Congo Basin Forest Fund

Contents
1 Summary
2 Graphs and statistics
3 Basic Description
4 Fund Governance
5 Relationship with Official Development Assistance
Summary

The Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF) is a multi-donor fund set up in June 2008 to take early action to protect the forests in the Congo Basin region. It aims to support transformative and innovative projects to be complemented to existing activities, which will develop the capacity of people and institutions of the Congo Basin to enable them to preserve and manage their forests. It provides a source of accessible funding, and encourages governments, civil society, NGOs and the private sector to work together to share specific expertises.

Graphs and statistics

Basic Description

Name of Fund	Congo Basin Forest Fund (CBFF)
Official Fund Website	www.cbf-fund.org/
Date created	Date fund proposed: June 2008 Date fund made operational: June 2008
Proposed life of Fund	The CBFF will operate over a period of 10 years until the year 2018, with possible extension.
Administrating organisation	African Development Bank (AfDB)
Objectives	The CBFF aims to alleviate poverty and address climate change through reducing the rate of deforestation. Its purpose is to provide grants to eligible entities for activities that: Slow and eventually reverse the rate of deforestation in the Congo Basin; Provide support mechanisms which conserve the forests, Maintain benefits to local communities, and Mobilise additional financial resources to support required actions.
Activities supported	It supports activities which align with the Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) Convergence Plan, a common regional strategy adopted by the Head of States of Central Africa in 2005 for the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources, of resource knowledge, alternative livelihood activities and funding mechanisms, and poverty alleviation. Thus the CBFF supports:: Sustainable Forest Management Livelihood and Economic Development Monitoring, Assessment and Verification Benefits from an International REDD Regime and Payments for Ecosystem Services Capacity Building in REDD
Conditions and eligibility requirements	All projects are assessed against the following criteria: • Innovation o How innovative is the proposal? o How transformative is the proposal? • Conformity with CBFF’s overall objectives o Will the project slow the rate of deforestation? o Will the project reduce poverty amongst forest communities? o Does the project show a clear understanding of context? • Conformity with convergence plan o Does the proposal conform with one or more of the agreed priority Strategic Areas of the COMIFAC Convergence Plan: (i) Knowledge of the resource; (ii) Poverty reduction; (iii) New funding mechanisms. Eligibility for financing from CBFF resources are limited to COMIFAC member countries (Burundi, Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome & Principe and Chad). COMIFAC member countries are also eligible to participate as contributors to the Fund.
Accessing the Fund	NGOs, Governments, technical partners, Civil Society Networks, and others, can access the CBFF by submitting Concept Notes to the Secretariat through periodic calls of proposals that are approved by the Governing Council. The Secretariat provides assistance to applicants to develop full project proposals.

Fund Governance

Decision-making structure	The Fund is governed by: CBFF Secretariat Governing Council The Secretariat is responsible for the day to day management of the Fund and the initial assessment of proposals. A temporary Secretariat is currently operating in Tunis at the AfDB; supported by government officials based at the UK Department for International Development (DFID), until the permanent AfDB CBFF Secretariat is established. The Governing Council has been established to provide strategic guidance and oversight of the Fund, and ensure broad donor and stakeholder participation. The core membership of the Governing Council comprises: A Fund Co-chair – Rt Honourable Mr Paul Martin, former Prime Minister of Canada. A Civil Society representative from the region The Secretary General of the Economic Community of Central Africa States (CEEAC) The President of the Central African Forest Commission (Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale - COMIFAC) (rotational) A Senior AfDB Official (Vice President) A Donor Representative The Governing Council also includes the following ex-officio members: The COMIFAC Executive Secretary A representative from UNEP A representative from the Norwegian Government A representative from the UK Government A representative of the Congo Basin Forest Partnership
Non-government stakeholder participation	Consultations with a broad range of stakeholders including NGOs have been undertaken prior to the establishment of the Fund.
Information Disclosure	Information on donor contributions and a list of projects and the amounts are available on the CBFF website. The financial status of projects, however, is publicly disclosed only on the AfDB website, although this disclosure only includes the projects of the first call of proposals not the second.
Issues raised by the public	Unknown.

Relationship with Official Development Assistance

Is donor funding considered part of official development assistance?

Yes.

Financial instrument/ delivery mechanism used (e.g. grant, loan)

Grants.

Nature of recipient country involvement

As a main vehicle for innovative transformation, the CBFF enhances collaboration among Central African governments, regional institutions, COMIFAC, Congo Basin technical partners and international donors.