A consultative meeting was held on February 26, 2014, in Nairobi, Kenya between the East African Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Tourism and Natural Resources (ATNR) and the African Forest Forum (AFF) to discuss key elements in a draft forestry bill developed by the Committee. AFF was represented by the Executive Secretary, Prof. Godwin Kowero and Senior Programme Officer, Dr. Yonas Yemshaw. The Committee was represented by Hon. Ndahayo Isabelle (Burundi), Hon. Mike Sebalu (Uganda), Hon. Nkanai Ole Nkanai (Kenya), Hon. Murunya (Tanzania) and Hon. Bazivamo Christophe (Rwanda).Prior to the meeting AFF had already provided input into the draft forestry bill.
In this meeting, AFF pledged to continue providing technical input as needed by the Committee, in addition to exploring other avenues of mutual interest with regard to forestry and tree resources. The Committee informed of a meeting to be held in Bujumbura, Burundi on March 10-13 to further develop the draft bill, after which it will undergo the process of public hearing in the five partner states before being tabled in various organs of the East African Community.