Promoting a sustainable intra-African timber trade

The project pursues three specific objectives:
1. Identify entry points for an increased use of timber in African green growth strategies
The project aims to work with stakeholders to assess the use of timber in African green growth strategies, and to develop visions on how to scale up the use of domestic timber for green growth.
2. Assess how the African Continental Free Trade Area can foster a new perspective on timber as a resource for sustainable green growth
Through research and outreach, the project aims to help unlock the socioeconomic potential of the intra-African trade in timber, thus contributing to a change in perspective on the use and value of timber from an export commodity to a valuable resource for green growth.
3. Assess the potential for a simplified and accessible African certification scheme for timber products
The project proposes an outline for a simplified, operationally and financially accessible African certification scheme. The proposed certification scheme would have sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation at its core, and foster climate change mitigation and adaptation. The scheme would be developed to meet the requirements of the AfCFTA agreements and to synergize as far as possible with existing forest certification schemes and the EUDR. An indigenous, socioeconomically driven, context-specific certification scheme would provide benefits and opportunities to strengthen the African voice in sustainability governance.
The research focuses on the Congo Basin and pursues an inter- and transdisciplinary approach. A collaborative project by CDE and the African Forest Forum, it places strong importance on stakeholder interactions to ensure the work remains relevant and can directly influence policy decisions.