WWF - News & Publications on the Jengi Programme

Female ranger awaits justice for abuses

2012-05-13

By Fidelis Pegue Manga

When Mary Ashu, 29, was posted to serve as forest ranger on the east flank of the Dja Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that straddles the East and South Regions of Cameroon in 2007, she beamed with enthusiasm.

Not long after taking up service, her presence began being felt at a control post near the reserve. Mary would thoroughly search every single vehicle and confiscated bushmeat, panther skins and elephant tusks.

She would lead forest patrols in the reserve, arrest poachers, and bring them them to stand trial in a court 100km from her station. As a result, eight ivory tusks have been seized and 15 poachers have tried and sentenced to jail terms.

The firebrand ranger

Ashu's unflinching firmness resulted in her being nicknamed "firebrand" game ranger by colleagues. With her on duty, the eastern flank of the reserve became relatively quiet. Poachers were either deterred or sought other trails to smuggle bushmeat and ivory tusks.

Keeping to her mantra "stand by the law at all cost," Ashu says "My best moment is when I am applying the law while an irate crowd is hauling insults at me."

It is this steadfastness that prodded her on for five years, although there were moments when her tenacity was put to test. In 2008, a vehicle transporting bushmeat bust through the control post and sped off.

"We pursued the vehicle on a motorbike. The vehicle got stuck in mud 15km away. The driver jumped out and lurched into the bush but I tripped and arrested him," Ashu said. "We seized gorilla meat, duikers and a giant pangolin from the vehicle."

Powerful enemies

Despite five years of unflinching determinism and success, Ashu was recently forced to flee her post to seek refuge Cameroon's capital city, Yaoundé out of fear for her life.

In December Ashu says she and another a female colleague were severely injured by illegal wood exploiters whose wood they attempted to impound. After several scuffles, the illegal loggers rallied a clutch of villagers who severely beat the women. The two were stripped of their epaulettes and held for ransom.

Ashu sustained injuries on her face was incapacitated for 30 days. She lodged a complaint with the justice department seeking redress, but the matter has since stalled. No concrete action has yet been taken against her suspected assailants.

"I was hoping justice would be done. I almost lost my life because I was trying to do just my job," Ashu says. "Even the expected support from my immediate boss did not come by."

Smouldering determination

Ashu now waits for justice far from the forest she holds dear. But has this incident put out her fire? "No. I just need support and encouragement from my bosses," she says. "The threat on my life is unquestionably real. Only unalloyed support from my hierarchy and justice can prod me on."

"My best moment is when I am applying the law," Ashu says. "I find satisfaction when I do my job and have results, but from the way things are going, it will be hard to get concrete results."

"It is disheartening to see what is happening to this firebrand female ranger," said Fouda Expedit, WWF Park Assistant for Nki National Park. "I had worked with Mary and known her to be courageous and devoted to her work. She would seize bushmeat and bullets, belonging to influential people without fear of reprisal. It is unfortunate that despite her devotion to her job, this is happening to her," he said.

Despite this low moment Ashu has a word of encouragement for potential female game rangers. "Do your job with love and happiness. No one can hurt you if you stand for the truth," she says. But for now, Ashu listens to religious music, her favourite pass time, to revive her sinking morale in her Yaoundé abode.

Weak ivory trafficking penalty strengthened on appeal

2012-04-18

An appeals court in the East Region of Cameroon has sentenced a group caught trafficking 44 ivory tusks to one year jail terms and damages of FCFA 100 million (US$ 200,000) to be paid to Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF).

The judgment comes three months after a lower court sentenced the same suspects to just 30 days in jail term and a fine of less than FCFA 5 million. The ruling sparked a wave of condemnation from members of the international community, including WWF and LAGA, prompting Cameroon's wildlife ministry to lodge an appeal.

The four defendants were arrested by forest rangers on routine patrol near Cameroon's Lobéké National Park in December. When rangers searched their truck they discovered 44 elephant tusks hidden between bags of cocoa.

This appeal court ruling comes just weeks after another court sentenced 17 wildlife traffickers to 30 month jail terms and fines of FCFA 77 million (US$ 160,000) in a separate case.

"This court judgment, though passed in the absence of the accused, is a demonstration that the judiciary is able to uphold Cameroon's wildlife laws," said David Hoyle, WWF-Cameroon Conservation Director.

Alain Bernard, Head of Legal Department for the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA), says:
"The court of appeal made a better application of the wildlife law than the first judge notably by considering section 158 of the 1994 wildlife law which provides penalties of 1 to 3 years imprisonment term for killing of a totally protected species, including elephants, while section 101 states that whoever is found with part of a protected species such as ivory is reported to have killed the animal as it was the case in this matter."

Poaching sentences stiffened in Cameroon

2012-04-10

A court in the East Region of Cameroon has handed out high fines and lengthy prison terms to a group of wildlife poachers and traffickers a month after meting out mild penalties that caused outrage in the conservation community.

The ruling is unprecedented in the history of wildlife crime cases in the southeast of Cameroon, and included sentencing 17 individuals to damages amounting to nearly FCFA 80 million (US $160,000) and prison terms as high as 30 months.

According to the verdict, four poachers who were caught with 14 ivory tusks near Boumba-Bek and Nki National Parks in March each received 18 months jail terms and were fined over FCFA 30 million.

Additionally, poachers believed to be responsible for the decapitation of thousands of African grey parrots in Lobéké National Park were given 30 month prison sentences and ordered to pay FCFA 12 million or face an additional two years in jail.

The sentences were the outcome of concerted efforts made by WWF, the Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) and the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA). Prosecution lawyers provided by WWF and LAGA had urged the court to follow established sentencing guidelines so as to deter potential wildlife criminals from pursuing illegal activities.

Unprecedented

The court rulings marked a watershed in the history of law enforcement against poaching in southeast Cameroon, said David Hoyle, Conservation Director for WWF Cameroon.

"We congratulate the Cameroon judiciary for applying the letter of law and hope the decision will serve as deterrence to stop the wanton carnage of Cameroon's wildlife," Hoyle said. "This verdict will certainly boost the morale of forest rangers who have been hitherto saddened and disappointed by the series of mild court sentences passed by the courts over the years."

Balla Ottou, Chief of Sector in charge of wildlife, who was amongst the four representatives of Cameroon's wildlife ministry at the trials, welcomed the ruling. "We need such decisions to stop the hemorrhage," Balla said.

Turning the tide

The court rulings came on the heels of complaints by conservation organizations such as WWF and LAGA that Cameroon's judiciary had been too lenient in handing down sentences to poachers, especially ivory traffickers. The sentencing of four ivory traffickers caught with 44 tusks to one month jail terms in January marked the height of disappointment.

The southeast of Cameroon is home to iconic species such as gorillas, forest elephants, chimpanzees and African grey parrots, but these species, especially elephants are under intense poaching pressure. According to anti-poaching data provided by conservation services in southeast Cameroon, at least 50 elephants are killed for ivory each year in the region. Hundreds of elephants have been killed in northern Cameroon this year.

"Arrests are made on a regular basis but suspects have been systematically let off the hook," said Zacharie Nzooh, WWF Project Manager for Lobéké.

WWF provides assistance to Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife as the country seeks to fight the upsurge in poaching. Logistics, financial and technical help is geared at stemming the illegal exploitation of natural resources.

Life on the front lines

2012-03-29

By Fidelis Pegue Manga

Ask Abagui Iya Lucien, a game ranger who has been working for Lobéké National Park since 1998, what it feels like working as a ranger today and he tells you, "We have attained the nadir." Never have rangers working in the southeast of Cameroon been so demoralized.

With reason: they have been going after dangerously armed poachers wholly unarmed. They have been begging and yearning for arms to better defend themselves in the face of attacks from Kalashnikov armed poachers, to no avail. Some 30 of them have worked for 12 years hoping that the Cameroon government would honour its promise to integrate them into the civil service.

But the process is beset with paralyzing obstacles, keeping them in long, vexatious wait. These hurdles have left rangers in a sorry state. As if to worsen their frustration, poachers and some local people have been multiplying attacks against them. This has resulted in an increasing number of rangers sustaining injuries and then, recently, one dead.

Examples are legion. On October 8, 2005, two rangers, Ali Moussa and Mossaleng Mekong Jeannot Roger, who were returning from an anti-poaching operation southwest of Lobéké National Park , got stabbed several times on their stomach and sides by a suspicious man on a timber truck. Their assailant went wholly scot-free.

Today both rangers carry huge scares on their stomachs with Mossaleng handicapped for life. "I cannot do 15km hiking into the forest anymore," he said. In January 2008 Abagui Lucien and Mpouop Simon, both game rangers were stabbed as they attempted to arrest four poachers inside Lobéké National Park .

"We confronted the poachers in an attempt to wrest an AK47 war gun (Kalashnikov) in their possession. They wounded me on my chest and cut my colleague's index finger in the ensuing struggle," Abagui explained. Though two of the poachers escaped, the rangers succeeded in arresting two of their accomplices and confiscated the Kalashnikov.

After firing a bullet into the groin of a ranger near Nki National Park in December 2008, a poacher shot another forest ranger, Abakar Amidou, in the chest in 2009. Abakar, who is attached to the government delegation of Forest and Wildlife in the Upper Nyong Division, East Cameroon , was shot by a notorious elephant poacher during anti-poaching operation in a logging concession. The poacher was slammed 80 years prison term.

In the south west of Nki National Park, four rangers and a gendarme were locked up in a house for four hours in a village called Yambot. The rangers were searching for ivory tusks suspected to have been hidden in one of the houses in the village. "We requested and obtained authorization from the village chief to carry out a search but we got locked up by irate villagers who threatened to kill us," explained Asseme Sidonie, a female ranger.

The same team of rangers was forced to surrender confiscated gorilla meat and a 12-caliber rifle in a village called Etat Frontier on Cameroon's border with Congo when angry villagers encircled and threatened to beat them if they did not hand back the seized items.

Poachers would not hesitate to use any weapon at their disposal. They used a machete to butcher the ankle of Mpamb David and then on September 27, 2011, they tortured and murdered Achille Pierre Zomedel and seriously wounded his colleague, Mamendji Jean Fils.

During the funeral of their fallen colleague, the forest rangers through their spokesperson stated that, "it is true we are enemies to the public and many are those we wish us dead. But before God and man, we have been doing just our job, in strict respect of administrative norms."

The rangers' biggest worry has been inadequate arm for self defence. "We chase armed poachers even in the night with our bare hands. It is a miracle we have so far sustained mostly injuries," said ranger Mpouop Simon, who had been stabbed. "We are making a clarion call to the government to provide us arms and other equipment to confront poachers. We work under very horrible conditions day and night, on land and in water, sometimes without uniforms," he said.

The responsibility of forest rangers in Cameroon is to arrest wildlife crime suspects and hand them over to the judiciary for trial. For the past decades, hundreds of poachers have been arrested and taken to stand trial in courts in Yokadouma and Abong Mbang.

Many have been slammed jail terms, "But the overall output of the judiciary has been below expectation," says David John Hoyle, Director of Conservation for WWF in Cameroon . "We have seen poachers caught red-handed with totally protected wildlife species inside national parks being slammed sentences as small as three-month jail term," Hoyle stated.

The levity of the judiciary was made even more poignant when a court in Yokadouma, on January 20, 2012, sentenced four ivory traffickers, caught red-handed with 44 ivory tusks in December 2011, to 30 days in jail and a fine of FCFA 4 million (US$8000). This prompted an avalanche of protest from conservation organization and Cameroon Ministry of Forestry and wildlife.

According to Cameroon's 1994 Wildlife and Forestry law, penalties for the killing of a totally protected class A species, which includes elephants with tusks weighing less than 5kgs, are 1 to 3 years imprisonment and/or a fine of 3 to 10 million FCFA. The wildlife ministry has filed an appeal against the judgment, requesting longer prison sentences and fines of over FCFA 230 million.

Arrests made as Cameroon elephant poaching crisis spreads

2012-03-28

Twelve suspected poachers have been arrested and 14 elephant tusks confiscated outside protected areas in southeast Cameroon this week. Forest rangers carried out the arrests and seizures near Boumba-Bek and Nki National Parks after receiving intelligence information from village monitoring groups formed by WWF.

The anti-poaching operation comes just weeks after the Cameroon military entered a national park in the North Region of the country where poachers have slaughtered hundreds of elephants since January. Up to 12,000 elephants are killed each year for their ivory, most in Central Africa.

In southeast Cameroon, rangers confiscated six firearms and 30kg of elephant meat in the joint anti-poaching operation that involved rangers from both national parks. Two other suspects are said to be on the run. The confiscated tusks are being kept under seal while the detained suspects await trial.

Constant threat

The adjoining national parks of Boumba-Bek and Nki are home an estimated 4,000 forest elephants according to a 2006 survey carried out by WWF. But elephants in these protected areas are under constant pressure from poachers from within Cameroon as well as from neighbouring Congo Brazzaville.

Achille Mengamenya, Park Warden of Boumba-Bek, says the poaching suspects have been operating in the area for a year and have evaded arrest several times in the past. "Preliminary investigations show this group of poachers has very strong links with a sister group based in Souanke, Congo Brazzaville. But they poach elephants mostly in Nki National Park," Achille said.

"With the connivance of some local people ivory is surreptitiously transported through the towns of Messok and Lomie in the East Region of Cameroon to Douala," the park warden said. "Four poachers, who were arrested in December 2011 with 44 ivory tusks near Lobéké National Park, also attested to having links with accomplices in Souanke. It is clear that the fight against poaching in the border areas between Cameroon, Congo and Central African Republic has to be stepped up to save what is left of elephants in the region."

International links

Those suspected of killing hundreds of elephants in North Cameroon's Bouba N'Djida National Park are believed to be foreigners who entered the country illegally across its border with Chad. Following that incident, WWF urged the Cameroon government to secure its borders, reinforce anti-poaching efforts, and ensure that suspects are tried and punished according to the law.

"After the international outcry of the Bouba N'Djida massacre it is time to put a stop to this senseless commercially motivated slaughter of Africa's biodiversity," says David Hoyle, Conservation Director for WWF Cameroon.

"Back in 2010, Jim Leape, Director General of WWF International, wrote a letter to the prime minister of Cameroon, drawing attention to the upsurge of elephant poaching using war arms in Southeast Cameroon," said Natasha Kofoworola Quist, WWF's Central African Regional Programme Office Representative. "The recent gruesome massacre of elephants in Bouba N'Djida in the north of the country in the space of two months shows the rapidity in the decimation of elephant population in Cameroon."

Global response

"We hope to see stronger local and regional approaches and collaborative platforms to combat wildlife poaching and ivory trafficking in Central Africa. WWF is urging all participants who will be attending the Regional Workshop on Wildlife Trafficking and Dismantling Transnational Illicit Networks billed for Libreville, Gabon on April 3-5 to come out with concrete and realistic resolutions that could be implemented immediately to halt the carnage," Kofoworola Quist said.

In a letter to Cameroon President Paul Biya, European Parliament member Catherine Bearder highlighted the severity and scope of ivory poaching and offered the assistance of the European Union. "It is clear that illegal wildlife trade is not a small scale, local issue, but a major, organised transnational crime that threatens not only Africa's wildlife, but the security of its borders, its people and its reputation," Bearder wrote. "It is important to engage with the Heads of State in Chad and Sudan to launch a full response to this issue that will reassure the global community that these trans-national criminal acts are taken seriously," she said.

WWF has been providing critical support to Cameroon's Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to combat poaching, especially ivory trafficking, in the southeast of the country for over 12 years. Logistics and financial support have been provided to hire, equip and train rangers, while buttressing field anti-poaching operations.

Officials in Cameroon trained in wildlife law

2011-06-06

Over 50 participants from Cameroon's judiciary, law enforcement bodies, and the Forestry and Wildlife Ministry have received training in the application of wildlife law and the prosecution of poachers at a workshop organized by WWF.

The training took place in the East Region of Cameroon, an elephant poaching and ivory trade hotspot in the country, and included actors from both the East and South regions where the anti-poaching fight has recently been intense.

The workshop was initiated and funded by WWF's African Elephant Programme in collaboration with the bush meat programme of WWF-Cameroon and with the Last Great Ape Organization (LAGA), whose staff provided the expert training.

The workshop was inspired by weaknesses in the judicial pursuit of suspected wildlife criminals in Cameroon. This has resulted in the poor application of the law, resulting in an increase in poaching within and around national parks.

"Even though there has been much effort at the institutional level, this is not reflected amongst actors on the ground charged with reporting and engaging proceedings against wildlife crimes," said David Hoyle, Conservation Director of WWF-Cameroon.

"Consequently, anti-poaching effort has not had expected impact because it is limited sometimes to repression which entails seizures without proper judicial proceedings against traffickers," Hoyle said.

According to Lamine Sebogo, WWF's African Elephant Programme Coordinator, these kinds of trainings have been initiated to bolster the judiciary skills of law enforcement officers. Similar workshops are also being planned for Gabon and Congo-Brazzaville.

In addition to building capacity, the workshops allow a genuine interaction between regional persecutors, wildlife officers, gendarmerie, eco-guards, police and others involved in wildlife crime cases. The meetings provide an opportunity for participants to share their concerns and their strategic thinking on how to efficiently collaborate to arrest, persecute and sentence wildlife criminals.

Participants were taught investigation techniques and briefed on judicial procedures. Exercises on how to write reports on wildlife offences, the proper method for forwarding case files to the justice department, and the follow up of poaching-related matters were also covered.

During the workshop participants highlighted the challenges of the social and economic contexts in which they operate. They observed that traditional rites, the lack of alternative sources of livelihoods, and poverty make it extremely difficult for them to carry out their duties.

"We should temper justice with humanism," said one member of the judiciary. "How do you arrest a mother with a paper strapped on her back struggling to sell bush meat to feed her family and put her in jail?"

"How do you expect a poorly paid, poorly equipped game ranger to properly do their job?" asked a park warden.

Participants requested clarification of the roles of various actors, additional logistical support, and better information sharing.

WWF and LAGA provide technical and scientific expertise to authorities in the region to support the conservation of elephants, great apes and their forest habitats.

Village fishpond saves forest wildlife

2010-04-15

Mario Malomo is excited and anxious as he joins more than a dozen of his committee members who have taken up positions around the Tembe Piste community fishpond.

As head of the local committee that manages the newly created fishpond, his arrival signals the beginning of business. This is going to be the first harvest, and a crowd of about 100 villagers has gathered, some with baskets, ready to buy.

How many fish will be found beneath the murky water? Is the quantity going to be worth the trouble? Excitement reaches a fever pitch as five women open the pond outlet to let the water flow.

The first catch of the day is a 2kg tilapia. Two hours later, about 350kg of fish have been caught. This is the first time such a massive quantity of fresh fish is available for the roughly 300 people of the forest dependent village. Many agree the next harvest will be even more fruitful.

More than 50 people involved in the fish pond project went home with part of the harvest, while the rest was sold for about $400 and the money set aside for future investments in their village infrastructure, such as for a corn mill, a well for drinking water, and a first aid center.

The Tembe village fishpond is part of a WWF initiative that gives local communities and the indigenous Baka people that live around three national parks in Southeast Cameroon a new source of protein and revenue.

The project will produce at least 10 tons of fish per year by creating several new ponds, similar to the one in Tembe.

WWF hopes the new fishponds also will help quell the poaching crisis that is rampant in most of the Congo Basin to supply the bushmeat trade. Attempts have been made to deal with the issue at the source –anti-poaching patrols around protected areas and logging concessions, for example – and at the consumer level through education and awareness campaigns. But additional strategies are needed.

"Experience shows that improved law enforcement can drive the hunting and trade further underground if local people have no available alternative sources of protein," says Louis Ngono, WWF Community Officer for the Jengi Programme. "Similarly, if no alternative is found, awareness campaigns may have limited impact, especially when targeting the rural poor," he adds.

Hunters kill at least 36 species of animals around the Lobeke National Park alone, which is one of the three parks that encompass the WWF pond initiative. WWF is working to put in place longer-term, sustainable and innovative solutions that will reduce the consumption and trade in meat from wild species without compromising the health and livelihoods of forest communities.

The project is a joint effort with Cameroon's Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry and other local organizations. Not only will this initiative meet the protein needs of local residents, but sales are expected to generate income that will fulfill key social needs for the communities.

Elephant radio-collared in Ngoyla-Mintom forest block

2008-12-13

Jengi Newsletter

2008-10-03

In this issue of Jengi Newsletter:

CARPE/USAID helping forest governance in Southeast Cameroon
Fact sheet on community forestry in Southeast Cameroon
WWF International Director General Visit Jengi
WIRE TRAP: Big killer of wildlife
Time to fight white-collared poachers
German Bank pledges more support for TNS
Baka pygmies sticking to dome-shaped houses

Sustainable forest management in Southeast Cameroon

2008-08-28

Since 2002, WWF alongside local and other international NGOs have been working with logging companies, local communities and Cameroon's Ministry of Forest and Wildlife to ensure sustainable forest management SFM. In this light, WWF has been accompanying logging companies engaged in Forest Stewardship Council, FSC, Certification process and working with local communities to set up community forest enterprises.

The forest is divided into permanent (77%) and non-permanent (23%) forest domains.
The permanent forest domain is forest lands that are used solely for forestry and or as a wildlife habitat. The non permanent forest domain is forest land that can be given out for other activities rather than timber exploitation.

Permanent forest domain

WWF project invests about US$100,000 per year that includes staff time to support sustainable forest management and certification initiatives of logging companies operating in Southeast Cameroon.

WWF provides technical assistance through activities such as training, wildlife inventories, GIS and monitoring.

The project carries out preliminary studies on certification and monitors socio-economic and ecological impact of forest exploitation.

WWF prods the establishment of forest management units within logging companies.

Helps build capacities of forest technicians on low-impact exploitation techniques.

Logging Concessions
There are 23 logging concessions covering 1,558879ha and accounting for 48% of the total area. Nine logging companies are exploiting the concessions.
Amongst the logging companies, five are run by Cameroonians, two by Italians, one by Belgians and one jointly by French and Chinese. These companies operate nine sawmills.

Companies engaged in FSC Certification
Two logging companies (SEFAC and Group Decolvenaere) are engaged in Forest Stewardship Council, FSC Certification covering some 529600 ha.
Statistics from SEFAC Company indicate additional Euros150 per cubic metre is generated as profit from certified wood. The company's field manager indicates wood demand from Western markets, especially FSC wood, has tripled since the company obtained the certificate.
So far, four logging concessions of Group SEFAC, amounting to 314655ha, have been certified given a percentage of 33.9% in the region. Three other companies: SFCS, ALPICAM and VICWOOD/Thanry exploiting 10 logging concessions, covering 756330ha are in the Certification process.

Importance of certified wood
Certification seeks to ensure that forests are exploited under acceptable socio-economic and ecological conditions. Companies seeking certification must undertake to protect sensitive wildlife corridors, contribute in the fight against poaching, protect water catchments, rivers, streams and marshy areas within the concession they are logging, all in a bid to ensure sustainable forest exploitation.
The company must make determined efforts to improve living conditions of its workers, with regards to health care, sanitation, housing, education and other social aminities. It must recognise and protect the rights of minorities like Baka pygmies. FSC certified wood is thus wood exploited in respect to nature and human beings.

WWF target for 2011
By 2011 WWF hopes some 1070985ha (68.7%) of forest concessions under exploitation would have been certified.

Non-permanent forest domain
This is unclassified forest on non-permanent forest land that comprises communal forests, community forests and forest belonging to private individuals.
This forest can be attributed for other uses order than timber extraction.

Community Forest
Portion of forest in the non-permanent state forest which is object of a management agreement between a village community and the service in charge of forestry. Community forest comprises 5000 ha of forest portions managed by village communities, with technical assistance of the services in charge of forestry, for a period of 25 years renewable.

WWF support to community forest initiatives
WWF is giving technical support in the form of training, elaboration of management plans, inventories etc, to 21 (105000ha) community forest enterprises, covering 23 villages with a population of 21178 people.
10 community forests have been attributed to local communities; five are already under exploitation while 11 are still in the process of being attributed.

Target for 2011
WWF hopes 20 community forest enterprises shall be fully operational on a surface area of 100,000ha by 2011.

Perspective
With a network of mangers of community forest in the Southeast Province put in place WWF envisages assisting community forest obtain group certification. However, this could only be achieved after some of the community forest would have gone fully operational.

Socio-economic benefits of community forests
The proceeds generated by community forests enterprises are used to finance micro projects in local communities. Communities so far make about US$10,000 per year from the two forest units currently operational? The project is investing in form of technical assistance some US$50,000 annually to promote community forestry.
Following have been achieved with proceeds from community forests under exploitation:
Construction of classrooms
Scholarships to pupils and students
Constructions and maintenance of water points
Purchase of didactic materials for schools

Key definitions

Permanent forest domain
These are forest lands that are used solely for forestry and or as a wildlife habitat. It comprises state forest and council forest and covers at least 30% of the total area of the national territory.

Logging contract
An exploitation contract that confers on a forest exploiter the right to extract from a forest concession, a specific volume of timber to supply his local industry/industries for processing in the long term. The contract is renewable after 15 years and is evaluated every three years.

Forest concession
A forest area where timber is exploited. A concession could comprise several forest management units (UFA)

Sale by standing volume
An authorisation to exploit a precise volume of timber in a surface area of forest not more than 2500 hectares. The attribution of such forest is subject to the opinion of a competent commission for a period of three years renewable

Personal authorisation
An authorisation given to an individual to extract not more than 30 metre cube of timber for personal and non-profit use

Congo Basin is one of the most important places on earth, Jim P. Leape

2008-08-06

Congo Basin Rainforest; biodiversity hotspot

This forest is for WWF one of the most important places on earth. It is at the cutting edge of conservation for the organisation. Here we are trying to conserve forest on a very large scale, working at the highest levels with heads of states and with foreign governments and at the same time working with local communities to try and find solutions which can sustain conservation in the long term. It is a flagship programme for our organisation. So it is important for me to have time to see what is being done and to share with some of our most important partners.

This is a place with stunning resources; the only place where you can see lowland gorillas and forest elephants. But more broadly a real spectacular forest from a biodiversity perspective. It is a place for people who want to be part of finding solutions, who want to be part of conservation and a place of great challenges. This is a hard place to find good solutions. We have seen very exciting work from some of our colleagues in Central Africa Republic and here in Cameroon. We have seen some of what they are up against and the challenges they face. It has been for me a very inspiring trip.

WWF and FSC Certification

I think FSC Certification is one of the most important strategies we have developed over the last 15 years because, absolutely, we have to find ways to conserve the forest and at the same time meet the economic and social needs of surrounding communities. And certified forestry is a proven strategy for doing that. It is very exciting to see that strategy work here in Central Africa. In this specific case we were able to talk with the management and see sustainable forest management in operation. For me it was a great visit.

Nature and People

I think there is a deep understanding within this organisation that conservation can only be successful if it works for people in particular, who live in the areas we are trying to protect, that we are broadly working for society. We have recognised that for a very long time and the strategy that you now see developing in the Congo Basin, for the Amazon, for the Coral Triangle and so on really are focused on finding lasting solutions and lasting solutions means solutions that work for the people. That is actually what we are trying to do.
We all agree somehow that this forest needs to be conserved. But our experience is also clear that if we are going to conserve this forest we have to find a way to allow some sustainable use to meet the economic needs and aspirations of the people who live here. For us it is clear that FSC certified logging really has that promise. It is an important part, alongside protected areas, for long term conservation of this great place.

WWF and the German Development Bank (KfW)

KfW is one of our most important partners. There is an extraordinary commitment from KfW. The resources they are ready to commit offers great potentials for us to forge solutions here in the Congo Basin, in the Amazon and other parts of the world. So they are for us a great partner.

Biodiversity conservation; a passion

This has been my passion as long as I could remember since when I was a kid. It all started with a love for nature. But in the last three decades I got to understand that these are challenges that are fundamental to the existence of humanity. Apart from the passion in the end I think this is a very important cause for humanity. There could be no better priority than that.

WWF Jengi, a great team!

I have been focused on the Congo Basin for a very long time. I was here for the first time almost 10 years ago but much longer than this. This is a region that I have been particularly fascinated by and passionate of. To me it is an incredible privilege to spend time with this team, to be here in the field getting a sense of the great work they have been doing under very challenging circumstances. This is a place where we are trying to protect elephants and gorillas but more broadly trying to conserve the forest which is laudable in terms of human needs. We see great creativity in this team in finding ways to engage local communities, engage big actors like logging companies and governments to forge solutions and that is what this is all about. For the Jengi and Cameroonian team I am very proud to be associated with this group of people and I look forward to great things from them in many years to come.

Another ivory trafficker napped in Southeast Cameroon

2008-07-21

Thanks to information given by local population, game rangers swooped on the fuel tanker during a nocturnal mobile patrol. The suspect told conservation authorities that he bought the tusks from poachers in Libongo, a logging town situated 880km from Yaounde, on the extreme southeast of Cameroon's borders with Central African Republic. The elephants, that included three calves, going by the sizes of the ivory tusks, are suspected to have been killed in and around Lobeke (Cameroon) and Dzanga-Ndoki (Central African Republic) national parks. Both parks are sandwiched by Libongo town.

According to the suspect, he supplies tusks to dealers in big cities of Cameroon like Douala. The tusks are then smuggled across the borders to some West African countries.

Truck drivers implicated
Records show that timber and fuel tanker truck drivers are most implicated in the transportation of elephant tusks from the Southeast of Cameroon. This is the sixth time truck drivers have been caught either transporting illegal ivory or sacks of bush meat from Southeast Cameroon this year. According to the Chief of Sector in Charge of Wildlife for Boumba et Ngoko Division, East Cameroon, poachers and truck drivers work in complicity making it difficult to detect their activities. They, therefore, succeed in meandering through the numerous checkpoints mounted along the roads. "Our wish is to create a mobile brigade that will patrol major roads in the region and systematically search all vehicles," declared Balla Ottou.

Lobeke National Park has one of the highest densities of forest elephants in the Congo Basin but the park is under pressure from poachers which according to WWF Jengi Scientific Advisor, Dr. Zacharie Nzooh, has resulted in the fragmentation of elephant population in the park and surrounding zones. "Most frequently used elephant corridors are now becoming deserted due to poaching," Dr. Nzooh revealed.

WWF alongside other conservation organisations have been supporting Cameroon's Forest and Wildlife Ministry in its effort to bolster security around the park. Control posts have been built in and around the park, a VHF radio system has been installed to facilitate communication and 29 game rangers have been deployed to keep poachers at bay.
Cameroon's Wildlife Ministry and WWF have set up a network of informants to combat "white-collared" poachers.

This latest incident lends credence to a 2007 report by the Wildlife trade monitoring network, TRAFFIC, which cited Cameroon amongst three countries in the Central African sub-region heavily implicated in the traffic of illicit ivory tusks to international markets.

For more information contact: Pegue Manga,Communication Officer, Jengi Programme (fmanga@wwfcarpo.org) or Peter Ngea, Regional Communication Manager, WWFCARPO (pngea@wwfcarpo.org)

Protecting Baka pygmies access to forest resources in Southeast Cameroon

2008-07-07

An ongoing WWF study to determine use zones of Baka pygmies in Boumba-Bek national park has recommended that the Bakas be granted more access to natural forest resources inside the national park. The study was done in collaboration with international, national and local NGOs specialized in working with indigenous forest peoples.

These indigenous forest people living around three national parks; Boumba-Bek, Nki and Lobéké, make up some 30 percent of the 100,000 people living in the heart of the Congo Basin Rainforest in Southeast Cameroon. They are essentially hunters and gatherers and lead a semi-nomadic life.

A phase of the study entitled "Space and Resource Use of Indigenous Baka pygmies" carried out in part of north and entire eastern buffer zones of Boumba-Bek, by a WWF Jengi Southeast Forest Program research team, brings out the peculiarities (exceptional culture) of Baka pygmies and provides a basis for negotiation of access rights in protected areas. It establishes a direct relationship between the future of the forest and Baka pygmies, spotlights Bakas feeding habits and location of huts and choreographs elements of change in the area.

According to Dr. Leonard Usongo, WWF Jengi Programme Coordinator, the study provides necessary information for the integration of Baka pygmies into natural resource management. It will also help preserve the cultural heritage and reinforce community identity amongst Baka pygmies; manage conflicts within and between local communities on the one hand and local communities and administrative authorities on the other hand. "Given WWF's philosophy in participatory management, it is fundamental to address the needs of local communities in order to win their support for conservation work," says Dr. Usongo.

The study has so far revealed that Bakas wholly rely on the forest for their livelihood. They harvest honey, wild mangoes, yams, medicinal plants and many other non-timber forest products from there. They hunt, live and have their sacred sites inside the forest. It gives inkling into Baka pygmies' strongly held beliefs, traditional approach to conservation, usage of some non-timber forest products and their semi-nomadic way of life.

Recommendations

After participatory mapping of the resource use areas, in-forest data collection using cyber tracker devices, group (15 groups) and individual interviews and direct observations, in 13 villages of 3444 people, a WWF research team concluded that Baka pygmies do not recognize any limits in their quest for forest resources and performance of their traditional rituals. They carry out activities both in and around the park. They see both as continuity and disregard the boundaries erected by the minds of men. The study thus recommends that Baka pygmies be given more access rights beyond agro-forestry zones, the possibility to enter the park between June and September to harvest wild mangoes, possibility to use footpaths within the park, permission to kill an elephant for their annual traditional celebration known as the "Jengi Dance" and unfettered access to harvest medicinal plants throughout the year.

Conservators par excellence
By virtue of their attitudes, behavior and belief, Baka pygmies are excellent nature conservators, reveals the study carried out by Olivier Njounan Tegomo, WWF Senior Field Research Assistant. It is forbidden to set up many snares or hunt female animals amongst Baka pygmies. They discourage the age-old human habit of hoarding food and consuming much meat while encouraging their kith and kin to eat moderately. It is also prohibited to stay in the same place in the forest for too long. In the Baka pygmy's world resources are exploited based on their abundance and there are internal social control mechanisms for natural resource exploitation.

Forest penetration
Baka pygmies in the north and east of Boumba-Bek have permanent external and internal camps alongside huts that serve as resting places during penetration into the forest. Each hut has a footpath that corresponds to a portion of the forest. Bakas are able to trace their huts using rivers, trees and hills. According to the study, "the internal huts sometimes provide refuge for people accused of witchcraft or adultery." Forest penetration is also influenced by location of their sacred shrines, the availability of non-timber forest products. As the resources get depleted, the degree of penetration increases.

Potentials for change
Despite their cultural exceptions, Baka pygmies are indubitably witnessing trappings of change. Perturbation of their habitats by the logging companies, creation of sport and community hunting zones and national parks have invariably impacted on their way of life. Logging roads now cut through their natural habitats, their sacred sites are found within protected areas and the advent of the Christian church means much influence on their culture, buttressed by introduction of the radio as a modern communication tool. "This perceptible struggle between modernism and Baka pygmies traditional way of life is one of the main interest of the study," states Dr. Louis Defo, WWF Jengi Collaborative Management Advisor. "The study seeks to provide answers on resources and space use by these indigenous forest people to carry out their cultural and socio-economic activities in Boumba-Bek. It is thus a priority conservation approach for WWF Jengi," says Dr. Defo.
Cameroon's Forest and Wildlife Ministry, through the Chief of Sector in charge of Wild East Province, Mr. Prospere Seme, reiterated the country's firm commitment to protect rights of indigenous forest peoples. He also advised the Bakas to respect regulations established by government for management of national parks, especially hunting of endangered wildlife species.

East Cameroon forest clearing – wildlife bastion

2008-06-05

Natural salt licks
On going monitoring by a WWF team indicate that at least 50 elephants visit the clearing on a weekly basis, along with other animal species like gorillas and buffaloes. These animals come around to feed on the salt licks.

When Ikwa was discovered in 2006 it seemed really intact – unaffected by marauding poachers. WWF, in collaboration with Cameroon's Ministry of Forest and Wildlife, decided to construct an observation tower and a satellite camp near the clearing in an effort to keep potential poachers away and carry out ecological monitoring.

Refuge
In the backdrop of increasing illegal trade in ivory, that poses enormous threats to the existence of elephants, Ikwa seem to play the role of the last remaining refuge. So safe is Ikwa that elephants will not scamper away even at the sight of humans. Gilbert Mbwapeh, a Baka pygmy tracker, who led a WWF team to this clearing in 2006, stood by recently and watched as an elephant gave birth to a calf. He remembers this as one of the most exciting moments in his life. "I felt like a midwife delivering the calf from its mother. I was terrified and excited at the same time. That was the first time I was seeing this live and at close range for the 50 years that I have lived near Nki," said Mbwapeh.

Mixed Feelings
Hikers to the area – mostly conservation staff are also likely to encounter several gorillas on the way. "Often we encounter gorillas and chimpanzees, some of which come out of their hiding places to catch a glimpse of us. Sometimes they want to attack or play with us," says Ndinga Hilaire, WWF Park Assistant for Nki.

Leonard Usongo, WWF Jengi programme manager has mixed feelings about this wildlife abundance and behaviour. "It will be catastrophic if poachers have access to this area because these mammals will be easy targets since they are generally not scared of human presence," asserts Usongo. At the same time he notes it is encouraging to note that parts of Nki remain like the last bastion of biodiversity in the region.

Nki National Park covers a surface area of 309.365ha and harbors rich flora and fauna, with an increasing number of forest elephants, estimated at about 3.000, and a relatively stable population of chimpanzees and gorillas. However, poaching pressure on the northeast and trans-boundary poaching in the southeast of the park are posing increasing threats to the wildlife population.

Cameroon: The Battle for Parrot Souls in Southeast

2008-05-28

Two "notorious" parrot capturers, Roger Atangana and Ignace Onana were recently arrested and detained pending trial, for illegally trapping African Grey Parrots.
The duo is responsible for the capture of hundreds of parrots each year in Lobeke National Park and its buffer zone, in the East Province of Cameroon. Their arrests were orchestrated by local forest and wildlife authorities in Boumba et Ngoko Division, in collaboration with security forces, facilitated by WWF.
Atangana was arrested in his house in Kika, a logging town, southeast of Lobeke after a scuffle with gendarmes and game rangers. On is part, Onana was arrested while attempting to capture parrots in Djangui, a forest clearing inside Lobeke.
Atangana and Onana have been operating in complicity for over 10 years. So far this year they are suspected to have slaughtered some 1000 parrots, according to wildlife authorities. Both recidivists, Atangana succeeded in escaping from the firm grip of game rangers last year after he was arrested with 167 beheaded parrots near Lobeke.
However, he was recently helmed in when a hand grenade was discovered in his home in March.The two men had also devised a new method of capturing parrots. The heads of the birds are brutally chopped off and their tails plucked. Their remains are either abandoned to rot or eaten.
It is not clear where the heads and tails are taken or what they are used for.A suspect recently arrested by game rangers while transporting 353 parrot heads and 2000 tails, revealed that a witch doctor treating his mentally ill brother requested the heads and tails to continue treatment in the West Province.
According to the Chief of Sector in charge of Wildlife for Boumba et Ngoko Division, East Cameroon, Balla Ottou Appolinaire, the heads are probably exported especially to India and China while the tails go to Nigeria. This new phenomenon poses a new challenge to wildlife authorities and conservation organizations.
"We must investigate this new approach to know the trajectory of the capturers and where the heads and tails go to. It is only after this investigation that we can map out a strategy to stop the decimation of the grey parrots," declared Balla.
Eighty percent of parrots exported from Cameroon are captured in Lobeke which harbors a significant population of grey parrots. About 15,000 birds are taken out of the region every year, though almost half of this number perishes in transit due to poor handling.
Capturers mostly transport the birds in the night to avoid the numerous law enforcement control posts.The African Grey Parrot is a Class A (totally protected) species in Cameroon and can only be captured upon obtaining a special authorisation from the Ministry of Forest and Wildlife.
In 2007, the animals committee of CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flore) recommended a two-year ban on the export of African Grey Parrots in five countries including Cameroon.
The CITES ban recommendation and increased show of concern for the grey parrot in Cameroon have so far not resonated in the minds of capturers operating in Southeast Cameroon, given that they make huge profits from its export.
However, brutal decapitation of the bird is creating alarm amongst conservation organisations, thereby indubitably opening a new front in the battle to save the parrot's soul.
"The arrest of these notorious capturers is a decisive move to stem this menacing trend in Southeast Cameroon," Balla Ottou noted.

Contribution of conservation to livelihood of local communities around Tri-national de la Sangha landscape, TNS

2008-05-22

The TNS landscape comprises protected areas in Cameroon (Lobeke) Central African Republic (Dzanga-Ndoki) Congo Brazzaville (Nouabale-Ndoki). Thanks to efforts of key conservation partners in the region namely WWF, WCS and GTZ, the local communities have been organized and are involved in ecotourism and other income generating activities aimed at improving their living conditions.
In Bayanga, which is part of the special rainforest reserve of Dzanga-Sangha, Central African Republic, a gorilla habituation project presages a new era for local people. Huge number of tourists stream into the area each year where they are offered extraordinary opportunities to accompany the BaAka pygmies on guided tours to observe western lowland gorillas and see the elusive forest elephants. Traditional hunting by BaAka pygmies, using bolds and arrows, nets etc, is a source of attraction and an income earner too. These activities have contributed to the local economy with accompanying improvement of the living condition of local people. Proceed from this project has been spent on provision of health services and education, training in agricultural techniques, and helped legalize village traditional hunting by BaAka pygmies in the area. The economic position of BaAka pygmies has been strengthened by assisting them maintain their habits and exploit the forest according to their traditions.
In Nouabale Ndoki National Park, local communities are directly involved in guided tours of tourists to the Mbeli bai, a swampy clearing measuring some 15ha visited by 130 habituated gorillas. Locals also guide adventurous tourists track groups of habituated gorillas through the forest. These activities have had significant impact on the local economy. Every visitor pays FCFA 5000 (US$ 10) daily. This proceed is managed by a village development fund. In 2007 the funds received FCFA 3,325,000 (approximately US$6500) which is being spent on basic amenities such as schools, dispensaries, electricity supply etc, in Bomassa and Makao, both villages located at the peripheries of the park. This has created a propitious environment for other fledgling touristic activities amongst them traditional dances, making of artistic objects hitherto less developed in the area.

Around Lobeke National Park, trophy hunting in community hunting area is generating some US$ 50000 each year. This money is managed by local wildlife management committees. It is invested in education, through the construction schools to provide shelter for children (as demonstrated in above photo) who used to study under very horrible conditions, provision of potable water through improvement of water sources and wells construction. The upshot is greater involvement of local communities in wildlife protection.

The people centered conservation approach has enabled local communities recognize the links between conservation and development to improve their livelihood given accrued benefits from ecotourism, trophy hunting and other income generating activities. Another important aspect is granting access to forest resources to indigenous forest peoples and surrounding Bantu communities. The co-management initiatives have stimulated greater participation and support by local communities to conservation work in the region. WWF and other conservation partners will continue to drive home this people oriented approach within TNS landscape.

Jengi Newsletter March - April 2oo8

2008-05-19

Fighting illegal ivory trade in Southeast Cameroon

2008-05-19

Over the past year, dozens of arrests have been made and hundreds of kilogrammes worth of bush meat as well as ivory have been impounded thanks to the work of these rangers supported by forces of law and order. March 2008 game rangers working in Yokadouma, a town situated some 630km east of Cameroon's capital, Yaoundé, confiscated 13 elephant tusks and made some arrests. The ivory tusks were hidden away in a tight corner of truck transporting timber from the East of the country to the port city of Douala.
Last year, TRAFFIC, the wildlife trade monitoring network, reported that Central Africa is currently hemorrhaging ivory and cited Cameroon as among three countries in the sub region most heavily implicated as the sources for trafficking illicit ivory to international markets.
While lauding WWF support to improved law enforcement which has resulted in rigid checks and arrests, the Regional Representative of WWF CARPO, Laurent Some notes however that " experience has shown that this (improved law enforcement) can drive the ivory smuggling circuit further underground". The Regional Representative expressed optimism that with the present enthusiasm and determination exhibited by Cameroon's department in charge of Forests and Wildlife, in addition to support from some Non governmental organizations, the country could be making progress out of the sourcing zone of illegal ivory trade.
Lobeke National and its periphery have a high density of African forest elephants estimated at about 5000. But unchecked poaching may cause fragmentation of the population of this flagship specie in and around the park.
WWF has spearheaded efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats in the area over the years. Agreements have been reached with logging companies and sport hunting outfits in a concerted move to fight poaching. Joint patrols are regularly organized with game rangers and security forces from Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville and Central Africa Republic within the framework of the Tri-national de la Sangha (TNS).
In a park system spanning the above three countries, deep inside the Congo Basin rainforest, an extraordinary transformation is taking place. Where poachers, illegal loggers and traffickers operated at will by simply crossing a river or driving across the border, can now be chased, arrested and prosecuted.
Park rangers from the three countries communicate via radio, conduct joint anti poaching sweeps and meet regularly to discuss anti poaching strategies. Results of this pioneering transboundary initiative are many with multiplication in numbers of arrested poachers and confiscation of thousands of snares. Many years ago, there was little cooperation in this part of the Congo Basin plagued with internal political conflicts. Park rangers remember sitting on the river bank in intense frustration, watching poachers escape across the Sangha River in to another country.

Jengi Newsletter March - April 2oo8

2008-05-19

Jengi Newsletter

2007-12-11