RATIONALE AND CONTEXT

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1 ANNEX of the Commission Implementing Decision on the 2014 Individual Measure for Environment and Climate Change under the Global Public Goods and Challenges Thematic Programme, to be financed from the general budget of the European Union Action Document for the "Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative - CAWHFI (phase II): Conserving Biodiversity through the World Heritage Convention in the Gabon-Cameroon-Central African Republic-Congo trans-border zones (Phase II)" 1. IDENTIFICATION Title/Number Total cost Aid method / Management mode and type of financing Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative - CAWHFI (phase II): Conserving Biodiversity through the World Heritage Convention in the Gabon - Cameroon- Central African Republic - Republic of Congo trans-border zones (Phase II) CRIS number: DCI-ENV/2014/37568 Total estimated cost: EUR Total amount of EU budget contribution: EUR Project Approach Indirect management with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) DAC-code Sector Biodiversity 2. RATIONALE AND CONTEXT 2.1. Summary of the action and its objectives The overall objective of the action is to ensure the integrity of a network of protected areas and the forest landscapes linking them, in the Gabon-Cameroon-Republic of Congo-Central African Republic trans-border forest zone. The programme has three specific objectives: (1) promote the protection and monitoring of sites harbouring exceptional and globally important biological values in the Gabon-Cameroon-Central African Republic- Republic of Congo trans-border forest zone; (2) site management activities are strengthened; (3) Promote no net loss of biodiversity in the inter-zones through the systematic implementation of the different steps of the mitigation hierarchy (avoid damage if possible, minimize any damage that is unavoidable including through restoration and compensate for any residual damage from economic developments) 2.2. Context Regional context Economic and social situation and poverty analysis The ten countries of Central Africa have a total population of about 140 million and a population density of 18 people per square kilometer (World Bank data, 2014). The economies of these countries depend almost entirely on the primary sector, the extraction and export of unprocessed raw materials produced through agriculture, forestry and mining. In 1

2 addition, some 30 million people, belonging to over 150 different ethnic groups, live in the central African rainforests. These forests have always been a source of varied resources, services and primary materials for their populations, providing timber, wood energy, bushmeat, fish and other foods, medicinal plants and other diverse wood and non-wood products. With the development of economic activities (in particular industrial extractive industries such as logging and mining), and the creation of increasingly dense road networks along which human settlements become established, these halos of forest clearance coalesce to form ribbons of forest degradation which fragment the remaining forest blocks. This process of forest degradation is further exacerbated when rural populations are shifting cultivation and uncontrolled exploitation to satisfy the needs of both the local populations and the market for primary materials. The Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) would contribute to the development of sustainable land-use policies through the World Heritage label and status. It would seek to limit the impacts of extractives industries in Central Africa region. These proposed activities will contribute to the sustainable protection and management of natural resources and the protection of indigenous people who are, unfortunately, the first to be affected by the negative impacts of this process of forest degradation. Efforts to ensure the regeneration and conservation of these resources are ineffective in the context of poor governance and persistent poverty Regional development policy One of the most important considerations for UNESCO was that its actions should be fully in line with regional and national conservation priorities and that its initiatives should be firmly integrated in national, regional and international development partnerships. The World Heritage programmes are in line with the Strategic Plan of the Commission des Ministres en charge des Forêts d Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC), and their activities are implemented through long-standing conservation actors within the sub-region. By combining forces with locally active partners considerable economies of scale can be achieved in the use of the CAWHFI resources while maintaining the specificity of its intervention which is its focus on World Heritage Sector context: policies and challenges The moist tropical rainforests of central Africa, covering 1.62 million km², constitute one of the world s most important natural heritages. They contain a large proportion of the world s biodiversity and they play a central role in climate regulation and carbon sequestration. The exceptional importance of these forests for global biodiversity and ecosystem conservation is demonstrated by the presence of three natural World Heritage sites in this region. Most of central Africa s exploitable moist forests have already been designated for industrial logging and a rapidly expanding network of logging is spreading into the last remaining unlogged forest. Large international mining companies will soon start mining 8 of the world s largest iron ore and nickel-cobalt deposit located in the zone of the programme, while artisanal gold mining is very present. An important network of railways and roads will soon link the extraction areas and the export infrastructure. A number of international companies are also looking for large tracts of land for agro-industrial development. Local indigenous communities risk being severely disrupted by an open access onslaught on their natural resources by in-migrants. The Cameroon-Gabon-Central African Republic- Republic of Congo trans-border zone, covering 222,736 km² and encompassing the Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé (TRIDOM - Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of Congo) and Trinational Sangha (TNS - Cameroon,Central 2

3 African Republic, Republic of Congo) landscapes, contains 13 protected areas (totalling km²), including 3 World Heritage Sites. The project s overarching aim is to reduce the risk of biodiversity loss in this critically important zone by maintaining ecological interconnectivity with the network of well protected areas within it. Engaging actively, not only with Governments, but also with the private sector mining and logging interests is therefore crucial to mitigate the impacts of their activities This project seeks to improve sustainable management and monitoring of natural resources in this trans-border zone by raising awareness of the outstanding value of natural heritage of Central Africa using the leverage of the World Heritage Convention. The approach includes work on Government policies and land use planning and on public-private partnerships for sustainable development and biodiversity offsets with mining and logging companies. It includes the active participation of local communities as key partners in the process. The project is perfectly in line with the EU s biodiversity strategy Lessons learnt This project will build on the lessons learnt from phase 1 of the Central African World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) 1, partly funded by EC ( ). Two ROM missions took place in 2010 and 2011 and an evaluation took place in Dialogue has been ongoing between UNESCO, EU delegations and partners of the project. These documents recommended a continuation of the EU support for capitalising the first institutional arrangements. But a future phase should be more focused on key activities (management of the World Heritage sites and an integrated management of the entire landcsapes), a better communication to local population and its stronger involvement into the program, and a systematic monitoring of the conventions with the logging companies. World Heritage initiatives in Central Africa has highlighted the added value that the World Heritage Convention can bring in terms of bringing pressure to bear on Governments with respect to improving management of existing World Heritage Sites (WHS) and new sites of outstanding universal value that are applying for nomination. CAWHFI 1 also highlighted the added value that the Convention can bring in terms of federating neighbouring countries around a common biodiversity conservation objective, for example for the Sangha Tri National WHS nomination dossier. CAWFHI provided capacity building for the various stakeholders involved in the nomination process and leveraged the support of regional institutions (COMIFAC, and the Réseau des Aires Protégées d'afrique Centrale, RAPAC 2 ) for the Trinational Sangha (TNS) nomination. However this is an on-going effort and long term support to UNESCO's efforts is therefore required. Lastly lessons from CAWHFI 1 have highlighted the need to focus the limited resources available to avoid dispersion while also obtaining a multiplier effect. Given the very large size of the intervention zone the project therefore aims to avoid dispersing its efforts by focusing on (a) the mining and logging concessions in the Trinational Dja-Odzala-Minkébé (TRIDOM) east-west orientated interzone whose activities will affect the integrity of the forest zones linking the cluster of protected areas to its south and west (Minkébé, Odzala, Messok-Dja) and the cluster to its north (Dja WHS, Mengame, Kom, Boumba Bek, Nki), and (b) the TNS as a WHS Complementary actions This project fits into the objectives of the EU in terms of environmental protection, climate change, biodiversity, good governance and sustainable economic development. It is complementary to the second area of concentration in the 10 th EDF Central Africa Regional Indicative Programme (RIP), namely the ECOFAC programme (Programme de Conservation et de Réhabilitation des Ecosystèmes Fragilisés en Afrique Centrale EUR 30 million),

4 which focuses more specifically on protected areas themselves (rather than the interlinking forests between them) and on Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) issues. The draft 11 th EDF Central Africa RIP foresees to continue support to sustainable management of natural resources and biodiversity under its third focal sector, including the conservation and management of fragile ecosystems and protected zones. Complementarity of actions will be assured during project formulation. The programme is also fully in line with the other EC environmental interventions since the early 90 s such as the "Observatoire des Forêts d'afrique Centrale" (OFAC) 3, Minkébé project (Gabon), Ngoïla-Mintom project (Cameroon), Development of Community Alternatives to Illegal Exploitation of Forests (DACEFI), Monitoring the Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) 4 and the recently launched Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme (BIOPAMA) 5. Effective coordination will be ensured with activities in the forestry policy sector undertaken by other EU-supported partners, notably COMIFAC. At the sub-regional level the GEF/UNDP TRIDOM (World Bank Group-Global Environment Facility- GEF, United Nations Development Programme-UNDP, Conservation de la biodiversité transfrontalière dans l'interzone de Dja-Odzala-Minkébé au Cameroun, Congo et Gabon TRIDOM 6 ) project is focusing on facilitating land use planning (LUP) issues in the TRIDOM landscape. The Trinational Sangha (TNS) Foundation is also planning to support LUP in the TNS. Various NGOs, including WWF and WCS, are also engaging with the industrial mining sector with a view to promoting best practices guidelines and developing effective field collaboration for improved hunting management, control of poaching and illegal settlements, as well as the development of bush meat management policies. The USA-funded Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE) 7 programme has been supporting land use planning, Community Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) initiatives and protected area management in the TNS and TRIDOM landscapes over the past several years Donor coordination There is very considerable donor interest in sustainable management of the Congo basin forests and it is fully recognised that sound donor coordination is essential. At the subregional level this coordination is achieved through a process of facilitation by the Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP) in support of the COMIFAC Convergence Plan. In effect the CBFP works as a transmission belt between donors and implementing agencies and provides a forum for dialogue between its partners. Technical and donor coordination with respect to CAWHFI activities is achieved through quarterly meetings between the initiative s technical and financial partners. For maximum efficiency these are generally organised in conjunction with the various regional meetings. 3. DETAILED DESCRIPTION 3.1. Objectives This programme over three years in support of CAWHFI is the second phase of the programme that finished in March The overall objective of the action is to ensure the integrity of a network of protected areas and the forest landscapes linking them, in the Cameroon-Gabon-Central African Republic-Republic of Congo trans-border forest zone, a vast area of mostly intact moist tropical rainforest covering a surface area of 222,736 km² and

5 including 13 protected areas, 3 of which are World Heritage Sites. The programme has three specific objectives: Specific Objective 1: The World Heritage Convention is used to promote the protection and monitoring of sites harbouring exceptional and globally important biological values in the Cameroon-Gabon-Central African Republic- Republic of Congo trans-border forest zone. Specific Objective 2: Existing and proposed World Heritage site management activities are strengthened. Specific Objective 3: There should be no net loss of biodiversity in the inter-zones and the different steps in the mitigation hierarchy (avoid damage if possible, minimize any damage that is unavoidable including through restoration and compensate for any residual damage) should be applied systematically in order to reconcile biodiversity conservation and economic development Expected results and main activities The main expected results are: 1) High level dialogue is established with the governments of the region on World Heritage related issues, in particular the State of Conservation of existing sites and the nomination of potential new sites; 2) A feasibility study for the inclusion of Odzala-Kokoua as an extension of Trinational Sangha (TNS) is completed and a draft nomination dossier is available; 3) Based on the conclusions of the feasibility study, a draft nomination dossier is available for Ivindo National Park; 4) The Management of the Dja Faunal Reserve is strengthened and meet the world Heritage Committee requirements ; 5) The management of Lopé-Okanda World Heritage site is strengthened, taking into account the property s Outstanding Universal Value, including its archaeological attributes; 6) Management of the TNS conforms to World Heritage standards, in particular with respect to the involvement of indigenous communities, the definition of buffer zones and the harmonisation of management strategies between the three countries sharing the site; 7) Best practice management methodologies (Spatial Monitoring And Reporting Tool - SMART 8, Enhancing our Heritage-EoH) are applied in World Heritage Sites (WHS) and interzones; 8) Economic developments planned for the periphery of the Dja Faunal Reserve (DFR: rubber, mining, Mekin dam, oil palm, forestry) do not impact on the Outstanding universal Value (OUV) of the site and is reflected in a landuse plan for the DFR; 9) Land use planning and offsetting mechanisms to preserve biodiversity in the Minkebe- Odzala-Nki-Dja (MOND) interzone are agreed upon by all relevant stakeholders and key avoidance/mitigation/offset measures are starting to be implemented; 10) Ecological connectivity in the TNS-Odzala inter-zone is ensured through development, validation and implementation of a multi-stakeholder land use plan; 11) Spatial planning methodologies are tested and coordinated in the project's intervention zones and best practices are identified

6 3.3. Risks and assumptions Weak institutions, social stability (e.g. in artisanal mining areas) and increased insecurity by criminal groups are risks that need to be taken into account. High turnover of government staff, which may delay collaboration, is of particular concern in some countries. Lack of operating means (vehicles, boats or communication tools) reduces the capacity of local authorities to act. Slow and progressive understanding and conflicts of interest in initial stages of the programme between the private sector, governmental partners, local communities and conservation actors may delay collaboration. But these are precisely the areas of work of the programme. It is assumed that other efforts in conservation will continue, both by the Governments and with donor support, as this CAWHFI initiative is only one intervention albeit essential of a large number of efforts and actions required for a consolidated conservation effort. Hence, adequate donor coordination and international policy dialogue shall continue to achieve the expected results Cross-cutting issues This project specifically aims at improving governance and a multi-stakeholder approach cutting across the complex issues of conservation. All elements of sustainable management of natural resources will be addressed, taking into account traditional rights of local populations (including indigenous groups), social obligations of private companies and all other elements which make up land-use planning, respect of legislation and good understanding/compromise between sometimes conflicting interests. Transparency will be ensured for all agreements between stakeholders as part of good governance. Although AIDS is not a special focus of interest, it is de facto a result of the intervention, as the disease often spreads in uncontrolled and artisanal mining sites, which will be addressed by the programme Stakeholders Schematically, there are four types of stakeholders. The most complex situation is for the local populations, which includes indigenous groups, where pressure on their livelihood is increasing. The second stakeholder is the private sector, in particular the extraction industries (logging and mining). Conservation efforts also have a cost for the companies as they seek to improve their reputation through increased conservation efforts and eco-certification. The third stakeholder is the national and local authorities, often without sufficient means or will to protect the environment and at times involved themselves in poaching. Their role is at the political level (policy and leadership), the judiciary level (effective prosecution of wildlife crime), the economic level (allocation of logging and mining concessions), and the military level (armament of forest guards). The fourth stakeholder is the international community as a beneficiary of the forests as part of world heritage and a factor in regulation of climate change and biodiversity conservation. 4. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES 4.1. Financing agreement In order to implement this action, it is not foreseen to conclude a financing agreement with the partner country, referred to in Article 184(2)(b) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/ Indicative operational implementation period The indicative operational implementation period of this action, during which the activities described in sections 3.2. and 4.3. will be carried out, is 36 months from the date of entry into force of the financing agreement or, where none is concluded, from the adoption of this Action Document, subject to modifications to be agreed by the responsible authorising officer in the relevant agreements. The European Parliament and the relevant Committee shall be 6

7 informed of the extension of the operational implementation period within one month of that extension being granted Implementation components and modules Indirect management with an international organisation This action with the objective to ensure the integrity of a network of protected areas and forest landscapes linking them, in the Cameroon-Gabon-Central African Republic-Republic of Congo trans-border forest zone may be implemented in indirect management with UNESCO in accordance with Article 58(1)(c) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. This implementation is justified because UNESCO has wide experience dealing with World Heritage. The entrusted entity would: promote the protection and monitoring of sites harbouring exceptional and globally important biological values in the Cameroon-Gabon-Central African Republic- Republic of Congo trans-border forest zone; strengthen the existing and proposed World Heritage site management activities; support the adoption of the Land use planning (LUP) options and appropriate mitigation efforts, including offsetting mechanisms to achieve no net loss of biodiversity by all parties in the inter-zones in order to reconcile biodiversity conservation and economic development. The entrusted entity, UNESCO, will carry out the financial and administrative implementation tasks needed for carrying out the activities at section 3.2 such as: preparation, launching and evaluation of calls for tenders and calls for proposals, conclusion of grants and procurement contracts, follow up of the contracts and grant implementation, verification of the expenditure eligibility, execution of payments and recoveries, etc. All these tasks coupled with the management, steering and technical role of UNESCO will ensure the achievement of the stated objectives and the efficient use of resources. The entrusted entity may conclude contracts for a part of the activities, according to its rules and procedures, to WWF, WCS, TNS Foundation, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) for the Dja reserve and the Agence Nationale des Parcs Nationaux du Gabon (ANPN) for the Lopé reserve. The entrusted entity is currently undergoing the ex-ante assessment in accordance with Article 61(1) of Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 966/2012. In anticipation of the results of this review, the responsible authorising officer deems that, based on a preliminary evaluation and on the long-standing and problem-free cooperation with this entity, it can be entrusted with budgetimplementation tasks under indirect management Scope of geographical eligibility for procurement and grants The geographical eligibility in terms of place of establishment for participating in procurement and grant award procedures and in terms of origin of supplies purchased as established in the basic act shall apply Indicative budget Module Amount in EUR Indirect management with UNESCO Totals

8 UNESCO will be in charge of audit and evaluation. The European Commission will be involved in this process Performance monitoring Indicators include the maintenance of the World Heritage status of current sites; the density indices of large mammal populations; deforestation rates; feasibility studies and draft nomination/extension dossiers for the Odzala-Kokoua and draft nomination dossier for Ivindo National Parks; establishment of an inter-ministerial committee for World Heritage in each country; enhancement of management effectiveness of Dja, Lopé Okanda, Trinational Sangha (TNS); Application of Smart and the Enhance our Heritage (EoH) in the sites; development of a Land Use Plan (LUP) for Dja; public Private agreements signed; availability of key recommendations to avoid/mitigate/restore/offset impact on biodiversity and status of implementation of these recommendations; amount of funding provided through the private sector for wildlife conservation; number of hectare of different use zones in LUP's (including 1.65 million hectare of new conservation areas proposed); Stakeholders meetings are held in TNS Ozdala; Analysis of priorities for biodiversity, forest carbon, crop suitability/economic potential and deforestation risk Evaluation and audit The requirements in terms of evaluating and reporting are set out in the General Conditions of the IMDA. Mid-term and final independent evaluations of the project are planned and budgeted for (EUR ) within the agreement to be signed with UNESCO. The European Union will be involved in this process. UNESCO will share the Organisation s regular annual audit reports Communication and visibility Communication and visibility of the EU is a legal obligation for all external actions funded by the EU. This action shall contain communication and visibility measures which shall be based on a specific Communication and Visibility Plan of the Action, to be elaborated before the start of implementation and supported with the budget indicated in section 4.5 above. The measures shall be implemented either (a) by the Commission, and/or (b) by the partner country, contractors, grant beneficiaries and entrusted entities. Appropriate contractual obligations shall be included in, respectively, financing agreements, procurement and grant contracts, and delegation agreements. 8

9 The Communication and Visibility Manual for European Union External Action shall be used to establish the Communication and Visibility Plan of the Action and the appropriate contractual obligations. 9