SWM at COP15
The Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme hosted a side event at the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which took place in Montreal from 7th – 19th December 2022 and brought together governments and stakeholders from around the world.
The SWM Programme is an Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) initiative, which is funded by the European Union (EU) with co-funding from the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The SWM Programme is implemented through a consortium partnership, which includes the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD), and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS).
Speakers from DG INTPA, OACPS, DRC, FAO, CIRAD, CIFOR, and WCS at the SWM side event at CBD COP15
The SWM Programme is currently being implemented at sites in 15 countries. The initiative works with and supports national authorities, local institutions and rural communities, both at local level (project sites) and at the national level. The goal is to develop innovative and scalable models, which conserve wildlife and protect ecosystems, whilst at the same time improving the living conditions, health, and food security of the people who depend on these resources. The SWM Programme also seeks to prevent zoonotic pathogens spillover along wild meat value chains. Learn more: www.swm-programme.info/homepage
This COP15 side event explored participatory opportunities to promote sustainable solutions to wild meat consumption in different contexts. The SWM Programme presented the progress being made towards the implementation of the Decision 14/7 on sustainable wildlife management and the Voluntary Guidance for a sustainable wild meat sector adopted by COP14.
Presentations and panelists at the SWM side event at CBD COP15.
Mr. Gaspard Abitsi, WCS Gabon Country Director, discussed the enabling conditions for a legal, regulated and sustainable wild meat sector. In order to create a conducive and comprehensive enabling environment for the management of wild meat sector, the SWM Programme has embedded the Community Rights Based Approach in the result specific theory of change at Programme level. This aims at the recognition of local communities' substantive rights (from land security to the right to food) through strengthening governance processes and procedural rights (access to legal information as well as participation in decision-making).
A set of legal diagnostic tools and methodologies was developed and used to conduct legal assessment, including international and national statutory rules and obligations as well as local customary uses and practices. These have further resulted into tailored national legal assessments informing an on-line platform, the SWM Legal Hub, to facilitate people's access to legal information.
Left to right: Mr. Gaspard Abitsi, WCS Gabon Country Director, and Ms. Julia Fa, CIFOR Senior Associate.
Programme & Speakers
Opening remarks:
- Introduction to the the Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme: Ms. Carla Montesi, Director, Directorate-General for International Partnership (DG-INTPA), European Commission
- Introduction to the RESSOURCE Project: Ms. Stéphanie Bouziges-Eschmann, Secretary General, French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM)
Progress towards the CoP14 Decision 14/7 from the SWM Programme:
- Managing and improving the sustainability of wild meat supply at the source: Ms. Kristina Rodina, Forestry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Reducing demand for unsustainably managed and/or illegal wild meat in cities and towns: Ms. Julia Fa, Senior Associate, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
- Creating the enabling conditions for a legal, regulated and sustainable wild meat sector: Mr. Gaspard Abitsi, Country Director, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Gabon program
- How the SWM Programme is supporting national contributions to the CBD decisions: Mr. Benjamin Toirambe, Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, Democratic Republic of Congo
- One-Health community-based approaches: Mr. Sélim Louafi, Deputy Director for Research and Strategy, French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD)
Closing remarks:
- Reflection on the progress towards Decision 14/7: Mr. David Cooper, Deputy Executive Secretary, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariat
- Concluding remarks: Ms. Cristelle Pratt, Assistant Secretary-General Environment and Climate Action - Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)