The International conference on afforestation and reforestation has started its first session in Congo
Brazzaville, 2 July 2024 – The capital of the Republic of Congo hosted the opening of the first International Conference on Afforestation and Reforestation (CIAR-1), organized by the Government of the Congo together with the African Union Commission, the UN Forum on Forests and the African Forest Forum.
By invitation of the President of Congo, the delegation of Kazakhstan headed by H.E. Zulfiya Suleimenova, Advisor to the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan – Special Representative of the President on International Environmental Cooperation takes part in the conference.
During the visit, a bilateral meeting between Z.Suleimenova and Francoise Joly, Personal representative of the President of Congo for strategy and international negotiations took place. At the meeting, issues of the upcoming visit of the President of Congo to Kazakhstan, as well as promising areas of bilateral cooperation were discussed.
In general, about 2 thousand delegates arrived at the conference in Congo, including: representatives of states (heads of state or government, ministers, etc.), regional and subregional political and economic organizations, the global scientific community, financial partners and donors, international forest, climate and biodiversity organizations, international and African NGOs, civil society organizations, indigenous peoples and local communities, and the private sector.
During 8 plenary sessions of the conference, from July 2 to 5, 2024, participants will discuss existing problems of afforestation and reforestation at the international level, the climate emergency, the role of forests in people's lives, scientific solutions to the problems of afforestation and reforestation, financing of projects and national programs, as well as attracting private investment in the development of large-scale forest and agroforestry plantations.
Political Declaration, Global Strategy on Afforestation and Reforestation, as well as a Decision to include this issue on the agenda of the upcoming session of the UN General Assembly in New York this fall are planned to be adopted as a result of the first CIAR-1 Conference.
For reference: Africa contains the second lungs of the planet - the great tropical forests of the Congo Basin. The world's second largest forest area of the Congo Basin is currently under threat not only from climate problems, but also from forest degradation due to industrial logging.
The Republic of Congo, with one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world at just 0.06%, gives one of the best examples of conserving forest cover to protect humanity from the devastating effects of climate change.
Congo is contributing to mobilizing global efforts to tackle deforestation. On October 28, 2023, the second summit of the planet's three tropical forest basins: the Amazon, Borneo-Mekong and Congo, took place in Brazzaville. In 2023, at the initiative of Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso, the African Union proposed an International Afforestation Decade.
The purpose of the first international Afforestation Conference is to define a global strategy to increase the world's forest area to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, conserve habitats and biodiversity, and support the production of forest-derived goods and services.
This issue is also relevant for Kazakhstan. Today, the share of forests in Kazakhstan has increased from 3% to 5%, and the share of protected natural areas has grown to almost 11% of the country's territory. The Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan is implementing the instructions of President K.Tokayev to plant 2 billion trees in Kazakhstan by 2027.