Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative: A platform for producer and consumer country partnerships

ASCI has great potential to help bridge perspectives between consumer and producer countries. This briefing paper extracts insights and lessons from ASCI multistakeholder dialogues, as well as a study on Producer-Consumer Partnerships in Cameroon and the Republic of Congo (RoC), conducted by Proforest, WWF and TFA. It outlines key elements of ASCI that can serve as a model for the European Commission’s (EC) Strategic Framework for producer-consumer country partnerships. The paper seeks to inform discussions within the Tropical Forest Alliance - EU Working Group (TFA EUWG), the European Commission (EC) Multistakeholder Platform, and other forums. The key elements of ASCI are clustered into three aspects: structural components; issues addressed; and the role and function of ASCI.