The Sangha Tri-national Trust Fund (FTNS), under the umbrella of the African Consortium of Environmental Funds (CAFÉ), organised the 12th General Assembly of CAFÉ from 12 to 16 September 2022. The event took place in the economic capital of Cameroon, Douala, under the theme “Mixed financing, strategies and contributions for protected areas in Africa”. This 5-day green mass mobilised about 20 African trust funds and partner organisations from all over the world through trainings, discussions, experience sharing, a general assembly and a field visit.
Introduction of a new concept, “blended finance”.
Considering the importance of fundraising for trust funds, the first two days were dedicated to a capacity building workshop for CAFÉ members and partners. These training sessions, delivered by a pool of experts from FINAFRIQUE, introduced participants to the concept of “blended finance” in protected area conservation.
A very official ceremony
The third day of the workshop was marked by the official opening ceremony under the chairmanship of Mrs. KOULSOUMI Alhadji épse BOUKAR, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Forests and Fauna representing the Minister. Several partners such as REDLAC, KfW and BRIDGE then made presentations on their activities and their collaboration with the Pan-African network, CAFÉ. Several trust funds also shared some experiences and results.
The fourth day was divided into two parts. First, a session devoted to a presentation of APACT (Pan African Fund for Biodiversity Conservation) followed by the General Assembly (in a closed session) for CAFE members.
A new president for CAFE
Subsequent to the General Assembly, Dr Théophile Zognou (FTNS) was elected as the new President of CAFÉ. He takes over from Ms Karen Price, Executive Director of the Malawi Environmental Endowment Trust, who has chaired CAFÉ for the past five years. He will be supported by the new Vice President, Mr. Tapiwa Makiwa of CCFN and the existing Executive Committee. This is the second time that FTNS has taken up this position, initially represented in 2014 by its former Executive Director, Dr Timothé FOMETE.
The 12th General Assembly of CAFÉ was also marked by field visit activities. Participants were particularly thrilled by a visit to the Mouanko Chimpanzee Sanctuary in the Littoral Region.
Established in 2011, the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment (CAFÉ) is a network of environmental funds (EFs), also known as conservation trust funds (CTFs) in Africa. CAFÉ has a total of 19 member funds that, among other things, support more than 90 parks and reserves, and 125 communal conservancies and community forests, covering more than 270,000 km2 across 20 countries and managing more than USD 400 million in endowments in Africa.
