their respective addresses to the Summit, USG 
delegation chief Lloyd Pierson (USAID Assistant 
Administrator for Africa) and the Ambassador underscored the 
distinct and separate natures of COMIFAC and the CBFP, 
stressing that the CBFP is and must remain an informal and 
relatively unstructured alliance of like-minded countries, 
international and local organizations (including COMIFAC) 
and the private sector.  Pierson in both the CBFP Feb. 3 and 
COMIFAC Feb 4 ministerial meetings on the margins of the 
Summit stated in his remarks the imperative of promoting the 
sustainable management of the Congo Basin's forests and 
wildlife while also seeking to improve the lives of the 
region's inhabitants.   He highlighted in detail the key 
points of AFLEG, the list of  actions of the 1999 Yaounde 
Declaration and the President's Initiative Against Illegal 
Logging (PIAIL).  The Assistant USAID Administrator also 
noted that while the COMIFAC Plan de Convergence is a useful 
reference point for Partner activities, the USG strongly 
believes that CBFP partners must have the latitude to 
determine the nature and extent of their contributions to 
the region's environment in a sovereign manner.  Both 
Pierson and the Ambassador called on the Central African 
states to pay scrupulous attention to commitments they made 
during the October 2003 Yaounde African Forest Law 
Enforcement and Governance (AFLEG) ministerial, including 
commitments to inventory, monitor and control the illegal 
traffic in bushmeat/wildlife. 
 
6.  (U) A large number of CBFP partners attended a February 
3 session chaired by  the French Ambassador in charge of 
Summit preparations, Gerard Cros introduce the new French 
CBFP facilitator, Denys Gauer,  and reviewed the terms of 
reference (TOR) for France's term of facilitation.   The USG 
delegation intervened early in the session to urge that the 
TOR and a proposed Cooperation Framework make clear the 
separate and distinct nature of CBFP and COMIFAC.  The USG 
delegation also noted that it opposed any notion of a 
central funding mechanism for CBFP, supported the concept of 
an informal mechanism for consultation among partners, and 
asked for a clear recommitment to the principles of AFLEG. 
The USG also raised concerns about a proposed Consultative 
Committee as overly-bureaucratic and noted concerns about 
the terms of reference for an African CBFP "co-facilitator." 
The French were amenable to our suggestions and those of 
other partners and also made clear that the Consultative 
Committee would be voluntary, serving only as a means to 
facilitate information exchange among partners.  The notion 
of  the Consultative Committee was retained and our points 
on separate and distinct and AFLEG were included in a final 
TOR and the TOR was adopted by consensus.   Other elements 
of the French TOR include the following: 
 
-- Elaboration of the CBFP website; 
-- Organization of a voluntary working group to examine 
potential finance mechanisms that could be used to support 
the Plan de Convergence; 
-- Strengthening of the COMIFAC Executive Secretariat 
through appointment of an African co-facilitator (although 
this was a bit of a deception since it appears that the 
French are supporting ROC candidate Raymund Bitikan from 
CAR, and Bitikan is saying he has not accepted the job) and 
other technical assistance; 
-- Improvement of governance through the harmonization of 
laws and forest regulations with AFLEG and the promotion of 
voluntary agreements within the framework of the EU's FLEGT 
(Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade) initiative; 
-- Regional and national promotion of CBFP and COMIFAC 
conservation activities. 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  The Central African Heads of State noted 
their renewed commitment to good governance, including 
AFLEG, as well as the pursuit of concrete actions on the 
ground and the vigorous implementation of their Plan de 
Convergence.   Whether they turn their words into actions 
remains to be seen.  Many of the international community 
CBFP partners present at the Summit privately expressed 
skepticism about entrusting further funds to COMIFAC, which 
most see as a stalking horse for Congolese Forest Minister 
Henri Djombo's political ambitions.  There is also concern 
that COMIFAC still needs to do more and improve as an 
organization.  Despite Gabonese Minister Doumba serving as 
current COMIFAC chair, ROC Minister Djombo was clearly 
running the show.  The Germans, French and some others, 
however, remain committed to strengthening COMIFAC's 
institutional capacities through limited inputs of technical 
support.   The more impressive speeches were given by 
Cameroon President Biya and DRC President Kabila.  Neither 
Chirac nor anyone in his delegation made mention of 
financial commitments. On the brighter side, there remains 
widespread support for CBFP and its multiple activities, 
although not all partners see CBFP and COMIFAC as "separate 
and distinct."   Most participants left the Summit with a 
strong sense that the French take their new role as 
facilitator seriously and with a strong commitment to 
working in an amicable and cooperative manner with the U.S. 
and other partners, although there remain differences on 
"separate and distinct" for COMIFAC issues and terms of 
reference for the African co-facilitator. 
 
8.  (U) Assistant Administrator Pierson departed before he 
could clear this cable. 
 
9. (U) Minimize considered. 
 
10. (U) Brazzaville Embassy Office - Sanders. 
MEECE