PAPFor meeting with West Africa Economic and Monetary Union

Due to the regional scope of the PAPFor programme, the financing agreement governing the initiative was signed between the European Union, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS/CEDEAO) and the West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU/UEMOA). It is WAEMU that acts on behalf of the 3 bodies to ensure day-to-day liaison with the PAPFor programme team. The close relations between PAPFor Regional Coordination and WAEMU were further strengthened in January 2023 during the visit of the PAPFor coordinator to Ouagadougou, meeting in the sidelines of the Regional Monitoring Committee meeting of the related PAPBio programme.

The meeting saw progress on a number of fronts. PAPFor Coordinator Marc Languy presented the principle of PAPFor-PAPBio working jointly to support the nomination of various sites as World Heritage Sites. PAPFor has also committed to contribute to the Reference Framework (a strategic document for conservation in West Africa) to ensure that the "forest" dimension is fully considered. The principle of developing a document on the State of Forests and Forest Protected Areas also gained approval. Finally, the terms of reference for a capacity-building support mission to the WAEMU were also reviewed.

In addition to bilateral meetings with different partners, the Coordinator also had working sessions with the European Union Delegation to define the priorities for this year, 2023. He also had a meeting with OBAPAO to monitor the collaboration between the two programmes.

WAEMU: West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (in French: UEMOA)
ECOWAS: Economic Community of West African States (in French: CEDEAO)