Sustainable Management of Natural Resources : Steering Committee Adopts Procedure Manual

The Programme for Sustainable Management of Natural Resources in the South West Region (PSMNR-SWR) has received a German co-funding of FCFA 33.800.000.000. The PSMNR-SWR was initiated some 18 years ago as a flagship programme of the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to enrich the Region with such amenities as water supply, opening of roads, building of schools, protecting the natural environment and other social needs. Last Saturday in Limbe, Fako Division in the South West Region, the Steering Committee with a quorum of 15 over 16 and statutorily chaired by Jules Doret Ndongo, Minister of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF), adopted the PSMNR-SWR 2023 financial report, its 2024 work plan and chiefly endorsed a comprehensive manual to transparently run phases Five and Six of the Programme.
The Steering Committee, however, made a series of nine recommendations to PSMNR-SWR management to furnish in their annual report the reasons why some targets were not met and what could be done to fill the gap by the end of July 2024. Also, the Committee called on PSMNR-SWR and their partner WWF to liaise with the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife to elaborate a national strategy to provide solutions for the frequent conflicts between humans and wildlife in Cameroon. The Committee also strongly requested that the financial consumption of the consultant contract should be included in the PSMNR-SWR annual report. The WWF and WCS partners were requested to provide their annual financial contribution for the implementation of PSMNR-SWR activities by the end of September 2024.
The members of the Committee expressed the need for PSMNR-SWR and MINFOF to plan an annual evaluation of WWF and WCS as stipulated in a separate agreement by December ending 2024. The PSMNR was equally enjoined to organize working sessions for the trans-boundary working group to develop a programme with neighb...