The Minister of Forestry and Wildlife, Mr. Jules Doret NDONGO, has received in audience a delegation from the Environmental Crimes Section of the United States Department of Justice. The delegation was led by Mary DASCHBACH, Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy in Cameroon.
The meeting centered notably on improving governance and combating illegal logging. To this end, the Head of Delegation emphasized the desire for close collaboration between Cameroon and the US Department of Justice, in particular support for inter-state collaboration initiatives in the fight against illegal logging and wildlife crime.
It was an opportunity for the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife to once again raise the issue of the implementation of the second-generation Computerized Forest Information Management System (SIGIF-2), whose operationalization and results are satisfactory, despite the improvements that may be required for better performance.
To step up the fight against wildlife crime, the Minister is working in close collaboration with the US Embassy in Cameroon and the UNODC. He believes that "illegal trafficking in both forests and wildlife feeds terrorist networks and endangers the security of states, which is why it is essential to engage in a relentless fight against them, but this fight can only be successful if we do it together".
MINFOF is working with security forces such as the Police (Interpol), the Gendarmerie and even the Judiciary. It has also been proposed that an inter-ministerial working group be set up to monitor and evaluate SIGIF-2's practical deployment and effectiveness in the fight against illegal logging.
At the end of the discussions, it was with great satisfaction that the Minister reiterated his commitment to support any initiative aimed at helping his department in particular, and the State of Cameroon in general, to achieve its objectives.
© 2021 MINFOF. All rights reserved| Designed by CI MINFOF
French
English