Enhancing Forest Domain Awareness in Central Africa

Experts Roundtable

November 19-21, 2024

English | Français

Information Note
Schedule
Read Ahead Document
Guided Exercises
Biographies
Africa Center Overview

Session 1

Forest Domain Awareness: Mapping of the Actors and their Roles

Presented by:

BG Dieudonné David Kitenge Amisi
BG Serge Kolingba
Col. Elie Kimba

Objectives:

  • Define and build consensus around Forest Domain Awareness as a concept.
  • Take stock of the similarities and differences in the roles that actors in the security sector, forestry service, civil society and regional organizations play in sharing information, data, and analysis to counter illegal logging and associated trades (ILAT).
  • Identify the ways that each actor is dependent on the others to effectively counter ILAT, and what kinds of information, data, analysis, and intelligence is most useful for them to share for this purpose.
Session 2

Legal and Policy Frameworks for Forest Domain Information Sharing and Coordination

Presented by:

M. Chouaibou Nchoutpouen
Dr Samuel Nguiffo

Objectives:

  • Assess recent developments in the participating countries’ legal codes, policy frameworks, and strategies that relate to forest security and governance, as well as coordination, to counter ILAT.
  • Analyze the state of the implementation of existing protocols, strategies, and programs on the regional level that the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC), Economic Community of Central African States (ECCCAS), Central African Monetary Community (CEMAC), and other related organizations are engaged in to support information sharing and coordination to counter ILAT.
  • Identify gaps in the legal and policy foundations for forest domain information sharing, and in their implementation, as well as opportunities to address these challenges.
Session 3

Data Collection, Analysis, and Usage: Examples of Africa-TWIX and OFAC Platforms

Presented by:

M. Denis Mahongol
Mme Bricette Nguemwo
M. Loïc Kenmou

Objectives:

  • Provide a strategic and technical overview of the Africa-TWIX and OFAC databases, taking experts inside of these databases to better understand how its users can enter, analyze, and visualize data to inform their actions to counter ILAT.
  • Discuss the information-sharing and data analytics capabilities and limitations of the Africa-TWIX and OFAC platforms.
  • Discuss how platforms like Africa-TWIX and OFAC can be integrated into broader country-level or region-wide strategies and plans to counter ILAT.
Session 4

Data Collection, Analysis, and Use: Examples of Timber Traceability Platforms and Interpol Platforms

Presented by:

Dr Frank Ankomah
M. Youssouf Alladjobei
Dr Raul Sumo Tayo

Objectives:

  • Provide a strategic and technical overview of Ghana’s national timber traceability database, discussing how it contributes to inter-agency coordination on countering ILAT, as well as the challenges that were encountered in its development, implementation, and evaluation.
  • Discuss how timber traceability platforms have been designed and used to counter ILAT, and how the regional trends in ILAT are shaping the needs for these tools.
  • Consider the ways that the potential expansion of state actors who can access databases like Interpol’s I-24-7 system could facilitate further inter-agency coordination and information sharing to counter ILAT in conjunction with other databases and platforms.
Session 5

Intelligence Sharing in Forest Domain Awareness

Presented by:

Lt. Colonel Claude Chakoua
Gen. Louis Sosthene Ndong Obiang
M. Etienne Tabi Mbang

Objectives:

  • Discuss methods of intelligence gathering and intelligence sharing on the national level for countering ILAT, as well as their current strengths and weaknesses.
  • Analyze how financial intelligence sharing and related analysis on the regional level has contributed to countering ILAT, and how it could be enhanced.
  • Consider how military and police intelligence work – with ecoguards and with citizens in forested communities – can be part of strategic solutions to counter ILAT within and across countries in West and Central Africa.