Social Issue

The mountainous ecosystems in the south-eastern province of Cameroon have been subject to a great deal of environmental pressure. There are often large landslides during the rainy season that result in the loss of crops and property.

These landslides in mountainous areas are caused by the search for new areas of cultivation by the area’s inhabitants, increasingly threatened by an increasing population.  This results in the cutting down of trees in order to make space for new areas of cultivation, which becomes totally vulnerable to erosion.

This process has a devastating effect on the region’s 830,000 inhabitants, 95% of which are farmers: the soil ends up losing all of its fertility and they lose agriculture as a way of life and a source of financial support.

Furthermore, it is an area where various species of birds, gorillas and chimpanzees have their ecosystem threatened and it is an area with great potential for the growth of the Prunas Africana tree, with great medicinal benefits for the cure of endemic diseases.

Our Response

The agroforestry project consists of the supply of seeds for “multi-purpose rapid growth” trees, as well as 10 propagators of trees, to different entities in the area in order to propagate species of local trees: about 300,000 in total.

The species planted, giving a total of 400,000 seeds, are: Calliandra Calothysus (90,000), Acacia Angustissima (12,000), Prunus Africana (25,000), Leucaena spp. (90,000), Rizophora (10,000), Timber Species (50,000), non-timber forest products (NTFPs) (45,000), Irvinia Gabonensis (8,000), Safou (African plum) (1,000), Cajanus cajan (40,000), Neem (10,000) and Moringa oleifera (11,000).

Historically, the success rate of germination in the nursery is 98%. During final plantation, the success rate is 85%. Therefore, of the 400,000 seeds, it is expected that 333,200 trees will be obtained.

Nine local NGOs participated in the project, each one supervising the project for 3 local communities. There were a total of 27 target communities, benefitting 3,000 families and 25,000 people in total.  Each family is responsible for planting the trees that will prevent future landslides. They will also plant and have access to other trees for the sustainable collection of firewood, fruit, medicine, etc.

Expected Social Impact

This is part of a comprehensive project with the following objectives:

• To establish nurseries all over the region.
• To increase the availability of local species of trees using propagators.
• To recover 70% of the eroded soil by the year 2012.
• To achieve a 20% increase in the income of each family in the area by the year 2012.
• To develop the implementation of sustainable alternatives such as solar kitchens and ovens, leading to a reduction in the number of trees cut down.
• To increase and improve the supply of water to families.
• To generally increase the local capacity for the management of mountainous ecosystems.

This donation will benefit around 16,750 people.