Daniella Lavinia was in Cameroon to observe the implementation of the EU sponsored project.
The Communication Officer for the Regional Project for the Conservation of Bio-diversity and Fragile Ecosystems in Central Africa, ECOFAC6 was in Cameroon from October 23th to 30 to observe the implementation of projects sponsored by the programme in Cameroon; notably the Dja Biosphere Reserve.
Daniella Lavinia said ECOFAC6 partners with NGOs and Governments who implement projects on biodiversity and wild life conservation. Such is the case in Cameroon where EOFAC6 partners with the Zoological Society of London, ZSL in the west part of the Dja Park and with the African Wildlife foundation in the North and southeast of the reserve which constitutes 80 per cent of the part which covers some 5024000 hectares.
“The specificity of the ECOFAC6-sponsored projects is that they promotes wild life conservation by providing alternative sources of income so as to discourage poaching and boost the economic development of the about 40.000 in habitants of the area, she said.
In the west part of the reserve, she visited a select few villages from among the 18 Village Loans and Savings Association set up by ZSL as a gateway to sensitising the people on wildlife conservation and providing training on income generating activities to serve as alternatives sources of revenue and stop poaching of protected wildlife species found in the Dja reserve like elephants; gorillas, chimpanzees; giant pangolins and an endemic bird that resembles a kangaroo. Inhabitants are encouraged to carry out activities like gardening; poultry farming and soap fabrication.
They are also taught not only how to exploit non timer forest products like ndjangsang, bush mango and moabi seeds, but also how to domesticate them.
The approach in the north and south east part of the park is slightly different where the African Forest Foundation capitalising on womens groups set up by the Tropical Forest and Rural Development, to sign accords with inhabitant who engage to desist from poaching or hosting poachers while promising to denounce poachers and in exchange benefit from training on exploiting non timber forest products and modern methods of farming like grafting and plantain sucker multiplication as well as high yield cocoa species and farming methods.
In order to create an economy around the exploitation of non timber forest products; the Tropical Forest Food and Cosmetic was created to process crops like cocoa; moabi, ndjangsang to quality cosmetic and food products sold in the national and international markets.
As such the women in charge of collecting these crops from the forest make money from the activity. As concerns the fight against poaching; a system technological and human network has been put in place to denounce any defaulter. Villagers in the ZSL zone are given phone to report poachers anonymously while in the AWF zone; there is a technological apparatus comprising cyber tracking, MART and Delorme to monitor the movement of animals and activities of Eco-guards alike besides denouncing by signatories to the accord.
The success of the project has caused more people to be interested as some villages are inviting the ZSL which is already overstretched and short of funding and many more people willing to sign the reciprocal accord with AWF.
Daniella Lavinia expressed satisfaction with what she saw saying it is going to act as an incentive for donors to give more funds. ECOFAC6 is present in Congo, D.R. Congo, Central African republic; Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe, Chad and Cameroon.
Fred VUBEM TOH
The ECOFAC6 funded projects have been transforming lives and changing mentalities around the Dja Biosphere Reserve.