We partner with the Bagyeli community in the production of non-timber forest products to promote sustainability and strengthen conservation incentives. We also have helped establish a community nursery, providing the first 1,000 lemon tree seedlings and over 10,000 cocoa and plantain seedlings to help get the agroforestry initiative off the ground. Furthermore, Bagyeli villages established 7.5 hectares of community rubber-tree plantations and about 92 hectares of corn, groundnut, egusi, cassava, and yam farms.

We supported Cameroon’s wildlife ministry in developing a five-year anti-poaching strategy for the national park and have ensured that park staff are equipped with the latest anti-poaching and ecological monitoring tools and knowledge. AWF-trained rangers have seized large caches of bushmeat, snares, and firearms. We have also enabled ranger units to increase their patrols from just over 5,000 to more than 10,000 per year.

Our outreach to local communities living around Campo Ma’an National Park involves them in efforts to fight illegal wildlife trade and curb overexploitation of natural resources. Our community development officer in Cameroon Toumbou Nouazi engages local people, who she calls “guardians of the forest,” to achieve critical conservation goals.