Central African Forests Commission

What Central African Forests Commission does

The Central African Forests Commission (COMIFAC) is an intergovernmental organization established in March 1999 in Yaoundé, Cameroon, through the Yaoundé Declaration signed by Central African Heads of State. It serves as the sole regional framework for orienting, harmonizing, and coordinating forest and environmental policies across 10 member states: Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, Chad, and São Tomé and Príncipe. The Commission oversees roughly 200 million hectares of dense humid forest in the Congo Basin, representing approximately 20% of the world's remaining tropical forests and over 90% of Africa's forest cover.

COMIFAC's operational core consists of three pillars: the Plan de Convergence, the principal strategic framework for sub-regional forest cooperation validated in 2000; OFAC (Observatoire des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale), a wholly owned technical unit created in 2007 for environmental monitoring and data dissemination; and the ILUMP (Integrated Land Use Management Plan) methodology guides, which provide reference frameworks for integrated territorial planning. The organization coordinates five transboundary protected area complexes (Tri-national Sangha, TRIDOM, Binational Mayumba Conkouati, Binational Sena Oura-Burba Ndjida), and administers regional programmes on REDD+, One Health, wildlife trafficking (AFRICA-TWIX), and protected area management (BIOPAMA).

COMIFAC has no commercial revenue model. It is funded by annual member-state contributions and by earmarked grants from development partners including the European Union (NaturAfrica, €66 million), German cooperation (GIZ, KfW through the PPECF programme), the World Bank, FAO, UNEP-WCMC, and others. Its outputs — policy frameworks, methodological guides, monitoring data, and coordination services — are delivered directly to member-state governments via ministerial conferences, technical working groups (GTBAC, GTCCD, GTGF, SGTAPFS), and national coordination units. Its "customers" are effectively its member-state owners and the donor partners that finance specific programmatic activities.

Name

Central African Forests Commission

Legal name

Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale (COMIFAC)

Website

https://comifac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Intergovernmental commission coordinating forest policy, biodiversity conservation, and climate action across 10 Central African member states, funded by member contributions and development partners including the EU, GIZ, KfW, and the World Bank.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forest Conservation Coordination

NAICS

Administration of Conservation Programs (92412), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Standards & Reporting Cooperation (BPADANAI)

Keywords

• Forest policy coordination
• Biodiversity conservation
• Sustainable forest management
• Congo Basin forestry
• Intergovernmental environmental governance

Headquarters

HQ city

Yaoundé

HQ country

Cameroon

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Contributions: Member states contribute to COMIFAC's operational budget through annual contributions
2. Development Partner Funding: External funding from international development partners including EU, GIZ, KfW, World Bank, FAO, and others for specific projects and programs

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

COMIFAC is an intergovernmental coordination body that harmonizes forest and environmental policies across 10 Central African member states. It develops and implements the Plan de Convergence strategic framework, operates the OFAC observatory for environmental data, coordinates transboundary protected area complexes, and runs thematic regional programs covering REDD+, biodiversity conservation, One Health, and wildlife trafficking. The organization delivers its mandate through ministerial conferences, technical working groups, and national coordination units in each member country.

Product overview

COMIFAC (Commission des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale / Central African Forests Commission) is an intergovernmental organization established in 2000 by Central African Heads of State to coordinate and harmonize forest and environmental policies across 10 member countries. Rather than a traditional product company, COMIFAC provides regional coordination frameworks, strategic planning instruments (such as the Plan de Convergence), monitoring tools (OFAC), and methodological guides (ILUMP) for sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and climate action. The organization's portfolio includes transboundary protected area networks, thematic programmes addressing REDD+, One Health, and conservation financing, as well as data platforms for environmental monitoring and wildlife crime prevention.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Plan de Convergence (Convergence Plan)
• OFAC (Observatoire des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale)
• ILUMP Guides (Integrated Land Use Management Plan)
• Cross-border Protected Area Complexes
• REDD+ Regional Project
• NaturAfrica Programme
• One Health Platform
• AFRICA-TWIX Platform
• OFAC Concertation Platform

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• WICEflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2026Signed MOU in June 2026 to develop a forest financing facility for the Congo Basin. This is a flagship partnership for mobilizing sustainable financing for Central African forests.
• OFAC (Observatoire des Forêts d'Afrique Centrale)coreOthersOFAC was created in 2007 and serves as the technical unit of COMIFAC for producing and disseminating environmental information. It operates a concertation platform established in 2023 to strengthen governance and coordinate partner actions.
• GIZ (German Development Cooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGIZ provides technical and financial support through the Regional Project to Support COMIFAC. Supports forest governance, sustainable forest management, and institutional capacity building across member states.
• EU NaturAfrica ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEU flagship conservation program with 66 million euro budget covering Congo Basin and transhumance landscapes. Supports 30x30 UN goal for protected areas. Replaces the ECOFAC program.
• UNEP-WCMCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for implementing regional projects supporting biodiversity conservation and environmental monitoring in the Congo Basin.
• CIFOR-ICRAFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partnerships for sustainable forest management, biodiversity conservation, and climate change studies in Central Africa.
• CEEAC (Economic Community of Central African States)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCOMIFAC operates within the CEEAC framework, with the Commissioner for Environment, Natural Resources, Agriculture and Rural Development supporting COMIFAC initiatives.
• FAOcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTechnical partner supporting sustainable wildlife management programs and forest conservation activities.
• TRAFFICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWildlife Trade Monitoring Network providing technical support for combating wildlife crime and illegal trade through AFRICA-TWIX platform.
• WWFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through COMIFAC-WWF Initiative for climate financing and biodiversity conservation governance in the Congo Basin.
• REPALEACcoreOthersNetwork of Indigenous and Local Populations for Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa. Supports indigenous engagement in conservation.
• BIOPAMA-CCRminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiodiversity and Protected Area Management Programme providing support for protected area governance and management effectiveness.
• PFBC (Partnership for African Forest Cover)coreOthersKey partner network for forest conservation coordination and information sharing in the Congo Basin.
• CIRADminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench agricultural research center for sustainable development contributing technical expertise to forest research.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI): Donor coalition providing performance-based funding to Central African governments for forest protection. Operates in the same geography as COMIFAC and directly funds national plans that COMIFAC coordinates.
• Congo Basin Forest Partnership (CBFP): Multi-stakeholder partnership platform focused on Congo Basin forest conservation, closely linked to and partially overlapping COMIFAC's coordination role. Functions as a parallel convening forum for donors and partners in the same geography.

Direct peers

• UN-REDD Programme: UN-led programme supporting REDD+ national strategies and capacity building for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. COMIFAC hosts the Regional REDD+ Project and aligns member-state implementation through this framework.
• International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO): Intergovernmental organization managing tropical forest governance, sustainable forest management, and trade policy among producer and consumer member countries. Highly comparable mandate covering tropical forest policy and data across multiple regions.
• Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO): Intergovernmental body coordinating forest and environmental policy among Amazon basin countries (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, etc.). Closest structural parallel to COMIFAC as a regional IGO mandated by Heads of State for forest policy harmonization.

Broad incumbents

• United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF): UN functional commission on global forest policy and the Non-Legally Binding Instrument on All Types of Forests. Operates one tier above COMIFAC as the overarching global policy forum for forest governance.
• FAO Forestry Department: UN agency department supporting sustainable forest management globally via technical assistance, assessment (FRA), and policy guidance. Core technical partner of COMIFAC but with broader global mandate.

Regional players

• African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100): Pan-African country-led restoration initiative aiming to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land, including in Central African COMIFAC member states. Comparable forest restoration remit at a broader African scale.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/COMIFACINFO
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@comifac-infos3759
• Facebookfacebook.com/mavmed

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Central African Forests Commission