WWF and loggers inaugurate partnership

The World Wildlife Foundation in Cameroon (WWF) have signed a preliminary agreement with two logging companies to implement programmes for sustainable management of forests in the south-eastern region's Lobeke National Park and Boumba-Bek Reserve, as well as in the Campo Ma'an National Park. A final agreement between the foundation, Société Industrielle des Bois Africains (SIBAF), and Forestière de Campo (HFC) - subsidiaries of the Groupe Bolloré- is expected to be signed early in 2002, a WWF statement said on Thursday. "The signing of this preliminary partnership agreement is the culmination of two years of discussions between WWF and a company that was willing to commit to sustainable forest management," said the statement. The two companies are among those which committed themselves to sustainable forest management and certification under standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), after the government allocated the country's forests in July 2001. "The agreement between WWF and SIBAF/HFC is one of the results of the Sustainable Forest Management/Certification (SFM/C) Project initiated by WWF-Belgium and funded by the European Union (EU)," the statement added. Implementation of activities under the partnerships will be done in close collaboration with the ministry of environment and forestry, Laurent Some, Cameroon Programme Representative of WWF, was quoted as saying. Nicholas Jamet, director general of the two companies, echoed determination for the programme to succeed, while Didier Bastin, Executant of the WWF Sustainable Forest Management and Certification project, said another three such agreements may be signed by the end of the year.