This publication contains 14 case studies which detail successful examples of sustainable forest management practices identified and demonstrate the evolution of the forest sector in Central Africa. This is part of an initiative, undertaken within the framework of the FAO/Netherlands Partnership Programme and in close collaboration with regional and international organisations, to highlight the numerous efforts undertaken in forest management over the last 20 years to promote all aspects of sustainable development.

The report is organised into nine chapters. The first chapter gives an account of the forestry situation in West and Central Africa, with emphasis on vegetation distribution and factors affecting forest management. Chapters 2 and 3 highlight past and present silvicultural and forest management practices and also consider management control systems. The relevance of biodiversity and the role of non-timber forest products are explored in Chapter 4. Inter-generational issues, socio-economic factors influencing sustainable forest management, and the relevance of policies and legislation are addressed in Chapters 5, 6 and 7. Chapter 8 outlines strategies and incentives which might be adopted to promote sustainable forest management. The report concludes with suggestions for research which could be undertaken to fill gaps in knowledge which became apparent in the course of this project.

The theme of this paper is that proper pricing supported by new concession policies can encourage and support sustainable management and conservation of the forests of West and Central Africa and finance forest management. Until the forestry departments, which are under-funded and under-equipped, can be strengthened, a simpler system of forest fees that emphasizes bidding and concession fees is recommended. The forest revenue and concession policies proposed involve the following components: annual concession rent, which should be the major revenue source, to replace the multiplicity of forest fees, that are often not collected; competitive bidding system; and replacement of logging concessions by forest management concessions.

Central Africa is home to the second largest rainforest in the world, the Congo Basin. However, while this massive forest block stores huge amounts of carbon, it receives significantly less international funding than the Amazon and Southeast Asia’s forests. Financing being a central to combat climate change, this study aims to map international flows supporting the forest and environment sectors in Central Africa.This publication analyses the funding flows over the last decade in support of nature conservation and sustainable management of the Congo Basin, presents various themes covered by the current financing and identifies possible imbalances. It also provides a comparative analysis between financing flows to the various forest basins in the world and identifies opportunities for increasing financing for forests in Central Africa.Specifically, the report provides data on the Official Development Assistance (ODA) to Central Africa in the period 2008-2017. The authors, using a well-structured methodology bring out the various characteristics of funding to Central African countries highlighting the top bilateral donor, Germany, and the top multilateral donor, the European Union.Richard Eba’a Atyi, lead author, is the regional coordinator for the Center of International Forestry Research (CIFOR) in Central Africa. He also coordinates the Strengthening and institutionalization of the Central African Forest Observatory (RIOFAC) project which supported this study. He worked in collaboration with Liboum Mbonayem - forestry engineer and research officer at CIFOR in Central Africa, Phillipe Guizol – senior scientist at CIFOR and The French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and Ibrahim M. Favada – Forest economist.

Deforestation rates in the Congo Basin are among the lowest in the tropical rainforest belt and are significantly below rates in most other African regions. Local and regional development, population increases and global demand for commodities are likely to increase deforestation and forest degradation in the Congo Basin.