Back to the One Forest Summit
Co-organised by President Emmanuel Macron and President Ali Bongo Ondimba, the sixth edition of the One Planet Summit, entirely dedicated to tropical forests, took place in Libreville, Gabon, on March 1 and 2, 2023.
Tropical forests provide an invaluable service both to local populations and to humanity by offering many resources but also by sequestering carbon and hosting biodiversity hotspots.
The One Forest Summit has been an opportunity to make progress and renew our collective ambition regarding the preservation and sustainable management of forests, which are critical to tackling the most pressing interrelated global challenges, at the forefront of which climate change and biodiversity loss. The promotion of a North-South solidarity, central to protecting these vital reserves, has also been a key element.
Download the agenda of the Summit
March 2: High-level segment of the One Forest Summit to discuss the common challenges faced by the African, Amazonian and Asian tropical forest basins
This segment brought together at the Presidential Palace in Libreville: 13 heads of state and government, 27 ministers, leaders of international organisations, financial institutions, representatives of the private sector, international NGOs, think tanks and research centers, indigenous peoples' organisations and civil society.
It focused on finding concrete and actionable solutions to the following key issues:
- Advancing knowledge and promoting scientific cooperation on forest ecosystems
- Fostering sustainable value chains in the forestry sector
- Unlocking innovative sources of financing including market-based biodiversity conservation solutions.
The "Libreville Plan" developed at the Summit represents the roadmap for new commitments and concrete initiatives to address these major challenges.
Discover the Libreville Plan
Find out about the main implemented initiatives:
- The "One Forest VisionInitiative (OFVi) on measuring the net carbon sequestration balance and mapping the most vital carbon and biodiversity reserves;
- The "One Forest Guardians"Coalition on the registration of the cultural practices of indigenous people in relation to emblematic animal species of tropical forests on the UNESCO World Heritage List;
- The "10by30"Initiative on creating 10 million jobs in activities related to sustainable forest management by 2030;
- The intergovernmental Coalition on the Sustainable Use of Wood and Bio-based Materials in Constructionon strengthening the appropriate use of wood and bio-based materials and mitigating the risk of underuse, misuse or overuse in construction;
- The multi-stakeholder Coalitionincluding governments, investors, certifiers and non-governmental organisations on accelerating the structuring of a market for very high environmental and social quality carbon credits, based on the recommendations made by the GEF report on Innovative Finance for Nature and People;
- The initial budget of €100 million for the Positive Conservation Partnerships (PCPs).
Ministerial sessions of the One Forest Summit
March 1st and 2nd brought together members of governments and civil society as well as experts from various backgrounds in order to advance the ambition of the three main axes of the One Forest Summit and prepare the work presented to the heads of state and government.
Relive the ministerial sessions
Alongside them, side-events were organised by WWF, Climate Chance, Meridiam, the FGIS…
Ministerial meetings on the follow-up of COP15 and the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and with the youth involved in the One Forest Youth Forum, organized on the sidelines of the Summit, were also set up in order to anchor the work in its international context and respond to global expectations for the preservation and sustainable management of tropical forests.
Some inspiring interventions
Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic
"Congo-Ogooué basin forests play a vital role. For local populations, they are a source of all they need, for wood, for building, for plants, for healing and for food. They represent an infinite source of livelihood but also a shelter for biodiversity. For the rest of the world, our forests represent a precious ecosystem which protects our planet against climate changes and the accelerated loss of biodiversity."
Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic
"Behind the fight for the protection of forests, and more broadly of nature, there is this question of trust. What is needed is a fair agreement between the international community, which is legitimately interested in protecting the major carbon sinks, and the forest countries. With these countries, the local and indigenous populations, who have been there for centuries, even millennia, who know how to do things and also want to succeed in their economic development, have to be part of those fair agreements."
James Marape, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
"We need to be good global citizens: our level of contribution to the balance of earth in its natural equilibrium must commensurate our carbon footprint. Papua New Guinea for instance emits around 10 million metric tons but our forest absorbs some 100 million; we are currently carrying the loads of others."
Jean-Michel Sama Lukonde Kyenge, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
"We need to act on our educational sector, notably to emphasise on the training to the youth committed to environmental issues and in developing concrete policies. We need to display humility as well as solidarity.”
Frans Timmermans, Vice President of the European Commission
"What happens in the Congo Basin or in the Amazon has a direct impact on the citizen who lives in the European Union, directly affects all of our lives and the survival of the planet. The destinies of Africa and Europe are therefore closely linked and our common problems must be solved collectively."
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC)
"I hear this new initiative of Positive Conservation Partnerships. These partnerships must be concluded for the communities and by the communities which should have direct access to financing because we - the indigenous people - are the CEOs, the Chief Ecological Officers; we are the best people to implement everything related to our environment."
Tamarah Moutotekama Boussamba, Founder and General Manager of AGRIDIS, Representative of the One Forest Youth Forum
"700 young people from 20 different countries met in Libreville during the One Forest Youth Forum to discuss research, financing and development of sustainable value chains. We can't do anything without the youth and we mustn't do anything without the youth."
Franz Tattenbach Capra, Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica
"Costa Rica has protected its forests, reversed deforestation, is capturing carbon, has one of the most productive agricultural sector and a very vibrant tourist sectors linked and based on nature. This provides a lot of support from our community and this is what changed the paradigm in Costa Rica. This paradigm shift was about gaining the moral authority when we say "don’t deforest". It’s good for the world not to deforest, but it should also benefit local communities."
Lee White, Minister of Water, Forests, the Sea and Environment of the Gabonese Republic
"In a world where money and the private sector play a very important role, we need to be able to assign a fair value to ecosystem services, in an equitable way between the North and the South."
Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Minister of Tourism and Environment of the Republic of Congo
"We need banks to be able to derisk the market so that the private sector can support the States in their fight against climate change."
Razan Al Mubarak, President at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for the COP28 Presidency
"I am committed to accelerate the adoption of pragmatic solutions to address both biodiversity loss and climate change. At COP28, we are putting nature and inclusivity at the heart of our agenda. Such a bold initiative as the Positive Conservation Partnerships are exactly the type of initiative the UAE would like to showcase as one of the concrete examples that we so desperately need."
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairman at the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
"We need to go towards a formal, regulated market, that recognises carbon, water and biodiversity services at a subnational, national and global level. Our goal is to deal with the carbon forest market failure in terms of quality, integrity, transparency and added value. This is where the GEF report aims to create the right conditions. And I think that this Summit is contributing big time in going in that direction."
M Sanjayan, CEO at Conservation International (CI)
"We must fix the mismatch between the financial mechanisms we have and what we need, drive commercial capital into innovative financing for nature as fast as we can, and derisk and encourage the use of what already exists."
Salomé Bukachi, "One Health" High Level Expert Panel and Associate professor of the University of Nairobi
"We are calling for commitment and funding towards the ‘One Health’ approach that brings in all stakeholders, disciplines, and communities together towards ‘One Health, One Forest, One Breath’."
