As the Paris Agreement is ratified by each of its signatory states, they commit to put into action their specific national plans to combat climate change. These plans are called Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC). Fern believes that these NDCs will have maximum climate impact if they incorporate the best practice from existing forest protection and forest governance schemes. This is nowhere
more true than in the heavily forested nations of Africa.

This report is a collaborative effort between Fern and its local partners in five African countries. Our objective is to analyse the role of forest governance in the NDCs of the five African countries who have entered into Voluntary Partnership Agreements, and examine opportunities and challenges for building stronger linkages between forest governance and climate policies in African countries.