{"id":4660,"date":"2026-02-12T22:19:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T22:19:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/home\/new-initiative-to-protect-and-grow-africas-forest-economy"},"modified":"2026-02-12T23:21:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:21:44","slug":"new-initiative-to-protect-and-grow-africas-forest-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/en\/miscellaneous\/new-initiative-to-protect-and-grow-africas-forest-economy","title":{"rendered":"New Initiative to Protect and Grow Africa\u2019S Forest Economy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. <\/strong> <\/span>Kenya\u2019s capital hosted ministers and senior officials from Kenya, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to discuss the future of Africa\u2019s forests and to launch a new continental initiative called \u201cZamba Heritage,\u201d or \u201cAfrica\u2019s Forest Heritage.\u201d The initiative aims to mobilize up to $400 million over ten years to strengthen sustainable forest management.<\/p>\n

The initiative comes amid a striking paradox often repeated in discussions: while Africa holds about 16% of the world\u2019s forests, its share of global trade in forest products is only around 2% to 4%.<\/p>\n

Participants attributed this gap to long-standing obstacles, including weak infrastructure, difficulties moving goods, and the timber sector\u2019s reliance on exporting raw materials without sufficient local processing.<\/p>\n

As a result, despite rising demand for timber as urbanization accelerates, many African countries find themselves importing manufactured products made from raw materials extracted from their own lands.<\/p>\n

The new initiative seeks to reshape the relationship with forests\u2014not merely as areas to be protected, but as an organized economic sector capable of generating value.<\/p>\n

\u201cZamba Heritage\u201d aims to support sustainable management, rehabilitate forests, boost local manufacturing, develop traceability systems, and improve access to markets. This approach is intended to create new economic opportunities, especially for local communities living near forest areas.<\/p>\n

In parallel, participants drew a comparison with the AFR100 initiative launched in 2015, which targeted the restoration of 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, using an approach focused primarily on ecological restoration and reforestation.<\/p>\n

While the two initiatives are complementary, participants emphasized that \u201cZamba Heritage\u201d goes beyond the restoration mindset, proposing a strategy to build an integrated forest economy based on higher value added, stronger intra-African trade, and attracting investors\u2014under strict environmental safeguards.<\/p>\n

In the context of calls to improve governance and traceability, Cameroon said it is going through a sensitive phase. Jean Daniel Mendomo Biang, director of the country\u2019s forestry administration, said Cameroon stands at a \u201ccritical turning point\u201d that requires balancing industrial development with climate commitments, while opening space for investment in industrial plantations and tackling illegal logging.<\/p>\n

This highlights the importance of certification and traceability systems, which participants described as essential tools for ensuring transparency and gaining access to the most stringent global markets, especially in Europe and North America.<\/p>\n

The key question now is how these ambitions will be translated into concrete action. The meeting is scheduled to conclude on Thursday with the signing of a final declaration, which will indicate whether the continent is on the brink of building a new African forest economy\u2014or whether these promises will remain largely theoretical.<\/p>\n

Find more news and analyses on Africa<\/span> on the Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press. Kenya\u2019s capital hosted ministers and senior officials from Kenya, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Liberia, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to discuss the future of Africa\u2019s forests and to launch a new continental initiative called \u201cZamba Heritage,\u201d or \u201cAfrica\u2019s Forest Heritage.\u201d The initiative aims to mobilize up to $400 million over ten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":4658,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[81],"tags":[120],"class_list":{"0":"post-4660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miscellaneous","8":"tag-africa"},"yoast_head":"\nNew Initiative to Protect and Grow Africa\u2019S Forest Economy - Africa Press English<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"-article-header-tag"> Africa-Press. 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