At the 26th IUFRO24 World Congress in Stockholm from 23-29 June 2024, the exhibition booth hosted by the Scientific and Academic College (SAC) of CBFP turned the spotlight onto Congo Basin Forest Science.
On behalf of the Co-Facilitation of CBFP, Mme Emmanuelle Matras-Swyndegauw (French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs) opened a four-day series of workshops at the booth on Monday 23 June. Mme Sywndegauw celebrated the visibility that the booth gave to the Congo Basin and congratulated members of the Scientific and Academic College, in particular booth co-organisers Université Laval and Congo Basin Science Initiative, on the achievement. Mme Sywndegauw’s intervention highlighted key themes that had been discussed at the CBFP 20th Meeting of the Parties in Kinshasa from 3-5 June 2024: protected areas, sustainable land use, sustainable value chains, innovative financing, environmental crime and scientific cooperation.
The opening workshop was an opportunity for Co-Leader of the SAC, Professor Damase Khasa (Université Laval), to present preliminary findings from a mapping of higher education and research institutions in the eleven COMIFAC countries and in their international partners. Commissioned by the SAC, the mapping will offer novel visualisations of the role and influence of partners within the region’s research and innovation landscape.
On Friday 28 June the workshop series, moderated by Professor Khasa, gave the floor to the Congo Basin Science Initiative (CBSI). Professor Lucie Temgoua (University of Dschang, Cameroon), member of the CBSI Scientific Steering Committee, introduced the CBSI Science and Capacity Plan. The Plan calls for long-term funding for leading research groups in the region to train a new generation of science professionals and begin systematic monitoring of the integrated Congo Basin climate-forest-water-society system. Ms Helen Plante (University of Leeds, UK), member of the CBSI Secretariat, spoke alongside Professor Temgoua, setting out the inspiration that CBSI draws from the successful Large Scale Biosphere Atmosphere Experiment in the Amazon, and highlighting activities led by the CBSI Scientific Steering Committee to align the CBSI Science and Capacity Plan with regional priorities and provide an effective platform for coordination with initiatives across the region.
