Fifth regional meeting of the Africa Palm Oil Initiative announced

This fifth regional meeting of the APOI will draw on learning from previous meetings that have taken place across the continent, bringing the focus to the practical approaches to implementing the ambitious commitments made at the signing of the  Marrakesh Declaration two years ago.

The meeting is being convened through a series of interwoven events – all related to responsible palm oil production as well as other forest-risk commodities associated with the regional production landscapes, such as rubber and cocoa.

The events are organised by Proforest on behalf of the TFA 2020 in close conjunction with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Republic of Congo, as well as our implementing partner the World Resources Institute.

Key objectives of the week will include:

• Share learning and understanding between the ten APOI countries and beyond: share key challenges and opportunities of maintaining national commodity platforms and implementing national action plans, as well as continue to build a shared understanding of the goals of TFA 2020 APOI.
• Advance high-impact partnerships: establish a favourable environment for partnerships and fundraising to implement national APOI action plans. Connect the TFA 2020 community in West and Central Africa and work together to build and strengthen public-private partnerships for sustainable commodity production in the region, especially at jurisdictional levels and in the palm oil, rubber and cocoa sectors.
• Understand jurisdictional approaches and their potential for impact in the region: increase understanding jurisdictional approach and brainstorm on its practical applications in the context of West and Central Africa and across various commodities beyond palm, including cocoa and rubber.

We advise those requiring an entry clearance visa for the Republic of Congo to begin their visa application process as soon as possible to avoid any issues with entrance to the country. More information about this, and how we can support your visa application, are provided on the registration page.

The Africa Palm Oil Initiative is coordinated by Proforest on behalf of the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, thanks to financial support from UK DFID through the Partnership for Forests Programme (P4F) and Global Environment Facility (GEF) through WWF US.

See highlights from the last regional meeting that took place in Accra, Ghana earlier this year.

Register your interest for these events on our event page.

For more information, download the concept note.