USAID Forest and Biodiversity Support Activity: Year 1 Annual Work Plan

The activity is implemented by Tetra Tech under the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE). The goal of the activity is to assist CARPE and other environmental stakeholders in the Congo Basin to implement strategies and actions that address the large-scale threats to biodiversity conservation and forest management. The activity will engage closely with a broad network of institutions, including civil society, private sector, government, and other conservation and development practitioners across the Congo Basin. The objective is to build sustainable local institutions with the capacity to generate new analysis and evidence to support policy reforms and implement innovative conservation approaches. The activity will focus on three main areas: Leadership and Participation of Diverse Local Organizations and the Private Sector Strengthened (IR1), Policy, Regulatory, and Enabling Environment Improved (IR2), and Innovative and Evidence-Based Approaches Adopted and Institutionalized within Conservation and Forest Sectors (IR3). IR1 aims to build the institutional and technical capacity of local, national, and regional institutions to address threats to forests and biodiversity. IR2 focuses on developing evidence-based analysis to inform critical policies for forest and biodiversity conservation, strengthening the design of policies, standards, and plans, and implementing selected priority policies and regulations. IR3 supports evidence-based strategies that strengthen conservation and forest management practices, pilots innovative mechanisms for sustainable financing, and strengthens CARPE Communications and CLA. The activity will also focus on management and staffing, coordination with other USG initiatives, monitoring, evaluation, and learning, gender and vulnerable peoples strategy, and environmental management approach. The activity will be implemented over a period of one year, from August 11, 2020, to September 30, 2021. The activity will engage with a range of stakeholders, including civil society organizations, private sector companies, government agencies, and other conservation and development practitioners. The activity will also work closely with CARPE and other environmental stakeholders in the Congo Basin to build sustainable local institutions with the capacity to generate new analysis and evidence to support policy reforms and implement innovative conservation approaches. The activity will be implemented in several countries in the Congo Basin, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, and other Central African countries. The activity will focus on building the capacity of local institutions to address the large-scale threats to biodiversity conservation and forest management, including deforestation, habitat fragmentation, and climate change. The activity will also focus on promoting sustainable forest management practices, including the use of sustainable forest products, and promoting the rights of local communities to manage their forests. The activity will also work to strengthen the capacity of local institutions to monitor and enforce forest conservation laws and regulations. Overall, the Forest and Biodiversity Support Activity is a critical initiative aimed at maintaining the ecological integrity of the humid forest ecosystem of Central Africa. The activity will engage closely with a broad network of institutions to build sustainable local institutions with the capacity to generate new analysis and evidence to support policy reforms and implement innovative conservation approaches.