…joins 9 African countries to commit to principles
By Ogbebor Tony Ikponmwosa
In a bid to ensure sustainable and responsible production of Palm oil, cocoa, coffee, rubber and other tree crops, the Edo State Government has signed the Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative (ASCI) Declaration at the United Nations (UN) Conference (CoP27) in Sharm el – sheikh Egypt.
The Declaration which is targeted at ensuring that producer countries in Africa are at the forefront of defining the principles for the sustainable development of cocoa, rubber, palm oil, coffee and other commodities, in a way that protects livelihoods and natural resources including forests, was signed by members from ten countries in Africa, making Edo State the front runner of the process.
The signing ceremony took place at the Ghana Pavilion and was done by the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Abdullahi, on behalf of the country. The ASCI builds and expands upon principles agreed at CoP22 in 2016 for the palm oil sector.
The ‘Marrakesh Declaration for Sustainable Development of the Palm Oil Sector’ acknowledged the role of agricultural commodity development as a driver of deforestation, while emphasizing the critical role of forests and forest conservation in addressing climate change.
The Marrakesh Declaration which has been implemented through the African Palm Oil Initiative (APOI), comprised of ten countries in West and Central Africa: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Edo State (Nigeria), Gabon, Ghana, Liberia, Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. These countries account for 25% of the world’s tropical forests and 75% of Africa’s forests.
As an initiative of the Tropical Forest Alliance, the ASCI is facilitated by Proforest, who will be supporting the Africa-led Africa Sustainable Commodities Initiative.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Environment, Mohammed Abdullahi, said the Government of Nigeria is devoted to using oil palm development as a force to encourage reforestation.
According to him, at the start of our journey in Edo State, it was agreed that any principles for sustainable oil palm development must include both oil palm and forestry companies, stressing the interconnected nature of the two sectors. We want oil palm development to be a route to reforest Nigeria, not a cause for deforestation.
In a statement, the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki represented by the Acting Team Lead of the Edo State Oil Palm Program (ESOPP), Mr. Churchill Oboh, said that this event is a call for stakeholders in the tree crop sector to ensure that more sustainable efforts are made to avert the negative environmental and social impact of tree crop commodities production.
In his words “Edo State has developed principles and actions for sustainable oil palm production which addresses issues relating to deforestation, biodiversity protection, respect of community rights. These principles will be extended in the development of other tree crop commodities in the State.
“We are using this medium to encourage other States in Nigeria and other countries in Africa to ensure production of agro commodities are carried out sustainably and in line with global best practices.”
Also speaking at the event, the Global and Africa Director of Proforest, Abraham Baffoe, noted that every country has shown great commitment in achieving this crucial milestone in the pursuit of sustainability in oil palm production.
According to him “From CoP22 in 2016, when the Marrakesh Declaration was signed, we saw huge progress at CoP26 in 2021 where every country demonstrated crucial milestones to achieve the sustainable development of palm oil, many countries have recognized the need to work across multiple commodities so the launch of ASCI is an important progression, as a truly multi-stakeholder initiative, with every country engaging at the regional, national and local level throughout the process”.
