On January 18, 2025, SAILD set up two multi-stakeholder working groups in two districts of the East Cameroon region.
The two working groups were set up in Bétaré Oya and Belabo. The Deng Deng National Park (PNDD) covers two districts in the Eastern region. The ten or so members of each group are tasked with carrying out activities to restore the protected area’s forest landscape. This is part of the “Participatory Restoration of the PNDD Forest Landscape” project, implemented by the Support Service for Local Development Initiatives (SAILD) under funding from the International Climate Initiative (IKI) program.
According to Project Manager Desouza Feujio, 19 members, including 6 women, have been set up in Belabo, and 16 others, including 5 women, in Betaré Oya. “They all have different profiles. Among them are representatives of local communities, representatives of the conservation department, representatives of territorial and sectoral administrations and representatives of civil society organizations“, she explains.
Committed members
The missions of these working groups are clear: “The objectives are the same in each district. Initially, the members are tasked with identifying and listing restoration needs in the PNDD forest landscape, drawing up a roadmap for restoration and ensuring the effective implementation of restoration activities.
Later, they will have to monitor and evaluate the actions undertaken“, she continues.
To ensure smooth organization, leaders have been appointed in each group. Stakeholders will have to put their availability and dynamism to the test in order to achieve the objectives set. To this end, they have expressed their commitment to actively participate in group activities and meetings (scheduled every three months), in accordance with the established rules.
The establishment of these working groups is the culmination of a series of actions carried out by SAILD. After identifying and analyzing stakeholders with an influence on the PNDD, the NGO carried out a landscape study to assess the level of degradation in five villages bordering the park; it also mapped degraded plots in each of these villages with a view to restoring them. Following the presentation of the results of these studies, the present working groups were set up to harmonize ideas for the restoration of the PNDD. In addition, the people selected were trained in forest landscape restoration through workshops.
- Sharon Maché
