June 30, 2022

By Lynda Kiernan-Stone, Global AgInvesting Media

French multi-energy company TotalEnergies has become the largest shareholder in Gabonese forestry company Compagnie Des Bois du Gabon (CBG) after acquiring a 49 percent stake in the company from Criterion Africa Partners (CAP) for an undisclosed amount. 

CAP is an integrated forestry investor and forest products company that operates 596,000 acres of land located between the Loango and Moukalaba Doudou national parks in Gabon.

The team focuses on three core areas: Acquisition and Rehabilitation of Plantations,  Downstream Manufacturing – increasing local production of high demand wood products to reduce Africa’s nearly $1 billion in imports from Asia and Latin America each year; and Biomass Energy and Replacing Fossil Fuels – developing a portfolio of biomass energy projects with long-term takeoff agreements with the leading companies across sub-Saharan Africa.

CAP has held its stake in CBG since 2016. Since that time, the CAP team has worked closely with the Fenart family to implement a range of initiatives that resulted in the investor exiting the business with a significantly more substantial financial, ESG, and developmental performance than when it first partnered with the company.

Today, CBG is recognized for its responsible and sustainable management of its assets, and is certified in the highest international standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and for its ongoing dedication to the protection of biodiversity. 

“CBG operates on a long-term timeline with a value-creation objective, which is why it enjoys privileged relationships with regulatory authorities, stakeholders, scientists, customers, and financial partners,” noted Guillaume Fenart, co-CEO with Hubert Fenart, CBG, on its company website. “This constitutes a value-sharing community based on a subtle balance between forests and wood products. All is done to assume exemplary positioning in matters of tropical forestry.”

Together, TotalEnergies and CBG are joining forces to develop a forward-looking model for sustainable and responsible forest management that combines sustainable harvesting, biodiversity conservation, and long-term carbon storage.

“We are pleased to join forces with CBG to support the evolution of Gabonese forestry,” said Nicolas Terras, president of exploration & production, TotalEnergies. “This is a key economic sector for the country, and we will help develop its carbon sequestration capacity in compliance with the highest international standards.”

This management model, when applied by TotalEnergies and CBG, will make it possible to establish a new balance between the harvesting and local processing of sustainable wood, with carbon storage and the generation of related carbon credits resulting from the reduced impact of forest operations, reforestation, agroforestry, and the conservation of natural resources.

Overall, this new business model aligns with Gabon’s climate policy and the “Green Gabon” strategic vision – the country’s developmental strategy to sustainably manage its natural resources for the highest benefit of the population.

“This is an innovative partnership both by nature and ambition,” said Terraz. “We are also particularly delighted to extend our activities in Gabon to sustainable and responsible forest management, after more than 90 years of investment and economic activity in the exploitation of the country’s hydrocarbon resources.”

Hubert and Guillaume Fenart noted the pivotal role forests play in the long-term strategies needed to fight climate change, saying, “Climate change and nature loss call for action. This is a long-term ambition that requires re-thinking certain models, challenging current practices, and innovating.”

They continued, “Forests are of crucial importance in the fight against climate change. We need to anticipate and be progressive to meet the challenges for the population, the country of Gabon, biodiversity, and climate. The arrival of a major player like TotalEnergies will make it possible to expand CBG’s activities and develop large-scale carbon initiatives within the framework of Gabon’s climate law.”

In recent months, TotalEnergies has also turned its focus on sustainable forestry in Southeast Asia, investing $50 million in New Forests’ Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2 (TAFF2) in March of this year. 

Two months after that commitment was announced, Mitsui and Nomura agreed to acquire New Forests, the second largest forestry investment manager in the world and the largest in the timber and plantation sectors in Asia-Pacific.

With an office in Singapore, and a mission “to see investment in land use and forestry as central to the transition to a sustainable future”, TAFF 2 is New Forests’ second fund dedicated to sustainable forestry opportunities in Southeast Asia, following the close of its Tropical Asia Forest Fund (TAFF) in 2013. 

To-date, the group holds a portfolio with A$7.8 billion (US$5.8 billion) in AUM across more than 1.1 million hectares of investments consisting of sustainable forest plantations, areas of natural forest conservation, carbon projects, row cropping, and timber processing.

~ Lynda Kiernan-Stone is editor with GAI Media, and is managing editor and daily contributor for Global AgInvesting’s AgInvesting Weekly News and  Agtech Intel News, as well as HighQuest Group’s Unconventional Ag. She can be reached at lkiernan-stone@globalaginvesting.com.

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