Nkolenyeng: A Community Forest under Pressure from Logging, Mining and Natural Reserves

Just arrived in Yaounde in the calm and pleasant GTZ house, we are informed by our local partner, the Centre pour l´Environnement et le Développement (CED): Get ready, the first field visit starts tomorrow. Here we go!

We are amazed by the effectiveness and professionalism of this Cameroonian NGO, contradicting stories we hear from other foreigners about their local partners. Still, also this NGO does depend on local partners: On the day of departure, the car rented does not show up until the afternoon, so we spend the morning in CED´s airy office, surrounded by green spaces, exploring the solar cooker and the community-made natural foodstuff and body care products.

Finally, we leave with 2 cars and 8 people to Djoum for an overnight stop, before continuing to the Nkolenyeng Community Forest the next day, just about 30 km North of the border with Gabon.

The Community of Nkolenyeng consists of around 550 villagers, majority Fang (Bantu), minority (about 60) Baka, an indigenous forest people, known for its average small statue. The Community managed to obtain their own official Community Forest, squeezed around a road by logging concessions in the North, and a natural reserve as well as iron mining concessions in the South. Looking at a forest map of Cameroon you see large areas representing the logging concessions and the tiny stretches along the roads: potential Community Forest, mostly on poor land with poor forests.

The villagers in Nkolgenyeng have established an ambitious management plan. Cacao plants in an agroforest and very limited selected logging with sustainable methods (e.g. without heavy machinery, wood transport without vehicles) are currently the main sources of income, combined with small subsistence farming by the Fang and honey production and hunting by the Baka. Now, they work on establishing detailed biodiversity and carbon inventories to receive in the future payments for environmental services such as carbon sequestration. The forest is managed by a community committee consisting of Baka and Fang, man and women.

Plants and animals to be found in the area are plentiful, including several primates amongst them gorillas and chimpanzee. If you are lucky, you can see elephants passing by.