Cameroon
Cameroon is a country immensely rich in biodiversity, with vegetation varying from the mangrove swamps on its southern Atlantic coast to humid rainforests, savannah grasslands and the Sahel in the north. However, its natural resources are under great threat from economic, political, environmental and social pressures. Deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, soil degradation, pollution, poverty, extreme seasonal floods, poor waste management in industrial and urban centres are just some of the environmental issues and problems facing Cameroon today.
Living Earth has been working in Cameroon for over twenty years. Fondation Camerounaise de la Terre Vivante (FCTV) is the key local partner of Living Earth in Cameroon. Originally established in 1996 under the name Living Earth Cameroon, FCTV was formally registered as an independent Cameroonian non Government organisation in Cameroon in 2003, with the organisation changing its name from Living Earth Cameroon to Foundation Camerounaise de la Terre Vivante in 2008.
Aims in Cameroon
FCTV works with communities to empower them to resolve local environmental and social development issues, by developing awareness, understanding and management skills. We recognise that engaging local communities as active stakeholders in developing solutions to development and conservation challenges is essential if such solutions are to be effective, long-lasting, and accepted by the communities themselves. Living Earth is currently working with urban slum dwellers in Douala and with forest-based communities in the south east of Cameroon.
Our work in the Dja Biosphere Reserve especially is premised on the fact that unless the people who live around protected areas see a value for themselves in conservation, they will not support it. Currently they bare all the burden of living near a reserve in the constraints put on their traditional livelihood activities while deriving none of the benefits.
Projects
Tackling Bush Meat
Living Earth and its Cameroonian partner organisation, (FCTV), sought to tackle the thriving illegal bush meat trade in the Dja. This project ended in September 2011.
Forest Voices
This project aims to enhance respect for the human rights of marginalised groups in Cameroon; specifically in the Dja Biosphere Reserve Cameroon.
Living Earth is working in the urban slums of Cameroon, as well as in Nigeria and Uganda, to build the capacity of social enterprises and community-based organisations to deliver waste management and recycling services.
Involving communities in Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT)
FLEGT is the European Union’s response to the global problem of illegal logging and the trade in associated timber products. The aim of the project was to increase community participation in the effective implementation of the FLEGT in Cameroon and in the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) in particular, as a result of greater community involvement in monitoring forest use. This project ended in August 2011.
Dja Periphery Community Engagement Project
In partnership with our Great ape conservation programme, this project assisted local communities living around the Dja Biosphere Reserve (DBR) to engage more effectively with the government of Cameroon and biodiversity protection agencies; to foster enhanced understanding and more effective conservation activities. The project has now ended.
Great ape conservation programme
Living Earth UK, in partnership with FCTV and Bristol Zoo Gardens, facilitated a project to conserve great apes in the Dja-Minkele-Odzala Tri-national forest (TRIDOM). The project was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and sought to enable local communities to gain a clearer understanding of great ape conservation and encourage participation in the conservation process. The project has now ended.
Environmental Education
A number of environmental education projects have been implemented in Cameroon; to encourage people to consider their impact on the environment and reduce or cease activities that deplete natural resources or threaten biodiversity. Additionally, this encompassed raising awareness amongst the general public and decision-makers regarding the need to introduce environmental education into the schools system of Cameroon. The project has now ended.
Contact us:
Fondation Camerounaise de la Terre Vivante (FCTV)
Situé à la Nouvelle route Nkolbisson,
BP: 12763 Yaoundé,
Cameroon
Tel:
(237) 22 22 75 29 (Deskphone)
(237) 75 14 17 50 (mobile)
(237) 77 41 49 71 (mobile)
Email: terrevivantecameroun@yahoo.fr
Website: http://www.fctvcameroun.org/