Sustainable Landscape Management : What Conservation Option For Mount Bamboutos?

The second component of the Women in Community-based Landscape Management, COBALAM project, implemented by Rainforest Alliance Cameroon, government ministries and partners, is under way. A consultant contracted by Rainforest to study possible conservation options around the mountain ranges for consideration and approval by local stakeholders this week presented his findings and proposals.

Sustainable Conservation 
Those present in Babete Monastery in Bamboutos Division of West Region on July 5, 2023 for the activity included Rainforest Alliance Cameroon officials, representatives of government ministries, local council authorities and members of the Mount Bamboutos management board. According to Rainforest Alliance, the second component of Community-based Landscape Management, COBALAM focuses on the promotion of sustainable conservation of areas around the Mount Bamboutos. 

New COBALAM Component 
In partnership with the Cameroon Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development, MINEPDED and UN Environment, Rainforest Alliance will implement the project, “Removing Barriers to Biodiversity Conservation, Land Restoration and Sustainable Forest Management through Community-based Landscape Management, COBALAM,” funded by the Global Environment Facility. 

Project Objectives 
The objective of COBALAM project is to preserve biodiversity in the Western Highlands and South Region of Cameroon through a sustainable landscape management approach in which High Conservation Value Forest, is protected by law and the surrounding forest and agricultural areas are managed according to the principles of community-based landscape management. The Bana-Bangante-Bangou Mountains, one of the mountainous massifs in the West Region of Cameroon, constitute a breadbasket and a key biodiversity area in the West Region.

Project Scope
The Mount Bamboutos COBALAM project covers council areas in Bamboutos, Mifi and Menoua Divisions in the West Region; and Mezam Division in the North West Region. A similar team met in Bangou in Upper Plateau on Friday, July 7, 2023 to listen to the findings on the Bana-Bangante-Bangou mountain range which covers council areas in Upper Nkam, Upper Plateau and Nde Divisions of the West Region. 

Paradigm Shift In Conservation 
“We are talking about governance and the manner the competitive manner the landscape should be managed by stakeholders. We need to change the paradigm for an approach that promotes collaboration. Water is a common source. It is important for all actors to participate in the management of the landscapes, recognizing that water resources are belong to everyone,” said William Mala, Senior Manager, Landscape and Communities, Rainforest Alliance Cameroon.                    

Possible Conservation Option
He continued: “Mount Bamboutos is embedded in a watershed, and beneath the watershed is a water resource. The mountain is also located in the water basin of West Region. It is therefore important to have sustainable management of the watershed because this will affect agriculture, land management and pastoral activities. This is critical. We will tackle the option of agriculture, livestock, water resources management and biodiversity conservation; added to land restoration. This was proposed by the consultant. We will use a participatory approach for stakeholders to choose their best option,” Mala promised.

Biodiversity Destruction 
According to Jacques Waouo, the Team Manager and Coordinator of Rainforest Alliance Cameroon for West Region, after collecting field data and receiving feedback from landscape stakeholders, a report will be submitted to Council to implement the chosen conservation option. “We realized that a number of people own title deeds on the Bamboutos Mountain Range. Secondly, the level of biodiversity destruction on the mountain is high. They are cutting down trees, exploiting lowlands unsustainably and using much pesticides. This is what the consultant observed after discussing with stakeholders. The solution we propose is that because they already have the Landscape Management Board in place, which is a governance structure, they can present the issue and discuss the strategy themselves,” Waouo promised. 

Consultant’s Recommendations 
“After listening to the first discussions in Babete, we noticed some challenges. But it must be acknowledged that in spite of these problems, there are also great potentials. After the interactions, it is possible to obtain great results through the activities that will be implemented. And the Mount Bamboutos landscape will be restored as we preserve the wellbeing of people living around the landscape. There are great potentials in terms of resources – soil, livestock farming, water resources,” commented Prof. Pamo Tedonkeng Etienne, the consultant who presented the report.  

Opportunities On Mount Bamboutos 
“We visited the Mount Bamboutos landscape and found out that it has a lot of opportunities in terms of soil, rangeland, forest and water production. It is possible to develop the area in such a way that it is productive and also provide enough means to the population and to the landscape. Particularly in preserving the biodiversity of the ecosystem,” Prof. Tedonkeng noted. 

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