The Central African forest is the secondlargest tropical forest in the world after the Amazon rainforest.
A true haven of biodiversity, more than 40 million people dependon this ecosystem which plays an essential role in the fight against climatechange. However, massive deforestation threatens this fragile environment.
In view of the COP 26 and COP 15 summits on biodiversity, the aim of the initiative is to raise awareness amongst the parties involved of therole played by the Central African forest and its importance for biodiversityby including it on the international agenda.
A prestigious panel ofinternational speakers.
Players from local authorities, major European and Africankeynote speakers, representatives from the worlds of associations, academia andentrepreneurship will meet on Thursday 6th October 2021 from 9am to6pm, at the Hôtel de Ville in Paris.
The City of Paris teams have worked with an international scientific committee to define and approve the topics of the dayand to identify the speakers.
Chief Executive Officer Agence française de développement (AFD) and Chairman International Development Finance Club (IDFC)
Théodore Trefon
Researcher at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Belgium and teacher in environmental governance at ERAIFT/Kinshasa
Mathieu Auger-Schwartzenberg
Task Team Leader Forests-Biodiversity
Augustin Ndimubanzi Bazirake
General Coordinator Civil Status and Population Project
"In the wake of the historical climate agreement signed in 2015, the City of Paris sustains its ecological commitment by fighting for the conservation of the primary forests of Central Africa. These thousand-year-old ecosystems are both reservoirs of exceptional biodiversity and building blocks in the fight against global warming. With this initiative, the City is calling on the world to preserve these forests so as to shield the planet's inhabitants from upcoming challenges."
