WWF DELEGATION RECEIVED IN AUDIENCE

• Date de Publication : 2024-07-22

On Tuesday, July 16, 2024, Room 635 of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife was the setting for an audience granted by the Secretary General of the said Ministry, Joseph Nyongwen, on behalf of the Minister, to the World Wildlife Fund for Nature, WWF delegation visiting Cameroon. During the audience, he was assisted not only by his close collaborators, but also by representatives of the Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development.

The audience was in prelude to some field visits made by the delegation to some national parks in the localities of Campo, Somalomo, Ngoyla, Lomié and Dja.

Discussions focused on the evaluation of certain programs jointly implemented by Cameroon and WWF. These include projects aimed at integrating planning and integrated management into the use of forest resources in target zones, with emphasis on recognition of the values of natural capital and the rights of indigenous populations and local communities. In addition, projects to improve the management of protected areas and their peripheral zones, in collaboration with all stakeholders, are also on the agenda, in order to ensure sustainable development through the establishment of value chains for non-timber forest products.

On the field, the delegation was able to observe and report on the progress made on the various memoranda of understanding, as well as the difficulties and other expectations of the various stakeholders. While protection programs are indeed underway in some parks, such as gorilla habituation programs and marine parks for turtles, several initiatives have yet to be taken.

Among the difficulties observed at the various sites, the delegation noted the inadequacy of certain basic infrastructures, notably access roads to the parks, and funding difficulties in recruiting and supervising tourist staff and guides. In the course of discussions, it became clear that some of these difficulties need to be included in various programs for which MINFOF is not responsible, while others will be addressed as part of the future updating of the various memoranda.

At the end of the meeting, the Secretary General expressed his satisfaction at the fruitful exchanges with the WWF delegation, and the support it had provided to the Government in implementing its forestry and wildlife policy.

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