The French Embassy and the European Union Delegation in Papua New Guinea organized a high-level dialogue bringing together local and international partners.
The event aimed to discuss lessons learned and good practices in conservation in PNG, as well as to exchange collective efforts to address environmental and climate challenges.
Executive Director of the French Development Agency (AFD), Philippe Orliange, on his country visit attended this event.
The dialogue - held after introductory remarks from the Minister of Environment of Papua New Guinea, Simo Kilepa, French Ambassador Guillaume Lemoine and EU Delegation Chargé d'Affaires a.i. and Head of Cooperation Hans Lambrecht - provided an opportunity for open and constructive discussions with local and international partners on the themes of forest protection, nature preservation, and climate change mitigation in Papua New Guinea.
France and the EU thanked Governor Powes Parkop for sharing his valuable insights during the conservation. The roundtable has been a success thanks to the quality of the panelists and their testimonies - CCDA Managing Director Debra Sungi; CEPA’s Deputy Managing Director, Mickael Bongoro; DNPM Deputy Secretary Kara; Regional Director of Wildlife Conservation Society Stacy Jupiter; UN Resident Coordinator, Richard Howard; and Dr. Hans Lambrecht.
The goal of the event was also to contextualize, the PNG “Country Packages on Forest, Nature & Climate” into the global multilateral dynamic. Country Packages, first discussed at COP27 in Glasgow out of the Forest and Climate Leaders’ partnership, aim to achieve international forest, biodiversity and climate objectives by coordinating the efforts of public, private, bilateral, multilateral, scientific and civil society players, including NGOs and philanthropies.
The purpose of these partnerships is to offer a political and financial agreement between donors and partner countries who are developing ambitious conservation agenda for their vital carbon and biodiversity reserves. To support that ambition, the international community provides technical assistance and funding as part of the political partnership.
The Country Package is a platform of coordination to ensure that dedicated resources are contributing to achieving common goals set by the partner country.
On December 2nd 2023, at COP28 in Dubai, the "Country Package" for PNG was launched at a special event, where PNG Internal Security Minister Peter Tsiamalili, European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič and French Minister of State Chrysoula Zacharopoulou endorsed a political declaration, in the presence of current partners (Australia, the Global Environment Facility, the Asian Development Bank, the Seed fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Wildlife Conservation Society).
The announced US$100 million (K344 million) for PNG during COP28 is provided by the European Union, France, the Global Environment Facility, and the Seed fund (France, Conservation International Foundation, Rob Walton Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation).
This amount includes the European Union-funded flagship Forestry, Climate Change, and Biodiversity (EU-FCCB) program in Papua New Guinea (EUR 55 million or PGK 216 million). Launched at the end of 2023 in the presence of Hon. Prime Minister James Marape, EU-FCCB stands as the first tangible building block outcome of the initiative.
The design of the French contribution to the PNG Country Package (20 million euros, around K80 million), led by the AFD Group, is starting this week. Consultations will be made with all the relevant stakeholders, to design, together, a new project that will align with the priorities and needs of the country.
While COP28 marked the initiation of this transformative initiative, we expect the inclusion of more partnerships and support from other countries in the lead-up to COP29 next November in Azerbaijan, where the definitive Country Packages are slated to be signed.