Cameroon Gov’t Violates Agreement to Protect Gorillas, 2 Days After.

By Ndimuh B. Shancho

The Cameroon Government has approved a logging concession in Ebo Forest-Littoral Region that will accelerate the extinction of gorillas, barely 2days after signing an international agreement to protect gorillas and their habitats.  The logging concession, to the tune of 85,000 hectares, was approved July 22, 2020 whereas the head of state, President Paul Biya, had on July 20, 2020, signed to the agreement on the conservation of gorillas and their habitats.

According to information gathered, the Minister of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) signed two orders in February 2020   proposing the classification of two forest management units for timber extraction in the forest is home to chimpanzees, forest elephants, grey parrots and other threatened and endangered species. This project, according to the MINFOF boss, was going to transform the targeted area into a production forest.

The Minister’s decision was greeted by stiff opposition from forest adjacent communities, who depend on this “natural heritage” for food, and traditional medicine amongst others. Also disgruntled by this move, a group of Cameroonian civil society actors, alongside over 60 Cameroonian and international ecologists and researchers, including the president of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group, sent a letter to the Cameroon Government requesting the suspension of the creation of two logging concessions. They suggested that a sustainable land-use alternatives could be a viable option for generating revenue for Cameroon while supporting the socio-economic livelihoods of Ebo’s nearby communities, and protecting this critical habitat for some of Africa’s most endangered wildlife species. Green Peace also launched an online petition against the decision, which harvested over 15,000 signatures within a short while.

These petitions and widespread online campaign against the Government’s deforestation plan, got no response from the Government. Instead, the logging concession was approved, to the dismay of the national and international communities.

“The Ebo Forest is a globally important ecosystem that is home to some very endangered species such as Preuss’s red colobus. I cannot comprehend why the government would issue a logging concession for short-term gain to destroy such an important part of Cameroon’s natural heritage. The future value for ecotourism alone would far outweigh the value of the timber, never mind all the other ecosystem service values that the forest provides for local communities,” said Russ Mittermeier, chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group, and chief conservation officer for Global Wildlife Conservation.

Meanwhile, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Tobor Nagy, in a tweet dated July 29, 2020 declare his country’s support “to save Ebo Forest, home to Bamen People and rich biodiversity including gorillas and forest elephants”. He further encouraged the Cameroon Government to “work with local communities to develop and inclusive land-use plan.

The approval of a logging concession in Ebo Forest undoubtedly cast doubts to Government’s international commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to protect species and their habitats. It has further dampened hope on the project to transform the Ebo Forest into a national park, announced in 2006 by the Cameroon Government.