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How to involve women in forest management: Interview with a community organiser in DRC

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00December 5th, 2017|

“Women, and indigenous women in particular, need to be included in decision-making on ecosystem use at all levels, as essential players in preserving our planet.” –UN Women Ruth Badubaye has been working with rainforest communities in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for several years. Formerly a GIS (geographic information systems) technician with Congolese organisation GASHE (Group d’Action pour Sauver l’Homme et son Environnement), Ruth is now part of Rainforest UK’s Community Forests project in DRC’s Equateur province. Part of a small team of legal, scientific and technical community fieldworkers, she works directly with local communities to support them in sustainably [...]

OKANI’s action in Gbabandi and the development of indigenous peoples

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00November 13th, 2017|

OKANI’s vision is «a cohesive society where the rights, justice and fulfillment of indigenous peoples from the forests of Cameroon are guaranteed.» Its mission is to «support Indigenous peoples from the Cameroonian forests, and to improve their living conditions through the promotion of respect for their rights Since its creation 11 years ago, Okani has implemented several activities through different projects with the support of different technical and financial partners in order to improve the living conditions of indigenous peoples living in the Cameroonian forests. Projects were implemented in the following fields: Education Promotion of education in the Baka language through [...]

Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in Cameroon : Challenges and issues

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00October 31st, 2017|

This article is the first of two pieces about indigenous peoples in Cameroon, written by a staff member of Okani, one of our client organisations. In Cameroon, when speaking about forest indigenous peoples, we refer to four different groups: Baka people live mostly in the Eastern and Southern regions of Cameroon. Bakola and Bagyeli people live in an area of about 12 000 square km in the South of the country, including the districts of Akom II, Bipindi, Kribi and Lolodorf. Lastly, the Bedzang people live in the Central regions, in the North-West of Mbam in the area of Ngambè Tikar. [...]

The fate of the Congo Basin forests must lie with its people

2022-03-11T13:45:09+00:00October 4th, 2017|

A light breeze of democratisation is blowing through the Congo Basin – and it is being driven by civil society. In the Central African Republic (CAR), civil society is playing a key role in rebuilding a nation torn apart by civil war. In Cameroon, it is pushing for democratic reforms in the face of often fierce government pressure. In the Republic of Congo (Congo), civil society is alerting to human rights abuses against indigenous communities and dissenting voices. And in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), it’s playing a vital role in providing humanitarian assistance in conflict prone regions, and supporting [...]

What is community forestry?

2022-03-11T13:45:08+00:00September 14th, 2017|

We frequently hear about community forestry, but how does it really work, and what are its advantages for the populations? This month, Carmel Kifukieto, programme officer at the Centre d’Appui à la Gestion Durable des Forêts Tropicales (CAGDFT), one of the organisations we support in the Democratic Republic of Congo, tells us about the different aspects of this practice. What is community forestry? Community forestry is a set of practices, techniques and methods to manage the forest and its natural resources. It is regulated by a specific legal framework that organizes local communities’ participation. This is illustrated by this sentence: «a [...]

Paving the Way for Greater Success in AAFEBEN

2022-03-11T13:45:07+00:00December 7th, 2016|

Passion and commitment are two of the many qualities that drive the activities of most community based organisations. AAFEBEN (Appui à l'Auto Promotion de la Femme de Boumba et Ngoko), a community based organisation in Yokadouma in the Eastern region of Cameroon is one of such organisations. Its members and staff are dedicated and are working hard to promote better living conditions of people living in forest communities in the region. Since its creation in 2001, the organisation has engaged in activities aimed at promoting quality health, promoting access to education for underprivileged children and the creation of income generating activities [...]

Increasing community’s right to land through participatory mapping

2022-03-11T13:45:02+00:00September 16th, 2016|

The Congo Basin forest is the second largest tropical forest and the third largest forest in the world. This forest is considered as one of the most important ecological zones in the world with over 10,000 species of  plants, 1000 species of birds, 500 species of fishes and over 500 variety of mammals. Hence, it produces substantial financial resources for states in the region including Cameroon. In Cameroon, the government launched ‘Vision 2035’ which aims at bringing development to the country via the industrialization of Cameroon’s economy. Within this context, there exists a combination of several factors that place additional pressure [...]

Industrial forest exploitation: the main cause of deforestation

2022-03-11T13:45:02+00:00August 9th, 2016|

This is the result of a study carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) examining the causes of deforestation and forest degradation in central Africa. In Cameroon, over 44 762 hectares of forest are devastated annually by industrial exploitation in the TRIDOM (Tri-National Dja-Odzala-Minkébé). This is the finding of a study carried out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This situation is due to the surface of annual allowable cuts by the logging companies. However, as stated by the study, the surface of annual allowable cuts is only one of the indicators of the [...]

A Good Start for Well Grounded in 2016: Lessons from Practice!

2022-03-11T13:45:02+00:00July 22nd, 2016|

2016 started on a fast paced note for us at Well Grounded. Between January and June we carried out 27 interventions for 18 of our clients in three countries in the Congo Basin. Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW) works to protect the Kilum-Ijim forest in the North West region of Cameroon. Through our support in the first quarter of 2016, the team was able to define the organisation’s vision and mission. The organisation also developed its global and specific objectives it will work to achieve between 2016 and 2020. “This process was very useful to us. It has helped us [...]

“Bee farmers are in tears”

2022-03-11T13:45:01+00:00April 22nd, 2016|

By CAMGEW (Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch) Just over a month ago, on February 21st, CAMGEW director Wirsiy Emmanuel Binyuy was alerted that a bushfire, allegedly started by a farmer in Bihkov, a small community in Jakiri sub-division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon, had gone out of control and was threatening to extend to the whole Kilum-Ijim forest, which covers over 20,000 hectares. The Kilum-Ijim Forest is an area of mountain rainforest, found on Mount Oku and the nearby Ijim Ridge in the Cameroon mountains. In spite of heavy community mobilization, it took people over seven days of hard work [...]

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