Posted on December, 03 2003

Updates in this issue: - Count down to certification : Jengi takes giant step- Jengi team supports Campo Ma’an project - Background of Groupe Decolvenaere - Migrating elephants crush WWF patrol boat - Notorious parrot trapper nabbed in Lobeke - Poaching rate drops after jail sentences - Baka pygmies ask for own share of forest revenue To read the full newsletter - click on the 'download newsletter' option in the 'related links' box. Highlight from November's newsletter: Poaching rate drops after jail sentences Bushmeat has become rare in the menu of most restaurants in South East Cameroon. This is thanks to the concerted efforts of conservation organisations in the region, notably WWF and its partners, the Ministry of Environment and Forest, (MINEF) the German Development Cooperation, (GTZ) and the judiciary. Field reports indicate a dramatic and general drop in poaching in and around the protected areas of the region. An evaluation meeting held recently in Yokadouma bringing together personnel of the above structures gave the opportunity to make a review of conservation activities for the past three months. While successes were noted in different dormains, anti-poaching drives stood at first position. With the collaboration of the judiciary and the examplary court decisions metted out to arrested poachers, the forest is said to be relatively quiet. For example, reports talk of more sightings of gorillas in areas where they were once absent. Also, elephants have been spotted closed to some villages beyond the peripheries of Lobeke Park. However, a booming night market for bushmeat is reported to be gaining grounds in a logging town South of Lobeke with Congo Brazzaville as principal destination. The Jengi Project and its partners are developing strategies to wipe out what appears to be the last bastion of poachers in that part of the region. The representative of the Ministry of Environment and Forest for the region, Jean Claude Ndo has signed a circular reminding the population in general on the legal implications of buying or selling bushmeat. The local radio stations of the area ( Radio Yokadouma and Radio Moloundou) are making a sing-song of the circular. For more information about these stories and on the WWF Jengi Project, contact: Peter Ngea, Communication Manager, WWF Jengi SE Project, P.O Box 6776 Yaounde - Cameroon. Tel: (237) 999 03 94 or (237) 221 70 84. E-mail pngea@wwfcarpo.org