FORET PROGRAM

Projet CAMERR | Cameroon Mangrove Ecosystem Restoration and Resilience

Background

La zone de ce projet abrite plusieurs types de végétations et d’habitats importants pour le maintien de la diversité biologique au regard de ses mangroves. L’estuaire du Cameroun, dans lequel est située la métropole de Douala, compterait environ 203 600 hectares de mangrove, forêts côtières associées, plantations et habitations et terres associées non végétées, dont 93 550 ha de terres « purement » couvertes par de la mangrove.

La zone du littoral du Cameroun abrite et alimente également une faune variée composée d’oiseaux, d’éléphants, antilopes, chimpanzés, singes, crocodiles, mais aussi des lamantins, mammifères aquatiques, des espèces notables de tortues, de reptiles ou encore de mollusques et crevettes.

La mangrove du Cameroun rend ainsi un grand nombre de services écosystémiques vitaux tels que stabiliser et protéger la zone côtière, séquestrer du carbone (cet écosystème de marais maritime a notamment la particularité de retenir de l’ordre de 5 fois plus de carbone qu’une forêt terrestre) et abriter une biomasse abondante et d’une riche biodiversité (faune et flore). Elle permet également d’allouer des moyens de subsistance pour près 30% de la population du pays vivant en zone côtière (bois pour le fumage de poisson, pour la construction des logements et pour les embarcations, ou encore du chaume résistant à l’eau pour les toitures ou encore du fourrage pour les animaux domestiques), fournir des services culturels, ou encore présenter un grand potentiel en matière d’écotourisme et d’éducation environnementale.

Les régions côtières du Cameroun constituent donc un enjeu important de conservation de la nature en Afrique Centrale. Mais de par leur proximité avec la mer, l’activité de nombreuses entreprises en particulier agro-industrielles et le développement d’infrastructures de transport en font un pôle d’attractivité économique générant une importante croissance démographique. Il en résulte de multiples pressions humaines menaçant les écosystèmes forestiers du littoral camerounais, notamment la mangrove telle que celle de la zone de Mouanko-Bolondo. Cette situation affecte considérablement les habitats de la faune, la biodiversité et plus généralement les ressources naturelles et donc les moyens d’existence des communautés riveraines.

Objective

Support the restoration and sustainable management of mangroves, the protection of biodiversity and the strengthening of local resilience in Mouanko-Bolondo to thus contribute to the resilience effort of ecosystems and residents of the periphery of the mangrove in the locality of Mouanko-Bolondo, within the “Cameroon Estuary” block.

Activities

Two main axes : Restore degraded mangrove areas by reforestation in the locality of Mouanko-Bolondo, within the “Cameroon Estuary” block and raise awareness in favour of a sustainable ecological transition around preservation of the mangrove ecosystem by raising awareness and mobilizing the habitants of Bolondo.

Restoration of ecosystems: the loss of forests, habitat of many species, is one of the 5 major causes of biodiversity loss.

The planting of 40,000 mangroves is planned in the enclaves of the Douala-Edéa National Park in the village of Bolondo.

Awareness: the project intends to raise awareness in favour of a sustainably ecological transition around the preservation of the mangrove ecosystem of the inhabitants of Bolondo. A launch workshop will be organised to inform and mobilize the various stakeholders of the pilot project. 4 other awareness workshops on the sustainable management of firewood among households in the area will also be planned during the first months of implementation.

Expected impact

Ecologically healthy coastal ecosystems will function as natural defences for humans and wildlife living on the continent. This project will thus contribute to the preservation of biodiversity, increased resilience and capacity of adaptation to the effects of climate change, as well as mitigation through the sequestration of carbon generated through reforestation. .

In this context, the planting of mangroves to regenerate the mangrove ecosystem, one of the most powerful natural carbon sinks in the world, has been identified locally as one of the priority options that can help restore the environment of this area. sensitive agroecological and its role in climate change mitigation, as well as supporting the emergence or strengthening of value chains based on biodiversity, in favour of the local development of communities and the strengthening of their adaptive capacity to the effects of climate change.

In an environment where several reforestation initiatives have been carried out by various actors and where the planting needs are still immense (the Cameroonian coastline has more than 220,000 ha of mangroves, already partially degraded or even destroyed), the present pilot project of “Restoration mangrove in support of community resilience and protection of biodiversity in Mouanko-Bolondo ”aims to contribute, in the long term and on its scale, to the sustainable management of the coastal forest ecosystems of the area by reducing economic and social vulnerabilities local communities.

More specifically, it is about initiating a sustainable ecological transition by supporting the restoration of the environment and raising awareness / mobilizing the population and strengthening the economic and social resilience of local actors in a sustainable manner. This initiative intends to be part of a broader perspective of contributing to sustainable community management and the conservation of mangrove ecosystems in Cameroon.

Photos

Institutional, technical and financial partners

Partenaires de mise en œuvre : Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society (CWCS), Cameroon Ecology (Cam-Eco), Watershed Task Group (WTG).

Partenaires financiers : Orange et Sia Partners

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